Peter Robert Brinsden MBBS MRCS LRCP FRCOG FRGS. Peter Brinsden was born in Peking, China, and lived in China, the United States, Canada and Hong Kong as a child. He was educated at Rugby School and qualified in medicine from St George’s Hospital, London, in 1966, when he joined the Royal Navy. He served at sea and then at RN Hospitals Haslar (Gosport), Stonehouse (Plymouth), Mtarfa (Malta) twice, Gibraltar and attended the Senior Officers’ Staff Course at Latimer. He qualified as a Consultant Gynaecologist in 1978. He retired from the Royal Navy in 1982 in the rank of Surgeon Commander. He gained his MRCOG in 1976 and FRCOG in 1989, choosing to specialise in fertility and Assisted Reproduction (IVF etc.). He was appointed Medical Director of Bourn Hall Clinic, the World’s first IVF Clinic in 1989, following the death of Mr Patrick Steptoe CBE FRCOG, the pioneer of IVF. Following his semi-retirement in 2006 Peter acted as Consultant Medical Director of Bourn Hall Clinic until 2016. Peter has Honorary or Visiting Professorships at the Capital Medical University, Beijing; Peking Union Medical College (where he was born!) and China Southern Medical University, Guangzhou. He has travelled widely to lecture, especially in the Middle East, India and China. He has led three delegations of gynaecologists from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to China in the past six years and one to Japan.

Peter is Editor of three editions of "A Textbook of in vitro Fertilization and Assisted Reproduction; co-editor of "A Manual of Intrauterine Insemination and Ovulation Induction" and “An Infertility Manual”. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals, mainly on assisted reproduction and more than fifty book chapters. He served as President of the British Fertility Society from 2009 - 2012. He was Vice-Chairman of the Nelson Society 2008 - 2011 and his other hobbies include wildlife photography, exploring Dartmoor, sailing and his Grandchildren. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) in 2017.

(Abbrev biog. Updated 2021) Further detail may be found in Who’s Who and online.