THE AUTHOR

Dr. A. Henry Sathananthan is one of the pioneers in IVF and assisted reproductive technology (ART) in Melbourne, Australia and has worked with the Monash Team (Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Center of Early Human Development),since 1977. He has also been involved in collaborative research with the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at K.K. Hospital & The National University Hospital, Singapore since 1983, who pioneered IVF in Singapore. Currently, Dr. Sathananthan is an Associate Professor at the Monash Immunology & Stem Cell Laboratories and was an Honorary Associate Professor of the Monash Institute of Reproduction, & Development after his retirement as Associate Professor & Reader of Latrobe University, Melbourne. Currently, he is also a Research Professor and consultant in ART in two hospitals in Chennai and Bangalore, India. He has over 130 international publications, including papers, reviews, chapters, 4 atlases and 12 CD-ROMS and over 105 conference presentations. He has also been a CD-ROM editor on the Editorial Board of Human Reproduction Update, Cambridge (1995 - 2000). This journal was the most highly rated journal (impact factor ratings) in Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology in 2000.

Dr. Sathananthan has a Ph.D in Embryology (Reading University, U.K.) and has had 44 years of teaching experience at all university levels, having graduated from the University of Ceylon in 1959. He has specialised in using illustrations, audio-visuals, CD-ROMs and atlases for both teaching and research. He is also a visiting professor in Sri Lanka, having taught in several universities. He was trained in electron microscopy at Oxford University by the Late Prof. John R Baker,FRS and had training in Experimental Embryology at Hubrect Laboratory, Utrecht, Holland. His close collaborator was Prof.A.Trounson and mentors were Prof.R.G. Edwards (Cambridge) and the late Prof.S.S.Ratnam (Singapore).

Professor Sathananthan is a world authority on human fertilization and early embryogenesis and his most significant discovery is the inheritance, replication and perpetuation of the sperm centrosome in human embryos (1991 - 1996), working with the Monash and Singapore IVF teams. He also postulated a new theory of infertility based on centrosome function and dysfunction in human embryos in 1991, which postulated that poorly motile sperm produce poor embryos. This theory is currently gaining world-wide acceptance. Dr. Sathananthan has also contributed to eight world's firsts in IVF and assisted reproduction. He is yet actively engaged in research on embryonic stem cells and has recently focussed on visual presentations in ART on CD-ROM and on the internet for teaching, research and clinical purposes.

His contributions to Human Embryology, is promoting a better understanding of the first week of human development; application of basic embryology to clinically-oriented research in assisted reproduction; unravelling the mechanics of cell division during embryonic cleavage; and teaching clinically-oriented visual embryology. His vision is to popularise the microstructure of gametes and embryos to clinicians, researchers, teachers, technicians, students and the general public, using his vast collection of original images, he has generated over the years. He is available for consultations and workshops in embryology for ART and electron microscopy.