Alfred Jost

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Alfred Jost (27 July 1916 – 3 February 1991) was a French endocrinologist who helped pioneer the study of fetal endocrinology. He discovered the Müllerian inhibitor, now known as anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), which blocks the development of female reproductive structures in male fetuses. His work showed that hormones from the testes, especially testosterone and AMH, drive male development, and that without these hormones the fetus tends to develop female characteristics. Jost was a professor at the University of Paris and led the Department of Comparative Physiology at the Collège de France in 1972. He was known for using surgical methods to study fetal development and for mentoring many students. He also studied how the testes form, showing that pre-Sertoli cells appear around germ cells to create the seminiferous tubules. Alfred Jost died on 3 February 1991 at age 74.