Kirk Maxey
Encyclopedia
Personal life
Kirk M. Maxey was born in Kanab, UtahKanab, Utah
Kanab is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, United States. The area was first settled in 1864 and the town was founded in 1870 when ten Mormon families moved into the area. The population was 3,564 at the 2000 census...
. One of five children born to parents who were both employed by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, he spent his childhood in a number of different parks including Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...
, Grand Teton
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
, and Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
s.
Education and Academic Career
After receiving his degree in organic chemistryOrganic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
from Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
in 1977, Dr. Maxey worked as a medicinal chemist at the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
. He entered medical school at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1980 and, in that same year, founded the biomedical research company Cayman Chemical. While still a student, Maxey pioneered the use of natural prostaglandins from the soft coral P. Homomalla as medicinal chemicals.
In 2007 he founded Maxey Cosmetics and introduced the first cosmetic eyelash conditioner using the extracts of P. Homomalla to promote healthier, more youthful lashes.
Dr. Maxey has also been a consultant and expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
for Alcon
Alcon
Alcon incorporated and with corporate headquarters, in Hünenberg, Switzerland, is a global medical company specializing in eye care products. Alcon's U.S. headquarters is located in Fort Worth, Texas...
and Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
as well as a member of the Lipid Maps Consortium.
Dr. Maxey served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Donor Sibling Registry from 2006 through 2009. He is currently President and CEO of Cayman Chemical, and a member of the Board of Directors of Lasya, Inc.
Sperm Donation
Maxey was an active sperm donor for the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and Michigan IVF, and during that time, he provided more than 1000 semen samples under the pretext that they were being used for basic IVF research.
In May 2006, Maxey was contacted by two of his biological children from these donations, through their joint registry on the Donor Sibling Registry
Donor Sibling Registry
The Donor Sibling Registry is a website and non-profit US organization serving donor offspring, sperm donors, egg donors and other donor conceived people. It was founded in September, 2000 by a mother and son team, Wendy Kramer and Ryan Kramer of Nederland, Colorado...
. Together, they determined that it was mathematically possible that 400 offspring could have been conceived via these donations.
CaBRI
In 2005, Dr. Maxey established the Cayman Biomedical Research Institute (CaBRI) in in Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, a 501(c)(3) non-profit institute that works in collaboration with the Donor Sibling Registry
Donor Sibling Registry
The Donor Sibling Registry is a website and non-profit US organization serving donor offspring, sperm donors, egg donors and other donor conceived people. It was founded in September, 2000 by a mother and son team, Wendy Kramer and Ryan Kramer of Nederland, Colorado...
to help donor conceived children learn their ancestry. He has been a vocal advocate for reform of the sperm bank
Sperm bank
A sperm bank, semen bank or cryobank is a facility that collects and stores human sperm mainly from sperm donors, primarily for the purpose of achieving pregnancies through third party reproduction, notably by artificial insemination...
ing industry, advocating better health and genetic screening of donors and an end to sperm bank secrecy.
PGP-10 Membership
Dr. Maxey is a member of the PGP-10 — a group of ten volunteers who, as part of the Personal Genome ProjectPersonal Genome Project
The Personal Genome Project is a long term, large cohort study which aims to sequence and publicize the complete genomes and medical records of 100,000 volunteers, in order to enable research into personalized medicine. It was initiated by Harvard University's George Church and announced in...
, have agreed to let their complete genomes be released to the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
Works
Maxey is also the author of a book of poetry, essays, and general short stories called "Pig Blood". In it, he "gather[s] some of his creative writing to document for his (as yet) unknown offspring his experiences, opinions, and a bit of his personality". The book is not meant to (and does not) "describe [Maxey's] experience or views as a sperm donor".A representative essay from this book can be viewed online, free of charge, through the CaBRI home page.