Richard Sharpe is Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine and is recognized world-wide as a leading scientist in the field of male reproductive health and developmental disorders of the male reproductive system. Until March 2016 he headed a research programme in the MRC/UoE Centre for Reproductive Health. His expertise and research interests cover sexual differentiation, development and puberty, fetal programming, endocrinology, the effects of lifestyle, drugs and environmental chemical exposures on reproductive development and function.
Professor Sharpe’s scientific career got off to a shaky start. As an undergraduate at London University the rugby field and the bar took up rather too much of Richard’s time and he was ‘asked to leave’ following some disappointing exam results. But after working in a factory for a year he realized that studying was actually easier, and he returned to university, graduating in 1970. He then moved to Bristol University and, unusually for an academic researcher, began his career as a technician, working with Philip Brown - who had developed bioassays and radioimmunoassays for gonadotropins. Philip spotted Richard’s talents and became a kind of mentor, encouraging Richard to study for his MSc. He then joined the Medical Research Council Reproductive Biology Unit in Edinburgh in 1974 and his research career received a boost in 1976 when one of his first research papers was published in the journal Nature, while he was still a PhD student. Many would regard his outstanding contribution to be his ability to see the coherent biological process behind reproduction, where his work is an outstanding example of translational research from experimental studies to clinical investigation of andrological disorders. His understanding of human fertility and infertility lead him to carry out many highly original animal studies that were necessary to understand the human problems, including the role of androgens in fetal life for the later development of the reproductive system and cell-cell interactions within it. The oestrogen hypothesis is a citation classic which developed into the hypothesis of early androgen deprivation during fetal life, illustrated by experiments using phthalates. While he was not the first to show effects of phthalates on the fetal rat testis, he saw its broader significance for human reproduction – and again he built a bridge here between basic science and clinical research. Another outstanding contribution is his generous collaboration with clinical scientists in the field. He has been an inspiration for numerous international research groups and collaborates with leading researchers in 9 countries. Richard inherited his mentor Philip Brown’s enthusiasm for nurturing young researchers, and has supervised more than 20 PhD and Masters students and many others as a joint supervisor. He also has a particular interest in the public communication of science and has spoken at a number of science festivals in the UK and abroad. He has served on numerous expert panels and statutory or advisory bodies in the UK, Europe and USA, including:
