Editorial Board
Reproduction and Fertility is recently launched, and as such the Editorial Board is continuing to grow.
Interested in reviewing for the journal? Email the editorial office.
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Andrew Horne, PhD, FRCOG, FRCP Edin, FRCSEd, FRSE Professor of Gynaecology and Reproductive Sciences at The MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, UK Professor Horne’s research interests include understanding the causes of ectopic pregnancy and investigating novel methods for treatment, as well as investigating the aetiology, and researching novel treatment approaches, of persistent pelvic pain and endometriosis. |
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Norah Spears, D Phil Professor of Reproductive Physiology at the Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, UK Her interests focus on gonadal development, particularly the ovary. Current research is as part of Edinburgh Fertility Preservation, investigating how chemotherapy treatment can affect the gonads: for young people, effects of cancer treatment on fertility are of great concern, yet the primary site of action of chemotherapeutic drugs on the gonads is still unknown, hampering the development of treatments to mitigate these adverse effects. |
| ASSOCIATE EDITORS | |
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Kate Brian, BA, MA Lay Editor Fertility Network UK Kate Brian is Operations Manager at the patient charity Fertility Network UK. She edits the Journal of Fertility Counselling and is a lay representative for Health Education England. Kate is a former television journalist and is the author of five books about fertility and pregnancy. She was a board member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and a member of the government’s Women’s Health Task Force. She was the first Women’s Voices Lead at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and in 2021 was awarded an honorary Fellowship of the College. |
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Antonio Capalbo, PhD Reproduction and Genetics Scientific and Laboratory Director, Igenomix Italy Since 2008, he has been working in clinical embryology and reproductive genetics, pioneering the modern approaches for embryo biopsy and preimplantation genetic testing technologies, and contributing to the development of preconception genomic medicine applications. His basic research interests involve the study of the mechanisms of chromosomal segregation errors during meiosis and mitosis in human gametes and preimplantation embryos, as well as the identification of genomic defects responsible for different embryo developmental defects and infertility phenotypes. His research activity is documented by over 100 peer-reviewed publications. |
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Ying Cheong, MB ChB, BAO, MA, FRCOG, MD Infertility Professor of Reproductive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK Ying is the Professor of Reproductive Medicine and the Associate Dean of Enterprise at the University of Southampton. She is also the Medical Director at the Complete Fertility Centre, Southampton. Ying’s research interest is in translational medicine, taking novel key reproductive development concepts from bench to bedside. Her work is interdisciplinary, with collaborators across disciplines in the School of Electronics and Computer Science and Nanoscience within the University of Southampton in the development of nano-therapeutics and medical biosensors. |
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Rohan Chodankar, MD Non-Malignant Gynaecology, and Media Clinical Research Fellow, Deanery of Clinical Sciences, MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, UK Dr Chodankar is a Specialty Trainee in Obstetrics & Gynaecology working at NHS Lothian. He is also pursuing a higher research degree at the University of Edinburgh which is focused on Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB). His interests include AUB, chronic pelvic pain and minimally invasive surgical techniques to manage these conditions. |
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Pierre Comizzoli, DVM, PhD Wildlife Reproduction Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, Washington DC, USA Dr Comizzoli is a Program Leader at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park in Washington DC. Pierre works on gamete and gonadal tissue cryo-banking for rare and endangered species, developing cutting-edge approaches to fertility preservation and assisted reproduction. He implements artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transfer in diverse species (from amphibians to mammals) that have resulted in the births of healthy individuals. Pierre works on projects around the world – currently he oversees conservation breeding projects on wild carnivores and ungulates in Northern Africa and in Southeast Asia. |
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Wei Cui, PhD Animal Models Principal Investigator & Director of Animal Models Core, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA Assistant Professor Cui has over 15 years of experience in mammalian oocytes and pre-implantation embryo development. Dr Cui has created live transgenic cloned goats by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and has generated several knockout rat and mouse lines by ZFN, TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9. In addition to research, Dr Cui is also the Director of Animal Models Core in the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS), Massachusetts, USA. |
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W Colin Duncan, BSc, MBChB, MD, FRCOG Reproductive Medicine Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Science, The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK Colin Duncan is a Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Science based in the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. His research interests include polycystic ovary syndrome translating the findings from a clinically realistic ovine model of PCOS into the clinic. He has published widely on maternal recognition of pregnancy and early pregnancy problems and his clinical interests are reproductive medicine and ovulation induction. |
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Francesca Gioia Klinger, PhD Female Reproduction (Basic Sciences) Assistant Professor in Histology and Embryology, Saint Camillus International University Of Health Sciences, Rome, Italy Dr Francesca Klinger is Assistant Professor in Histology and Embryology. Her research interests include reproductive and developmental biology, histology, and stem and germ cell biology, with a primary focus on investigating how different drugs, such as chemotherapics, can impact on subsequent female fertility and ovarian function. The aims of her research are to develop new methodologies for the preservation of fertility. |
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Mathew Leonardi, MD Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, and Media Gynaecological surgeon and sonologist, McMaster University, Canada; University of Sydney, Australia Assistant Professor Leonardi is a minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon and sonologist at McMaster University in Canada. He is simultaneously finishing his PhD at the University of Sydney, which is focused on the utility of ultrasound in the diagnosis and surgical management of endometriosis. He serves on the Next Generation Committee for the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. His clinical and research interests include pelvic pain and endometriosis, diagnostic imaging in gynecology, and surgery. |
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Raymond Li, MBBS, MD, FRCOG, FHKAM (O&G), Cert RCOG (Reproductive Medicine), Cert HKCOG (Reproductive Medicine) IVF (Clinical) and Clinical Endocrinology Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Dr Li is a Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine. He is currently Clinical Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Hong Kong. He is also Honorary Medical Consultant, The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. He has been serving as Chair of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Committee, Asia and Oceania Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (AOFOG) since 2017. His clinical and research interests are in reproductive endocrinology, subfertility and family planning. |
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George Liperis, PhD Early Career Editor Deputy Scientific Director, Westmead Fertility Centre, University of Sydney, Australia George Liperis is an ESHRE-certified Senior Clinical Embryologist practicing Clinical Embryology, combining genetic analysis and research in Human Reproduction. His research interests consist of the development of improved methods of assisted conception. During his professional career, he has developed a range of clinical, research and teaching skills and has been invited to teach at workshops and present at a number of international conferences. He is also a member of the editorial boards of ESHRE journal club and Focus of Reproduction. |
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Federica Lopes, PhD Basic and Translational Male Reproductive Sciences University of Dundee, UK Dr Federica Lopes is a Lecturer in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Dundee. She is co-lead of the MSc in Human Clinical Embryology and Assisted Conception. Her research investigates the impact that chemotherapy has on human fertility, focusing on understanding the mechanism of action of anticancer agents on male and female gonads, with the aim of finding a fertility preservation strategy. Federica's background is in veterinary medicine, reproductive physiology, and pre-implantation embryo development. |
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Sarah Martins da Silva, PhD Male Reproduction (Clinical) Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Dundee, UK Sarah Martins da Silva runs a translational research programme focussed around male infertility, sperm function and drug discovery. She is particularly interested in sperm calcium signalling and ion channel function, and the impact of sperm dysfunction on male fertility as well as Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) outcomes. |
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Claudia Massarotti, MD Reproductive Medicine Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Genova; Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine physician, IRCSS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy Assistant Professor Massarotti is a reproductive medicine physician and a researcher at University of Genova, Italy. Her main research and clinical interests include fertility preservation; gynaecological and reproductive follow up after gonadotoxic therapies, including contraception and management of iatrogenic menopause; reproductive endocrinology and assisted reproduction techniques. |
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Ezekiel Onyonka Mecha, PhD Reproductive Biochemistry Reader in Reproductive Biochemistry and Endocrinology, College of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, University of Nairobi, Kenya Dr Mecha’s research interests include identification of earlier diagnostic biomarkers of endometriosis, adenomyosis and cancer using metabolomics, proteomic and transcriptomic approaches. The overall aim of this study is to identify earlier diagnostic markers for endometriosis for effective therapeutic intervention. Also, his research interests include characterization of placental immunoglobulin G and associated autoimmune disorders which causes early and recurrent pregnancy loses in ovine. Placental bound IgG may be crucial in immunology of pregnancy and together with the cognate antigen thereof may be useful as models for the study of maternal-fetal interaction in human pregnancy and in the development of experimental immunotherapy to immunologically compromised pregnancies in humans and livestock. In addition, Dr Mecha is using transcriptomic approach to identify prostate cancer biomarkers. Current studies are also investigating pathophysiology of placental malaria in baboons and how it leads to pregnancy loses. |
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Amanda de Mestre, BVSc (hons), PhD Veterinary Reproductive Medicine Reader in Reproductive Immunology, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK Dr de Mestre’s research interests include early placental development, the immune response in pregnancy and identification and characterisation of underlying causes of both early pregnancy loss and abortion in the mare. Her recent and current research projects have applied molecular, genetic, epidemiological techniques to describe risk factors for pregnancy loss, provided the first description of aneuploid pregnancies associated with early pregnancy loss in the mare and defined other genetic (SNPs) and developmental defects that compromise an equine pregnancy via interfering with fetal development. Current studies are also investigating the underlying pathology and risk factors for umbilical cord torsion that leads to fetal death, the most common cause of abortion in the mare in the UK. This research is intended to lead to new diagnostic tests that can be applied in the management of breeding mares and also has implications for understanding underlying mechanisms of pregnancy loss in other species including women. |
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Chelsea Morroni, MBChB, DFSRH, MPH, PhD Global Health University of Edinburgh, UK Chelsea is a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) doctor and epidemiologist, with 25 years’ experience living and working in Africa. She is currently a Chancellor’s Fellow in Global Sexual and Reproductive Health at the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, and a Senior Research Associate at The Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership. She founded and directs the Botswana Sexual and Reproductive Health Research Initiative (BSRHI), a clinical research group working in the Southern African region, and holds senior advisor positions for several African Ministries of Health, and consultant roles with the International AIDS Society, UNFPA and the WHO. She is also the Co-Director of the UK Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare’s Clinical Effectiveness Unit, developing clinical and programmatic contraceptive guidance for the UK. Chelsea has worked in all aspects of SRH (policy, programming, clinical, research and advocacy) in Southern and Eastern Africa, the UK and the US. She is an internationally recognised expert in academic and clinical SRH, particularly contraception care, in Africa. She is an honorary professor in Women’s Health at the University of Cape Town’s School of Public Health, as well as an honorary senior research associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Chelsea is clinically active in providing SRH care and training in Botswana through NGO and government clinics and at the Chalmer’s Sexual Health Centre in Edinburgh. |
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M Mehdi Ommati, PhD Reproductive Toxicology Department of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi Province, China Dr Ommati did his PhD in the field of Reproductive Physiology in 2018 at Shiraz University. He is now an assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences, Shanxi Agricultural University. He serves as an Editorial Board Member and reviewer of more than a dozen Toxicology and Reproduction-related journals. His research mainly focuses on the various aspects of male and female reproductive indices, immuno-suppression methods in fertility, antioxidants- induced mitochondria injuries in reproductive organs, behavioral traits, and xenobiotics-triggered reproductive toxicology with a beneficial effect on health, with his research being documented by more than 100 publications in various peer-reviewed journals. |
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Carol Pearson, BA (Oxon), ACA Lay Editor Carol is a chartered accountant and non-executive director in the NHS and is co-author of a book on endometriosis. She was previously a trustee at Endometriosis UK and subsequently patient leader. She sat on the NICE Endometriosis Guideline Committee and provided input into the specialised commissioning guidelines on severe endometriosis. She has been involved in research on rectovaginal endometriosis compromising the bowel. Carol has an interest in peer support groups and the psychological impact of endometriosis and is currently completing psychotherapy training with plans to further research in this area. |
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Richard Quinton, MB BChir MA MD FRCP(Edin) Reproductive Endocrinology Consultant Endocrinologist, Royal Victoria Infirmary and Senior Lecturer, Newcastle University, UK Dr Quinton graduated from Cambridge University in 1988. Following core medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital London and Erasmus University Hospital Rotterdam, he undertook specialist training in Endocrinology at UCL Hospitals in London. This included a period of research at the Centre for Neuroendocrinology, which led to an MD Thesis in Kallmann’s syndrome that was awarded the Ralph Noble Prize for Neurosciences by Cambridge University. As well as collaborating with molecular geneticists to identify key genes involved in the neuroendocrine control of human reproduction, his emphasis on careful patient phenotyping and longitudinal follow-up has resulted in novel clinical observations that have changed perceptions of the plasticity of the human GnRH pulse-generator and its resilience in the face of both genetic and environmental insults. He has strong clinical interests in sex hormone replacement in males and females, including transgender individuals, and has been a longstanding active supporter of patient involvement and self-help groups, including those for Kallmann, Klinefelter and Turner syndromes. |
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Cecilia Sjoblom, PhD IVF (Embryology) Scientific Director Associate Professor, Westmead Fertility Centre, University of Sydney, Australia Associate Professor Cecilia Sjoblom has more than 25 years of experience in the field of ART. She trained and was awarded her PhD in embryology at Göteborg University, Sweden in collaboration with the University of Adelaide. She later worked in the UK before joining Westmead Fertility Centre and the University of Sydney. With her considerable expertise and knowledge, A/Prof Sjoblom is frequently called on to help improve laboratory conditions, QA/QC and the quality management systems resulting in improved success rates of fertility clinics around the world. In her role as Scientific Director at Westmead Fertility Centre, she directs the Embryology team and heads the Early Embryo Development and Epigenetics research group. |
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Claire Stenhouse, PhD Ovarian, Uterine and Placental Biology (Basic) Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, USA Dr Stenhouse is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University. Her research utilizes large animals (sheep and pigs) to investigate molecular signalling between the conceptus (fetus and associated placental membranes) and the endometrium during pregnancy recognition, implantation, and placentation. She is particularly interested in the regulation of placental mineral transport and the mechanisms regulating intrauterine growth restriction, with a goal of generating new knowledge to improve pregnancy success in both women and livestock. |
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Carla Tomassetti, PhD Infertility KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Carla Tomassetti obtained her medical degree (summa cum laude – 2001), her specialization in obstetrics and gynaecology (2006) and her subspecialist degree in reproductive medicine (2008) at KU Leuven, Belgium. From then on, she has been working as a staff member of the Leuven University Fertility Center, while she obtained her PhD degree in Biomedical Sciences in October 2017 for her thesis entitled ‘Fertility in women with endometriosis: prognosis and treatment strategies’. In October 2018 she was appointed as associate professor (part-time) at KU Leuven, Faculty of Medicine, Unit Woman and Child (LEERM). Her clinical and research fields of interest include: surgical and medical treatment of severe forms of endometriosis and pelvic pain, pathogenesis of endometriosis (including stem cells), reproductive endocrinology and medically assisted reproduction. |
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Adam Watkins, PhD Environmental Effects on Reproduction, Development and Offspring Health Assistant Professor in Reproductive Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK Dr Watkins’ research interests focus on the connection between parental diet, gamete quality, preimplantation embryo development and offspring cardio-metabolic health in mice models. Dr Watkins’ current research is on understanding how a father’s diet at the time of conception impacts on sperm epigenetic status and testicular function, preimplantation embryo development, fetal growth and placental function. The intention of this research is to provide better information for intending fathers on how their lifestyle may affect the quality of their sperm and the health of their offspring. |
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Nick Wheelhouse, PhD Reproductive Infectious Diseases Associate Professor, School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, UK Dr Wheelhouse’s research interests focus upon understanding the role of bacterial pathogens in pregnancy loss within people and livestock. His current research includes studying the routes of transmission of bacterial zoonoses in livestock-rearing communities within sub-Saharan Africa and investigations into the potential effects of bacteria on steroid hormone action in the uterus. |
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Jack Wilkinson, PhD Statistics Centre for Biostatistics, University of Manchester, UK Jack is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Biostatistics, University of Manchester. His research concerns the development and application of methodology in reproductive medicine, with a particular interest in research methods for medically assisted reproduction. He has expertise in comparative effectiveness research, prediction research and evidence synthesis. |
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Suzannah Williams, PhD Lay Editor Principal Investigator & Research Group Leader; Lead of Ovarian Research for the Oxford Future Fertility Trust, Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, UK Associate Professor Williams works in the field of ovarian physiology with a focus on ovarian dysfunction, primary ovarian insufficiency and fertility preservation using a variety of models including mice, sheep and rats. She manages a multidisciplinary research programme and leads the human female fertility preservation research (Future Fertility Trust) and also the Rhino Fertility Project. The overarching aim of her research is to develop techniques for fertility preservation for girls and women and also endangered species. She also has a strong interest in scientific communication. Professor Williams is also Chair of the SRF Public Engagement and Membership Committee. |
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