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Veterinarians and Animal Scientists

Dr. Robert Church: Scientist, Rancher and Cattle Genetics Pioneer

A Calgary-born geneticist who moved embryo transfer from the laboratory into the cattle business and ran a Luing ranch of his own.

Who was Dr. Robert Church?

Robert Bertram Church, known as Bob, was born on May 7, 1937, in Calgary, according to the University of Calgary archives. He earned a B.Sc. in animal genetics and physiology in 1962 and an M.Sc. in animal genetics in 1963, both at the University of Alberta, and a Ph.D. at the Institute of Animal Genetics in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1965.

He combined three careers that rarely overlap: a medical school founder, a biotechnology entrepreneur and a working cattleman. The Alberta Order of Excellence says he is a third-generation Albertan whose grandparents homesteaded in the Yankee Valley and Nose Creek districts, and that he was raised on the family farm and ranch at Balzac.

From University of Calgary lab to embryo transfer

After time in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington, Church joined the University of Calgary in 1967 as founding professor and head of medical biochemistry. He later served as associate dean for medical research, from 1981 to 1988, and retired as professor emeritus in 1992, per the archives.

The Alberta Order of Excellence profile calls him a pioneer of molecular genetics and embryo transfer technology in cattle. It lists him as a former director of Alberta Livestock Transplants of Calgary, now part of AltaGenetics, and of Alta Genetics Inc. The pages reviewed do not give dates for those directorships or describe the company's founding, so the common claim that he led the first commercial embryo transfer company is not confirmed here.

Companies, consulting and Lochend Luing Ranch

He founded Church Livestock Consultants in 1967, and the archives list it as running to 1992. The Alberta Order of Excellence says he helped establish eleven new high-technology companies in Alberta, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.

He and his wife owned Lochend Luing Ranch northwest of Airdrie. The start date differs by source, 1972 in the archives and 1974 in the Order of Excellence profile. The ranch developed a verified production protocol for a retail-ready beef product branded Natural Choice. The Luing is a beef breed developed in Scotland, and the Canadian Beef Breeds Council describes him as a purebred Luing breeder.

  • Directorships listed include Connaught Laboratories, Monsanto, Biostar, CIBA Canada and the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization.
  • He sat on Canada's Agri-Food Competitiveness Council board.
  • He was a founding member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
  • He directed the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede for 20 years and served as its president.

Honors and awards

His honors span agriculture, science and public service. He was named Klinck Lecturer by the Agricultural Institute of Canada in 1989 and was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1992 the ASTech Foundation recognized his outstanding contribution to the Alberta science and technology community, and in 1993 he joined the Alberta Order of Excellence.

He became a member of the Order of Canada in 2002 and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, according to the University of Calgary. The Alberta government's page lists him as a 2006 Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame inductee. The Canadian Beef Breeds Council gave him its Don Matthews Memorial Award for Excellence in Animal Health at its annual meeting in Calgary on March 13, 2014.

The Key to Church's Success

The record shows a man who moved easily between a laboratory and a corral. He took genetics and reproductive technology from the university into companies, and he kept a ranch where ideas about beef production could be tested.

Accounts also differ in places. The Alberta profile says he authored over 100 scientific publications, while the University of Calgary says more than 200 research papers, so the count is given as sources differ.

  • He built an institution first: a founding member of the Faculty of Medicine and first head of medical biochemistry at Calgary.
  • He turned research into business, helping start eleven technology companies on several continents.
  • He stayed a rancher, running Luing cattle and developing a verified beef protocol.
  • He sat on science and agriculture boards, linking researchers, industry and government.
  • He supervised 17 graduate students and eight postdoctoral fellows, per the Alberta profile.

Public service and giving back

Church served on the Alberta Research Council, the Medical Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and the board of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Centre. He was vice-chairman of the Premier's Council on Science and Technology and, per the Beef Breeds Council, founding chair of the Alberta Science and Research Authority.

He and his family supported the Robert B. Church Legacy of Leadership Fund, which helps medical students in multidisciplinary learning, technology and entrepreneurship, per the University of Calgary. He was named Chief Black Eagle of the Treaty Seven Nation in Alberta.

Learn more

He died on September 6, 2019, and the University of Calgary published an obituary notice at University of Calgary News. His Hall of Fame record is on the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame page. For related stories on cattle genetics and Alberta ranching, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Alberta cattle genetics.

Timeline

  1. 1937Born in Calgary, Alberta, on May 7
  2. 1965Earns a Ph.D. at the Institute of Animal Genetics, Edinburgh
  3. 1967Joins the University of Calgary as founding head of medical biochemistry; founds Church Livestock Consultants
  4. 1981Becomes associate dean for medical research, serving to 1988
  5. 1991Inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame
  6. 1993Joins the Alberta Order of Excellence
  7. 2006Inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame
  8. 2019-09-06Dies aged 82

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dr. Robert Church?

He was a Calgary-born geneticist, University of Calgary professor and Luing rancher who pioneered embryo transfer technology in cattle, helped start many biotechnology companies and received the Order of Canada in 2002.

What halls of fame was Robert Church inducted into?

He was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2006, and he joined the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1993.

What was Lochend Luing Ranch?

It was the Church family's ranch northwest of Airdrie, Alberta, where they raised Luing cattle and developed a verified production protocol for a retail beef product branded Natural Choice.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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