Duane Kraemer

Abstract

Dr. Duane Carl Kraemer, "Dewey" was born 1933 and raised on a dairy farm near Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and obtained a B.S. degree in Animal Husbandry from the University of Wisconsin in 1955. He moved from Wisconsin and entered the graduate program at Texas A&M University where his mentor was; Dr. R. O. Berry, who from 1932 was the first to perform embryo transfers intra- and interspecifically in sheep and goats. Dr. Berry greatly influenced his interest in the field of embryo transfer technology and this led to his obtaining an M.S. degree in Physiology of Reproduction in 1960, a B.S. degree in Veterinary Science in 1965, a D.V.M. degree in Veterinary Medicine and a Ph.D. degree in Physiology of Reproduction in 1966 at Texas A&M University. Shortly after his arrival to College Station and having been commissioned in the ROTC he was activated into the Armed Services and for two years served as a commanding officer for the military police detachment at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Islands. Since 1959, his research has focused on various aspects of embryo transfer and related technologies. In 1971, he performed bovine embryo transfers that resulted in the first purebred calves to be produced by a commercial embryo transfer company. He worked for 8 years at the South-western Foundation for Research and Education in San Antonio, Texas, on the development of contraceptive agents and embryo transfer in baboons and reported the birth of the first non-human primate by embryo transfer in the journal Science in 1976. He subsequently reported the first births of cats and dogs by embryo transfer. With his students and colleagues, he has conducted pioneering research on non-domestic and endangered species. He has served in the capacity of an adjunct and clinical professor and scientist at five academic and research institutions. In 1975, Dr. Kraemer returned to Texas A&M University where he continues to serve as an active member of the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Veterinary Medicine (tenured in 1980), the Department of Animal Sciences, and the Faculties of Genetics and Reproductive Biology. He served as the associate Director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs in the College of Veterinary Medicine in the Texas A&M University system. In 2006, he received the International Embryo Transfer Society's Pioneer Award. Currently, in 2017 Dr. Kraemer is a retired Senior Professor and frequently can be found at the College today.