Internationally renowned researcher

FORMER Invermay scientist Allan Crawford was renowned internationally for sheep genomics research which put New Zealand about five years ahead of the rest of the world.

At the time of his death, in Dunedin on February 13 after a short illness, Dr Crawford (65) had been a valued and respected member of the AgResearch team for more than 30 years, as a scientist, science manager and research student supervisor.

He is remembered for his staunch support of his staff, his insightful and gentle guidance of novel and applied research directions, and his capacity to think broadly to identify opportunities across a range of disciplines then mentor his staff with the skills needed to address complex problems.

Born on December 15, 1951, at Putaruru, Dr Crawford was the middle child of James Robert Muirhead (Jim) Crawford and Margaret Jean (Jean) Marshall, his siblings being older sister Alison and younger brother Rob.

The family was at the time living at Tokoroa while Mr Crawford, a mechanical engineer, was involved in the installation of machinery at the Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill. They moved to Dannevirke about 18 months later for Mr Crawford’s employment as manager of the William Cable Foundry.

Dr Crawford started school at Dannevirke North School, continuing at Karori Normal School on the family’s move to Wellington around 1960. Secondary education at Wellington College was followed by a year at Victoria University before Dr Crawford enrolled at the University of Otago in Dunedin, hoping to enter medical school. Instead, he completed a BSc in microbiology, graduating in 1972.

The following year he gained a postgraduate diploma in microbiology, also at Otago.

He was awarded his PhD in microbiology from Otago in 1976, then spent two years on a Canadian Medical Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at Queens University in Kingston, Canada.

Returning to New Zealand in 1979, Dr Crawford spent about 10 years as an entomologist with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in Auckland, working on pathogens to control New Zealand’s worst pests, before moving on to unravelling the genetics of ruminants.

From 1989, he worked as a molecular biologist with MAFTech South, based in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Otago. With the formation of the Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) in July 1992, he transferred to AgResearch and was based at the Invermay Research Centre from 1999.

Dr Crawford’s many contributions include research into two major problems in sheep: internal parasites and facial eczema caused by a toxin produced from the spores of a fungus growing on pasture. But his key contribution was his rapid adoption of microsatellite genotyping technology for its use in sheep, deer and cattle.

He was one of the first people to realise the utility of simple sequence repeats, or microsatellite markers, in genetic linkage studies. A world first, this approach greatly sped up DNA marker development, reduced the quantity of DNA required, and decreased the cost more than tenfold.

The culmination of this work was the first genetic linkage map of sheep in 1995.

In addition, his research group of Tom Broad, Diana Hill, Grant Montgomery and Ken Dodds made an outstanding contribution to functional genomics through the discovery of genes associated with reproductive, disease resistance and production traits.

The group received a Royal Society science and technology medal in 199596.

Dr Crawford’s work has been characterised by the setting of exceptionally high standards and through leadership by example. His research in sheep genetics and genomes was recognised in 2002 by his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. The same year, he was also awarded the McMeekan Memorial Award.

After taking early retirement at the age of 59, Dr Crawford was honoured by AgResearch with the award of a position of an Emeritus Scientist.

He had been away from Invermay for several years when a proposal emerged to restructure AgResearch and was one of a group of five former AgResearch scientists who, in 2014, formally challenged the proposal. The group, including former Invermay director and AgResearch board member Dr Jock Allison, argued if the restructuring went ahead with the relocation of about 280 scientific positions, AgResearch would probably lose about quarter of its scientific staff, some of New Zealand’s highest calibre scientists.

In his private life, Dr Crawford married Pauline King in Invercargill on December 6, 1974. The couple had two daughters, Anna and Rachel.

An active and wellrounded person with wideranging interests, Dr Crawford had a great appreciation of the outdoors. He was a keen tramper from his days in the Scout movement in Wellington. For about 23 years, he and his family would make an annual expedition to one of the South Island’s national parks, generally meeting up with groups of tramping friends. They completed the northern and southern circuits of Stewart Island and also tramped to Dusky Sound.

He enjoyed kayaking, especially in the Golden Bay area, and was a skilled woodworker and cabinetmaker. While a pupil at Wellington College, he built a canoe in which he and members of his scout troop canoed down the Whanganui River. His woodworking and cabinetmaking skills later resulted in the creation of various items of furniture for the family home.

Other hobbies included gardening, which he loved, bridge, which he enjoyed immensely, and reading. His wife described him as ‘‘an avid reader’’ who seemed not to need a lot of sleep and who was fond of spending his nonsleeping night hours catching up with The Economist. A keen golfer, whitebaiter and fisherman, he relished the companionship involved with such pastimes and had an incredibly large network of male friends from all walks of life.

A member of the Dunedin Central Rotary Club, Dr Crawford became ill while on a Rotary group trip to India in January. On his return to Dunedin, he was immediately admitted to Dunedin Hospital. He died 15 days later.

He is survived by his wife Pauline, two daughters, Anna and Rachel, Rachel’s husband Yannik, and grandson Tane.