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UW-Madison Emeritus Professor Neal First Passes
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 12/19/2014

A pioneer in cattle reproduction and cloning who studied animal physiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 45 years has died from complications of cancer. Emeritus Professor Neal First passed away last month at the age of 85.

After getting his Ph.D. at Michigan State University, First started work at the UW-Madison Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in the early 1960s, where he taught a wide range of courses related to animal health. His lab was best known for studies on the mechanisms of reproduction in swine, cattle and horses. His work in 80s focused on how sperm and eggs are matured for fertilization set the stage for in vitro fertilization of cattle.

These advances also set the stage for cloning of cattle embryos, says James Robl, who was a postdoc with First during the mid-1980s.

"He had a large program, was putting together all the components necessary to do any kind of in vitro manipulation with large-animal embryos, developing methods of in vitro fertilization and embryo cultivation," Robl said.

First's work led to the first cloned calf, playfully named Gene, which was born in 1997 at ABS Global Inc. in DeForest.

Among the many significant awards First received were membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1989, and the Wolf Prize in Agriculture in 1997, which is one of several prizes awarded by the Wolf Foundation to outstanding scientists and artists.


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