Distinguished Andrologist Award
DESCRIPTION
This is the highest award of the Society, presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the progress of Andrology.
NOMINATIONS
The ASA Awards Committee asks for nominations each year in July. Only ASA members are allowed to nominate individuals for this award. The deadline to submit nominations to the Awards Committee is late August/early September.
2021 AWARD RECIPIENT
R. John Aitken, PhD
University of Newcastle

Biography
In addition to his extensive publications revealing the role of oxidative stress in the etiology of defective sperm function, he has made fundamental discoveries relating to other aspects of sperm cell biology. With colleagues Brett Nixon and Mark Baker, Dr. Aitken has unravelled novel pathways involved in both sperm viability and sperm-egg recognition. Dr. Aitken was also instrumental in promoting the use of proteomics as a tool to understand the fundamentals of sperm biology, publishing the first extensive proteomic inventories for human, rat and mouse spermatozoa that have been used as a resource by the field for several years. With colleague Zamira Gibb, Dr. Aitken has extended his research into domestic animals, developing novel methods for the selection, assessment and long-term storage of equine and bovine spermatozoa that are now being commercialized by the German veterinary company, Minitübe.
Dr. Aitken ’s individual research contributions are presented in over 650 books, book chapters and journal articles that have been cited around 50,000 times, generating an h-index of 115, with his top cited articles referenced over 1000 times. He has built a Priority Research Centre in Reproductive Science at the University of Newcastle that has a strong focus on Andrology and mentored a new generation of scientists with a committed interest in this field. Dr. Aitken has personally supervised 43 PhD students (9 current) and brought in more than $50 million in research funding. With colleagues from the University of Queensland, University of Melbourne and Monash University he also established and Directed an ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development that, again, had a strong emphasis on andrology.
Dr. Aitken has served our discipline as President of the International Society of Andrology, as a member of the editorial boards of several andrology journals (Journal of Andrology, Asian Journal of Andrology, Basic and Clinical Andrology) and as Chair of a WHO task force dealing with male fertility regulation – a theme that continues today through an international network of collaborations involving companies and funding agencies working in this area including Eudaemon, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and the Found Animals Foundation.
He is a member of several prestigious learned societies such as the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
In recognition of his exceptional scientific contributions to the field of Andrology, outstanding leadership in the ASA and broader scientific community, and commitment to advancement of science in male reproductive health, the American Society of Andrology is pleased to award its highest honor, the Distinguished Andrologist Award to Dr. John Aitken.
Award Recipients
- 2021 R. John Aitken, PhD
- 2020 Vassilios Papadopoulos
2019 Terry T. Turner2018 John McCarrey2017 Masaru Okabe2016 Barry T. Hinton2015 Deborah A. O’Brien2014 Gail Prins2013 Christina Wang2012 Erwin Goldberg2011 Barry Zirkin2010 Dolores Lamb2009 William Bremner2008 Bernard Robaire2007 Eberhard Nieschlag2006 Norman Hecht
2005 Mitch Eddy2004 Ronald Swerdloff2003 David M. de Kretser2002 Geoffrey Malcolm Hasting Waites2001 Frank S. French2000 Bayard T. Storey1999 Richard D. Amelar1998 Ryuzo Yanagimachi1997 Brian P. Setchell1996 J. Michael Bedford1995 Rupert P. Amann1994 Richard J. Sherins1993 Anna Steinberger1992 C. Wayne Bardin1991 Philip Troen
1990 Marie-Claire Orgebin-Crist1989 C. Alvin Paulsen1988 Yves W. Clermont1987 Emil Steinberger1986 Alfred D. Jost1985 Robert H. Foote1984 Mortimer B. Lipsett1983 Kristen B.D. Eik-Nes1982 Eugenia Rosemberg1981 Alexander Albert1980 John MacLeod1979 Thaddeus Mann1978 Robert S. Hotchkiss1977 Robert E. Mancini1976 Roy O. Greep and M.C. Chang