Recipient of the 2022 IETS Distinguished Service Award: Dr Peter J. Hansen

Dr Peter J. Hansen obtained the BS degree in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Illinois and the MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Endocrinology-Reproductive Physiology. His research focused on regulation of puberty and the postpartum period in beef cattle. Dr Hansen was a post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Florida where he studied maternal recognition of pregnancy and uterine biology. Since 1984, he has been a faculty member at the University of Florida, first in the College of Veterinary Medicine and since 1986 in the Department of Animal Sciences. His current position is Distinguished Professor and L.E. ‘Red’ Larson Professor of Animal Sciences. Dr Hansen is deeply involved in teaching, research, service and outreach.

Dr Hansen attended his first IETS meeting in 1996 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has been an active member ever since. He received the 2012 Mentor of the Year Award from the Morula Student Organization. He was Program Co-Chair of the 2001 Annual Meeting, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee for the 2006 and 2011 annual meeting in Orlando and Program Chair of the 2020 meeting in New York, New York. He also developed the idea of the IETS Innovation Workshop and organised the first workshop in St. Augustine Florida, 15–16 October 2012 and the second in Orlando Florida on 26 October 2017.

Dr Hansen was a member of the Board of Governors and Treasurer from 2008 to 2010, He was Vice President of the IETS from 2012 to 2013 and served as President from 2013 to 2014.

Dr Hansen continues to assist with the excellent fiscal health of the IETS and its investments. He has also served as President of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology and the International Congress of Animal Reproduction. He is currently the Vice President of the Society for the Study of Reproduction.

Dr Hansen has been involved in embryo transfer and embryo biology research since 1986 and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, chapters and technical articles. Dr Hansen is currently involved with disseminating embryo technologies regarding heat stress in cattle around the world. In his career, Dr Hansen has conducted basic and applied research to formulate new concepts regarding the nature of the interaction between the maternal system and developing embryo. His work has resulted in use of embryo transfer to alleviate maternal infertility caused by heat stress. He has characterised genes that confer thermotolerance in dairy cattle, lead development of a new line of Holstein dairy cattle with increased resistance to heat stress, and contributed to industry wide-efforts to improve the reliability of estimates of breeding value for reproductive traits. He has received several awards for his research and is a Fellow of the American Dairy Science Association, American Society of Animal Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society for the Study of Reproduction, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Dr Hansen’s commitment and dedication to the International Embryo Technology Society has been unwavering. He has been a tireless advocate for embryo research, the embryo transfer industry, new embryo technologies and for students. Dr Peter J. Hansen can serve as the model of the engaged scientist. He has made significant contributions to the embryo transfer industry and embryo biology while giving selflessly to the IETS and the broader scientific community. He is a most deserving recipient of the 2022 IETS Distinguished Service Award.