Min Chueh Chang Chinese Reproductive Biologist

Educational History  Born in 1908 in Tai Yuan, China in the Shanxi Province  His father was a magistrate (higher level government official)  Was able to receive a high quality education  Bachelor’s in Animal Psychology from Tsing Hua University in 1933  Stayed on as a professor and studied nerve cells in the meantime

Educational History  Received a fellowship from Edinburgh University to study agricultural science  Left after a year to study ram spermatozoa with Arthur Walton at CambridgeArthur Walton  Research was invaluable for applications in artificial insemination of livestock  Left the university in 1945 to return home

Personal Life  Sought out and was granted a fellowship with Gregory Pincus to study in vitro fertilization in 1951Gregory Pincus  Lived and worked at the Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology alongside Pincus soon after the war Worchester Foundation for Experimental Biology  Spent most of the rest of his professional career there  Eventually awarded a Ph.D. in animal breeding by Cambridge in 1961

Personal Life  Many coworkers described him as a workaholic  Met a Chinese-American woman at Yale by the name of Isabelle Chin  Went on to obtain American citizenship  Married and later had three children that all went on to become highly successful  Confucian scholar in private  Strong emphasis on strict discipline for himself and his son  Male dominance in the family

Scientific Contributions  Observed the phenomenon today known as cold shock  Cold temps applied to exposed areas generates a breakdown in membrane structure & function  Also observed that unfertilized ova, when exposed to higher temperatures, will become infertile  Also found that only a single sperm is required for fertilization, disproving the belief that swarms of sperm were required

Scientific Contributions  Found that sperm are highly resistant to changes in pH  In 1951, discovered that sperm require a incubation period in the female reproductive tract before becoming viable  Called sperm capacitation; a phenomenon found in most mammalian species  In 1959, successfully utilized in vitro fertilization to produce a viable offspring with rabbits  The first recorded success of its kind

Scientific Contributions  His research would go on to aid in producing the first “test-tube baby”  Most known for his work on the oral contraceptive  Aka the birth-control pillthe birth-control pill  Helped in the development of synthetic progesterone (progestin), a key ingredient in the pill

Progestin  Progesterone plays an important role in maintaining a pregnancy, suppressing ovulation  Low levels allow menstruation to occur  The pills supply of progestin suppresses ovulation and make the uterine walls less receptive to implantation  Do you personally know anyone affected by Chang’s work?  Can you think of any other applications of Dr. Chang’s work?

Accomplishments  Published over 350 separate articles in multiple scientific journals over his career  Invited as a speaker to many meetings of his colleagues across the world  Awarded a Ph.D. in animal breeding for his work  Elected into the National Academy of Sciences in 1990, a year before his death in June of 1991

Accomplishments  Received numerous other awards for his work  The Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award – 1954  The Ortho Medal and Award from the American Fertility Society – 1961  The Hartman Award from the Society for the Study of Fertility – 1971  The Frances Amory Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences  The Wippman Scientific Research Award from Planned Parenthood of America

Sources  Buettner, K. A. (2007, November 8). Min Chueh Chang. The Embryo Project Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from  Greep, R. O. (n.d.). Min Chueh Chang. The National Academies Press. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from  Edwards, J. (2004). Walton, Arthur. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from  Gregory Pincus. (2001, January 1). American experience: The pill. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from  A Brief History of Birth Control. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved, from