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Dr. Van Blerkom performed Colorado’s first successful in vitro fertilization procedure in 1982. He is recognized throughout the world as a preeminent expert on egg and sperm physiology. He has been Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder since 1986 and IVF Laboratory Director, Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology, Rose Medical Center, Denver, CO since 1998. He is also Co-Coordinator: ESHRE/WHO Task Force on Reproductive Health in the Developing World. |
He has lectured extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. He also serves on the editorial board of several international publications and has written numerous articles and books.
Soon after Dr. Van Blerkom started his IVF lab, U.S. News and World Report listed Dr. Van Blerkom’s IVF lab among the nation’s top 10 laboratories dealing with advanced reproductive technologies.
Dr. Van Blerkom earned B.S. (General Honors and Honors in Biology and Biochemistry) from College of New York City in 1969 and Ph.D. from Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from University of Colorado at Boulder, 1974.
He has held many dignified positions including Fellow of European Molecular Biology Organization, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England; Lecturer Department of Pediatrics, B.F. Stolinsky Laboratory, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO; Senior Research Associate, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder and Faculty Fellow, Institute of Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado at Boulder. From 1982 to 1999, he was IVF Laboratory Director at Reproductive Genetics In Vitro, Denver, CO. In 2012, he was Trustee, Walking Egg Foundation.
His studies have focused on molecular and cellular aspects of early mammalian development including human follicles, oocytes and embryos. His current research centers on the role(s) of mitochondria in early development, and the molecular organization of the oocyte and embryo plasma membrane as related to developmental competence.