Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Susan E. Lanzendorf (1958–2013): innovator, mentor, colleague

2013; Elsevier BV; Volume: 27; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.rbmo.2013.05.002

1472-6491

Susan Gitlin, Diane L. Wright,

Sperm and Testicular Function

Susan E. Lanzendorf, PhD, HCLD, CC, age 54, died on 2 April 2013 of pancreatic cancer. She was the IVF Laboratory Director and an associate professor for the Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Centre, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Dr Lanzendorf‘s career encompassed an era of dramatic technology growth in the field of human IVF. She began her graduate studies associated with Old Dominion University and The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. Her 1987 doctoral dissertation entitled ‘Microsurgical fertilization of mammalian eggs: an assessment of clinical utilization’ demonstrated a successful method for directly injecting spermatozoa into hamster and human oocytes to establish fertilization. The research, which was awarded the Prize Poster at the Fifth World Congress on In vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer in 1987 and was subsequently published in 1988 (Lanzendorf et al., 1988Lanzendorf S.E. Maloney M.K. Veeck L.L. Slusser J. Hodgen G.D. Rosenwaks Z. A preclinical evaluation of pronuclear formation by microinjection of human spermatozoa into human oocytes.Fertil. Steril. 1988; 49: 835-842Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (179) Google Scholar), would lead to the advent of the technique that revolutionized the treatment of male factor infertility – intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). To give a perspective, researchers in the mid-1980s did not have instant electronic access to publications as today. Most information presented outside of annual meetings was disseminated through monthly journals that transited the postal systems of various countries. To research a topic, one would visit the library or browse through Current Contents for somewhat up-to-date articles. Investigators had limited knowledge of the state of research in the field by the time their own work would be published. The first clinical pregnancy from ICSI occurred a few years later in Belgium (Palermo et al., 1992Palermo G. Joris H. Devroey P. Van Steirteghem A.C. Pregnancies after intracytoplasmic injection of single spermatozoon into an oocyte.Lancet. 1992; 340: 17-18Abstract PubMed Scopus (2919) Google Scholar), but Susan’s early work and publication of the pre-pregnancy findings was a critical cornerstone in the foundation for ICSI. After completing her PhD, Susan would further her skills in mammalian embryology and micromanipulation during her postdoctoral work at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Centre in Beaverton, Oregon. Her first clinical position would follow as Director of the IVF Laboratory at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, Illinois (1989–1991). Susan returned to The Jones Institute as Director of Gamete and Embryo Research (1991–2002). While there, Susan continued her innovative approach to new technologies. She was among the first to master embryo biopsy technique that led to the first birth after preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) analysing for Tay-Sachs disease (Gibbons et al., 1995Gibbons W.E. Gitlin S.A. Lanzendorf S.E. Kaufmann R.A. Slotnick R.N. Hodgen G.D. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis for Tay-Sachs disease: successful pregnancy after pre-embryo biopsy and gene amplification by polymerase chain reaction.Fertil. Steril. 1995; 63: 723-728Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (51) Google Scholar). In the mid-1990s, she investigated new methods for successfully cryopreserving immature oocytes (Toth et al., 1994Toth T.L. Baka S.G. Veeck L.L. Jones Jr., H.W. Muasher S. Lanzendorf S.E. Fertilization and in vitro development of cryopreserved human prophase I oocytes.Fertil. Steril. 1994; 61: 891-894Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (122) Google Scholar). While a few other centres offered cytoplasmic transfer, she implemented the technology to cryopreserve donor oocytes to eliminate the cumbersome need of synchronizing donors for cytoplasm harvest. This process would lead to the birth of healthy twins (Lanzendorf et al., 1999Lanzendorf S.E. Mayer J.F. Toner J. Oehninger S. Saffan D.S. Muasher S. Pregnancy following transfer of ooplasm from cryopreserved–thawed donor oocytes into recipient oocytes.Fertil. Steril. 1999; 71: 575-577Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (71) Google Scholar). Susan would next focus on embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. Her novel approach to utilize anonymous donor gametes to initiate the process of embryonic stem cell isolation would result in one of the early ESC lines (Lanzendorf et al., 2001Lanzendorf S.E. Boyd C.A. Wright D.L. Muasher S. Oehninger S. Hodgen G.D. Use of human gametes obtained from anonymous donors for the production of human embryonic stem cell lines.Fertil. Steril. 2001; 76: 132-137Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (95) Google Scholar). In all, she would have more than 70 publications impacting the areas of spermatozoa–oocyte interactions, PGD, in-vitro maturation of oocytes, oocyte and embryo cryopreservation, assisted hatching, and ESC derivation. Dr Lanzendorf was internationally known as one of the premier experts in human micromanipulation. From her laboratory at The Jones Institute, she offered training to an entire generation of embryologists in the skills of micromanipulation that would hasten the uptake of this valuable technology to the world of IVF. She also established a micromanipulation tool-making service before the widespread commercial availability of these pipettes. Susan brought her determination to excel to all she mentored, taking special interest in promoting women in science. While many may have initially been intimidated, most left her laboratory inspired, motivated and fulfilled, having learned a unique skill or new methodology along with retaining a valued mentor for their future careers. Graduate students and technical staff went on to medical schools or into clinical embryology; fellows on to their own successful IVF practices. As driven as Susan was in the laboratory, her personal life reflected her nurturing side. Her decision to adopt two children as a single parent, then meeting her eventual fiancé completed the balance between her professional life and personal life. She was a talented artist and her home reflects many of her works. Rooms are adorned with bright colours and mosaic tiles, all crafted with fine detail just as in the skills she utilized in her professional life. Several months before she died, Susan was asked what she saw as her legacy. She became very modest; she knew that investigators in other centres were conducting similar research at the same time in history. She credited so many others with being a part of the team in all her own research successes. Her humble nature was refreshing, yet also lacking in the credit that she truly deserved. Her legacy is perhaps demonstrated by the sentiment repeated over and over by colleagues upon hearing of her passing: how much each person would miss being able to call her with a question or to seek advice. She was a valued pioneer in the early technological advancements of IVF along with a wealth of knowledge and experience that she shared with ease. With the passing of Dr Lanzendorf and Professor Sir Robert Edwards, we are reminded that many observations and anecdotes of the early days in the IVF laboratory leave us as well. To those of you who are new to the field or have been working in a lab for a few years, we encourage you to learn the rich history of those early years. To those of you who lived through it, we encourage you to pass along your experiences. As the history serves as a basis for what we do in the laboratories today, it allows the spirit of Susan Lanzendorf and others to live on.