The idea for the Center was hatched in the Summer of 2001 by Dr. Stephen Ford, Professor and Rochelle Chair, in the Department of Animal Science at UW and Dr. Peter Nathanielsz, Director, Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, Texas.

     Further, both Dr. Ford and Dr. Nathanielsz were relocating.  Dr. Ford, a Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State for 22 years joined the Department of Animal Science at UW in May 2001, while Dr. Nathanielsz,  a Professor at Cornell University for 20 years, assumed Directorship of the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center.

       Both of these researchers have had a long and keen interest in gaining a better understanding of uterine and placental factors controlling the growth, development and birth of a healthy fetus.

 After visiting with the excellent life sciences research faculty at UW, and seeing the tremendous livestock facilities available there, Dr. Nathanielsz decided to relocate his sheep equipment and research animals, as well as several of his research personnel to UW to establish the Center. 

     Financial assistance in renovating laboratory and animal space for the Center and/or providing necessary equipment and personnel at UW were provided by Bill Gern, Vice President for Research, Frank Galey, Dean of Agriculture, Robert Kelly, Dean of Health Sciences, Randy Lewis, University of Wyoming NSF EPSCoR Project Director, and Doug Hixon, Chair, Department of Animal Science at UW, as well as the administration at UTHSCSA.

    This Center will have a double mission, in that it will be committed to developing understandings leading to the production of healthy, high quality livestock, while at the same time, applying this understanding to improve the health and longevity of human babies.

   Establishment of this Center is already attracting high quality under- graduate, graduate and post doctoral students as well as additional excellent life sciences faculty to UW.  The UW Center was officially opened at the Department of Animal Science Livestock Center west of Laramie with a ribbon cutting ceremony on September 21st, 2002, with Drs. Ford and Nathanielsz serving as Center Co-Directors.