Thanks Roger for this biography. It is amazing to hear about Jean's contribution to those early days and to find out that she was the first person in observe a human blastocyst in vitro! When I began my career as a clinical embryologist in Sheffield (c1990), we used to make our in-house IVF media and supplement with 15% serum donated by our fertility nurses. We didn't have freezing technology back then and we kept embryos in culture to Day 5. I remember seeing human blastocysts develop for first time - truly amazing. I took a photo of one using a polaroid camera through the microscope eyepiece. I presented it on a poster at my first ESHRE meeting in 1993. The poster (made of sections of card, as we had no digital technology back then) was awarded a rosette, presumedly because few people had seen such a photo! Yet, to now know that Jean was the first embryologist to see a human blastocyst is humbling. She must have been so excited - and yet only able to share the news with Bob and Patrick!
Thank you for posting. And keeping her legacy alive. Joe Schulman, in the years I worked with him, always spoke fondly of this amazing pioneering team.
What a wonderful person she was. Jean was ahead of her time and left a legacy of a lifetime. It is so sad she died so young but she left her mark on the world and now the threesome are United in time again. Her legacy lives on in the beautiful lives she helped bring into the world.🫶🩷🙋♀️
Thank you Roger - this is a really enjoyable read, although it’s sad that she didn’t live longer to see the fruits of her labour. Hearing about the basic lab set-up reminded me of the lab where I worked in the early 90’s - very simple equipment compared to what is used nowadays! Jean must have been a truly special woman - thank you for bringing us her story.
Thanks Roger for this biography. It is amazing to hear about Jean's contribution to those early days and to find out that she was the first person in observe a human blastocyst in vitro! When I began my career as a clinical embryologist in Sheffield (c1990), we used to make our in-house IVF media and supplement with 15% serum donated by our fertility nurses. We didn't have freezing technology back then and we kept embryos in culture to Day 5. I remember seeing human blastocysts develop for first time - truly amazing. I took a photo of one using a polaroid camera through the microscope eyepiece. I presented it on a poster at my first ESHRE meeting in 1993. The poster (made of sections of card, as we had no digital technology back then) was awarded a rosette, presumedly because few people had seen such a photo! Yet, to now know that Jean was the first embryologist to see a human blastocyst is humbling. She must have been so excited - and yet only able to share the news with Bob and Patrick!
Thank you for posting. And keeping her legacy alive. Joe Schulman, in the years I worked with him, always spoke fondly of this amazing pioneering team.
What a wonderful person she was. Jean was ahead of her time and left a legacy of a lifetime. It is so sad she died so young but she left her mark on the world and now the threesome are United in time again. Her legacy lives on in the beautiful lives she helped bring into the world.🫶🩷🙋♀️
Thank you Roger - this is a really enjoyable read, although it’s sad that she didn’t live longer to see the fruits of her labour. Hearing about the basic lab set-up reminded me of the lab where I worked in the early 90’s - very simple equipment compared to what is used nowadays! Jean must have been a truly special woman - thank you for bringing us her story.