In Memoriam: Duane L. Garner, PhD.

Abstract

Duane L. Garner, a Founding Charter Member of the American Society of Andrology, our colleague, and more importantly, our friend passed away on July 5, 2020, at his home in Graeagle, California. Looking back over his life, it is easy to see how he became such an outstanding large-animal “Andrologist.” Early in life, Duane gained an appreciation for agriculture on his grandparents’ and parents’ cattle and sheep ranches in California's San Joaquin Valley. He was a 1953 graduate of Madera Union High School, where he was an active member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA), and served as an officer and member of several award-winning livestock judging teams. During his FFA career, he owned and managed a flock of Hampshire sheep, winning 13 showmanship contests and 26 overall championships and four state fair championships. In 1953, he was winner of the FFA State Farmer Award. Duane was a veteran and served in the US Army at Fort Knox, KY, as a Veterinary Specialist from 1959 to 1961. While on furlough in 1960, he married the love of his life, Betty “June” Allison. They were married for more than 60 years. In 1964, Duane earned a BS degree from California State University, Fresno. He then took graduate training at Washington State University, Pullman, under MH Ehlers, receiving an MS in 1967 and PhD in 1969. He was an NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in the laboratory of GW Salisbury. He then joined the faculty at Oklahoma State University in 1972, attaining full Professorship in 1984 and became a highly valued teacher of graduate and undergraduate students. His research is highly recognized, as he was among the first group of scientists to purify acrosin and to use immunofluorescent localization of acrosin in the analysis of spermatozoa.1-3 In the 1970s, Duane often participated in the annual Gordon Research Conferences, which were important for cutting-edge science. He was sure to recognize fledgling graduate students from other schools, helping them to not be overwhelmed, and made certain that they were introduced to everyone and included in the conversations. This demonstrated Duane's character, as cooperation was a hallmark of his scientific career. Throughout his career, students and scientists sought him out as a mentor. In 1981, Duane was a Guest Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, where he developed an interest in flow cytometry and was part of a team that first differentiated X- and Y-chromosome-bearing livestock spermatozoa based on their relative DNA content. His seminal papers in 19834 and 19865 in Biology of Reproduction resulted from these studies. In 1985, he became Professor and Chair of the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also continued his research using flow cytometry to assess sperm quality and function. In 1993, Duane was invited to take sabbatical leave at USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Maryland, to further pursue his research on sperm quality and function using flow cytometry and various fluorochromes. Using SYBR-14/ propidium iodide, he developed a new viability assay for spermatozoa,6, 7 which he helped to make commercially available as the Sperm Viability Kit™ by Invitrogen. Today, this assay is recognized as one of the premier techniques for evaluation of sperm quality in many species. Dr Garner moved to Colorado in 1999 to become Vice President for Research and Development of XY, Inc, and CSURF (Colorado State University Research Foundation). This partnership was set up to commercialize sex-sorted semen for mammals, especially in the cattle industry under a license granted by the USDA. He was also appointed Adjunct Professor at Colorado State University. This successful commercialization venture was eventually spun off to Sexing Technologies, Navasota, Texas. In 2001, Duane returned to Nevada and was named Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Biotechnology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He then moved to Graeagle, California, where he founded GametoBiology Consulting and served the animal AI industry with his broad experience in animal reproduction. Through these consulting activities, he helped Select Sires (Plain City, Ohio) and other "bull stud" programs on procedures, product quality control, and objective analyses in all areas of semen production. He blended a sound scientific background with common sense and comprehension of the realities of an efficient operation in a large commercial production system. His enthusiasm was contagious, and his recommendations and discussions were logical, practical, and widely sought. In each visit, he was sure to educate staff on the “why” and “how,” while suggesting alternatives for increasing productivity and/or product quality. Dr Garner mentored several undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students and was author or co-author of several book chapters and more than 110 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He served on many university and professional committees and as reviewer for numerous scientific journals, completing a manuscript review just days before passing away. Duane was very active in the scientific community and member of several major societies: the American Society of Andrology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Animal Science, the Society for the Study of Reproduction, the American Society for Cell Biology, and the International Society for Analytical Cytology. He was an invited speaker at many scientific meetings, workshops, and technical conferences. In 2018, the Association for Applied Animal Andrology awarded him "honorary life membership" in recognition of his numerous contributions to andrology. He also served as a co-investigator and consultant at American Breeders Service (now ABSGlobal, DeForest, Wisconsin). He regularly attended the American Society of Andrology Annual Meetings, a society he helped to found as a Charter member, and made the meetings fun, as he was always talking to the attendees and was one of the first on the dance floor at the annual banquets. He served on several committees and on numerous Editorial Boards, including the Journal of Andrology. Duane will be remembered for a lifetime devoted to evaluating quality of ejaculated spermatozoa and improving the quality of processed semen used for insemination. Animal breeders throughout the world benefitted from his work, as his procedures reduced assay time and substantially increased accuracy, precision, and reliability in deciding what samples should be rejected for use. His contributions to differentiating X- and Y-bearing spermatozoa by flow cytometry8 were foundational to the technology currently used worldwide for cattle and other species. Duane was a gregarious individual whose demeanor naturally made others feel comfortable in his presence. This often led to rapid conversion of acquaintances into lifelong friendships. Along with his wife, June, who often accompanied him to meetings, and his sons, Brian, Dean, and Evan, and other family members, the scientific community will remember and miss our friend, Dr Duane L. Garner.