Beth Crichton

Elizabeth (Beth) Crichton gained her B.Sc with Honours at the Australian National University, her Ph.D at the University of Queensland and undertook her postdoctoral studies at the University of Arizona. She subsequently spent time at the University of Hawaii and Penn State University under the auspices of an NSF Visiting Professorship award to promote women in Science.

Beth has taught at various universities in Australia and the USA, and additionally has held research positions at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and at XY Inc. in the USA and the Camel Reproduction Centre in Dubai, UAE. She holds an honorary adjunct professor position in the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland.  Her research interests began with a focus on the reproductive biology of native rodents and then turned to bats for the fascinating models they offer to understand physiological processes, particularly with respect to ovarian function and gamete biology. Subsequently, with a zoo appointment, her research interest transferred to studies of protocols to assist reproduction in endangered species with an emphasis on big cats, elephants and gorillas. In more recent years she has focused on sperm biology and preservation in cattle and camels.

Beth has some 60+ research papers and abstracts on a wide variety of species and topics and has co-edited a book on the “Reproductive Biology of Bats” with her postdoctoral mentor.