David de Kretser

BIOGRAPHY

David de Kretser assumed office as the 28th Governor of Victoria in April 2006. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Professor de Kretser obtained his Doctorate of Medicine from Monash University in 1969, his research having focused on the structure and function of the human testis. Prior to studying at Monash, he received Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the University of Melbourne.

During his career Professor de Kretser has made a significant contribution to the field of male fertility. His research into reproductive biology, infertility and endocrinology has resulted in over 442 papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals and over 156 chapters in learned texts.

Professor de Kretser was the founding director of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, now known as the Monash Institute of Medical Research, serving from 1991 to 2005. He was a professor of anatomy in Monash University's Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences from 1978 to 2005 and the Faculty's associate dean for biotechnology development from 2002 to 2006. In 2000, Professor de Kretser founded Andrology Australia, a successful educational program in male reproductive health. In 2003, he was named a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor.

Made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2001, Professor de Kretser also received the Centenary Medal in 2003 and a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2006. On an international level, he won the USA Endocrine Society's Robert H Williams Distinguished Leadership Award in 2004 and the American Society of Andrology's Distinguished Andrologist Award in 2003.