Alan Osborne Trounson (1946– )

Alan Osborne Trounson is a scientist from Australia who studies embryology and stem cells. His research has improved the success rates of in vitro fertilization, or IVF. IVF is a medical procedure in which scientists fertilize an egg cell with sperm outside of the body, often in a laboratory petri dish, then transfer the fertilized egg to a woman’s uterus to start pregnancy. Trounson also researched embryonic stem cells, or stem cells collected from embryos, and their potential for treating injuries and diseases. Additionally, Trounson led the Californian Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, one of the largest agencies to fund stem cell research in California, from 2007 to 2014. Over the course of his career, Trounson developed several techniques that improved the effectiveness of IVF, including fertility treatments and cryopreservation, and supported stem cell research as a scientist and administrator.

1. Early Life and Education
2. Research on IVF
3. Stem Cell Research
4. Legacy

Early Life and Education

Trounson was born on 16 February 1946 in Sydney, Australia. According to a biographical article published in The Lancet, Trounson enjoyed agricultural studies from an early age. The article states that Trounson grew up in a rural environment and frequently visited his school-friends’ farms, where he developed a desire to pursue a career working with animals. After graduating from secondary school, Trounson received several scholarships to study wool manufacturing technology.

From the late 1960s to the mid 1970s, Trounson pursued various degrees in animal breeding, genetics, and embryology. In 1968, Trounson received his bachelor’s degree with honors from the School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. During his undergraduate years, Trounson and his research colleagues worked in a woolshed where they analyzed the genetics and fertility of sheep to determine how to increase wool and meat yield. Trounson discovered that ovulation rate determined the fertility of sheep, and his discovery led the University of New South Wales to develop a larger research station to continue the research. In 1971, Trounson received his master’s degree from the same institution. While earning his master’s degree, he focused on the study of genetics and physiology of multiple births in sheep. Next, in 1974, Trounson earned his doctoral degree in embryology at the University of Sydney in Sydney, and he wrote his thesis on the development of fertilized sheep ova, or mature female reproductive cells.

From 1974 to 1976, Trounson worked in a three-year postdoctoral position as a Dalgety International Research Fellow at the Agricultural Research Council’s Unit of Reproductive Physiology and Biochemistry in Cambridge, England. As a postdoctoral fellow, he developed non-surgical methods for collecting embryos and transferring them into the uteri of cattle. Trounson also devised a technique for freezing and splitting embryos that scientists collected from farm animals to preserve embryo tissue for future research projects. When transferring embryos between cattle, embryo collection and preservation are essential for minimizing disease transmission and maintaining specimen quality. The methods in animal embryology that Trounson developed as a postdoctoral researcher later became guidelines for IVF procedures.

Research on IVF

In 1977, Trounson began working at the Queen Victoria Medical Center and Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, where he started studying IVF in humans. One full IVF cycle, from collection of the eggs and sperm to implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterus, typically takes two to three weeks. At the time that Trounson began studying the technique, IVF was an experimental procedure. In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers successfully achieved impregnation with IVF in animal models. By the 1970s, IVF research worldwide on human embryos had begun, and in 1977, researchers in England successfully fertilized and implanted the first human embryo via IVF. As a result of the implantation, physicians delivered the first IVF baby on 25 July 1978. In 1978, Trounson joined the Monash IVF Research Program located at the Monash University in Melbourne.

At the Monash IVF Research Program, Trounson worked alongside physicians Edwin Carlyle Wood, who researched fertility and gynecology, and John Leeton, who studied infertility and surgery in obstetrics and gynecology, to conduct research to find more effective methods for IVF treatment in humans. In the late 1970s, researchers worldwide competed for the first successful IVF implantation as a treatment for female infertility, and Trounson and his colleagues participated in that race. Following the world’s first successful IVF birth in 1978 by researchers in England, Trounson’s research team continued to attempt to achieve Australia’s first IVF baby. Trounson introduced techniques that led to the team’s later success. For instance, he developed a quality control system to assess the quality of the growth medium in the laboratory petri dish where fertilization occurred. He identified that certain media increased fertilization rates compared to others. He also developed a technique of administering hormones to stimulate ovulation, or the release of egg cells, in female patients to obtain a greater sample of eggs for IVF. As a result of their research, Trounson and the Monash research team produced Australia’s first infant born through IVF treatment in 1980, and the infant was the third infant born via IVF worldwide.

During his time in Melbourne, Trounson and his colleagues introduced two procedures that improved IVF treatment, the first of which was the use of a fertility drug to stimulate the ovaries to release more than one egg during ovulation. Ovulation is a monthly occurrence during which the female body releases an egg cell from one of the ovaries. If a sperm cell fertilizes an egg, it further develops into an embryo. If ovulation does not occur, there are no egg cells available for sperm to fertilize, and therefore, no embryo. The use of fertility drugs during IVF is especially helpful for women who have disorders related to ovulation, as it results in more eggs that the doctor can use for IVF, which increases the likelihood of fertilization.

The second procedure Trounson and his colleagues developed in the 1980s that improved IVF technique was the process of freezing embryos for future use, or cryopreservation. The option for humans to freeze and store their embryos allowed for long-term preservation, so the embryos can be fertilized and implanted later in an individual’s life. With cryopreservation, embryos can be stored for over ten years and a maximum of fifty-five years. Women with various medical conditions or personal reasons may decide to cryopreserve their embryos. For instance, women with cancer may decide to preserve their embryos prior to chemotherapy treatment, which could damage their embryos and fertility. That procedure is also helpful for individuals who might produce poor quality or quantity of egg cells later in life due to medical conditions or menopause.

From 1985 to 1991, Trounson worked at the Center for Early Human Development at the Monash University on a fertilization technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI. ICSI, which involves microscopically injecting sperm into an egg cell collected from a female, is a subtype of IVF that is commonly used to treat male infertility. Male infertility is a condition where impregnation is difficult due to the male’s reproductive system, often resulting from lower sperm quality or quantity. Common issues that cause male infertility include sexually transmitted diseases, genetic disorders, and low or absent sperm cell count. During ICSI, a physician injects a single sperm cell into one egg cell to fertilize it, then implants the resulting embryo into the uterus. Approximately sixty percent of IVF procedures worldwide use the ICSI technique as of 2024. Trounson’s contribution has helped treat infertile men who cannot have children of their own under normal conditions. During the same time period when Trounson worked on ICSI, from 1984 to 2000, he also worked as a professor and taught courses on reproductive technologies and biomedical ethics at Monash.

In the 1990s, Trounson established various research programs associated with embryology at the Monash Medical Center. In 1992, Trounson founded the Animal Research Program, which supports research focusing on embryo multiplication, which is the reproduction of embryo cells, and embryo transfer in cattle. From 1998 to 2001, he was funded by a grant from the Dairy Research and Development Corporation/Meat and Livestock Australia to research the production of breeding stock through embryo multiplication.

Stem Cell Research

In the 2000s, Trounson began to research embryonic stem cells at the Institute of Reproduction and Development at Monash University and derived stem cells from embryos. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, which means that they have the ability to develop into almost every cell type in the adult human body. Scientists typically study embryonic stem cells for their ability to repair or regenerate damaged tissue and organs. Trounson researched topics such as producing new embryonic stem cell lines and differentiating cells into different cell types. He also experimented with specializing stem cells for various therapeutic applications for conditions such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, and heart attacks. In 2003, he founded the Australian Stem Cell Centre, which is a research institute in Melbourne, Australia, focused on stem cell regenerative medicine. That same year, Monash University appointed him Personal Chair in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology/Pediatrics.

Trounson continued to pursue his interest in stem cell research and moved to San Francisco, California, following his appointment as CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, in 2007. CIRM is a state agency focused on funding stem cell research. It was established in 2004 by Proposition 71 to promote the development of new research therapies for injury and disease by awarding grants to California stem cell research programs. During his time at CIRM, Trounson helped drive the creation of many CIRM programs, including a twenty-six million US dollar stem cell bank, which is a facility that stores and preserves stem cells for future use. In 2014, Trounson resigned as president and CEO of CIRM. According to an email response from Trounson to the California Stem Cell Report, Trounson stated that he had sacrificed a lot of personal time with his family since beginning his work at CIRM and resigned from the position to spend more time with his family.

In 2015, Trounson joined the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne as the role of Distinguished Scientist. There, he has conducted research on stem cell therapies for cancers. In 2016, he also founded Cartherics Pty Ltd, which is a company dedicated to developing immunotherapy treatments for cancer patients with headquarters in Notting Hill, Australia. As of 2024, he continues his research at Hudson Institute of Medical Research and his work as the CEO and president of Cartherics.

Legacy

Trounson has over 800 publications, which have been cited more than 45,000 times. He has received many awards for his scientific achievements, including the Wellcome Australia Award in 1992, which recognizes outstanding achievements in medical research in Australia, and the Benjamin Henry Sheares Medal by the Obstetrical and Gynecological Society of Singapore in Singapore, Singapore, in 1995, an award given for outstanding research in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology. Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels, Belgium, awarded him a Doctor Honoris Causa and the Australian Humanist Society also honored him as “Australian Humanist of the Year” in 2003. According to the Monash University, Trounson was a pioneer in developing the field on human IVF. As of 2022, physicians have delivered over 10 million babies via IVF and performed approximately 2.5 million IVF procedures annually. In 2013, IVF researchers cryopreserved 303,203 embryos, and that number has increased annually.

In 2024, Trounson was seventy-eight years old. He has four children and is married to Karin Hammarberg. They live in Australia.