richard sharpe is emeritus professor at the university of edinburgh (uoe) college of medicine & veterinary medicine and is recognized world-wide as a leading scientist in the field of male reproductive health and developmental disorders of the male reproductive system. until march 2016 he headed a research programme in the mrc/uoe centre for reproductive health (http://www.crh.ed.ac.uk). his expertise and research interests cover sexual differentiation, development and puberty (and disorders thereof), fetal programming, endocrinology, the effects of lifestyle, drugs and environmental chemical exposures on reproductive development and function.