Frank Rattray Lillie

Lillie joined Whitman at the MBL in 1891 and completed a doctorate on freshwater-mussel cell lineages in 1894. His 1908 book The Development of the Chick used serial sections and illustrations from successive stages to make embryonic structures comparable in teaching and investigation.

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From 1914 Lillie investigated female cattle fetuses with abnormal reproductive development that shared gestation with a male twin. Dissection and vascular injections demonstrated blood connections between fetal membranes. He proposed that circulating factors from the male influenced female sexual differentiation; subsequent work continued to investigate the specific mechanisms.

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Lillie helped organize the MBL embryology course and worked with Whitman to secure funding and institutional autonomy. He later directed the laboratory, chaired its governing body and participated in establishing WHOI. Developing teaching materials, facilities and financial support accompanied his experimental work.

References: [1]