OUR RESEARCH

What we do

Research Aims

Our role is to study how human reproduction works to improve fertility treatments and contraceptive options, rather than directly treating patients.  

We focus on:

  • Understanding male factor infertility   
  • Guiding how male fertility is assessed for contraception 
  • Investigating causes of infertility and miscarriage, and the role of sperm  
  • Developing new diagnostic tools and IVF techniques  
  • Running clinical trials to improve success rates of fertility treatments (e.g.HABSelect and UNiTY)  
  • Bridging lab research with real-world care (“translational medicine”)   
  • Engaging with patients and the public to create resources which improve public education on fertility, particularly non-English speaking communities  
  • Aiming to improve effective and affordable fertility options  

Current funding

  • Evaluation of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of three cycles of IUI versus one of IVF. The UNiTY trial funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
  • Research into advanced computer-assisted diagnosis of male fertility issues – initially funded by the EPSRC[4] - culminating in the development of the FAST (Flagellar Analysis and Sperm Tracking) software
  • Translational medicine research funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) on Andrology and male factors in healthy live birth [6] which, for the first ever time, has revealed a strong male factor for miscarriage in the male related to the choice / selection of sperm for fertilisation in assisted conception.[7] 
  • Developing translational technologies for sperm diagnostics and selection in light of the above.[8]

Selected Historic Funding

  • Research into the role for paternal sperm DNA damage in unexplained miscarriage, its diagnosis and treatment – as part of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research.[9] 
  • How engineering design and additive manufacture can be guided by human development processes – funded by the EPSRC.[10] 

Research advances

The Centre for Human Reproductive Science team alongside the Fertility Centre have made notable advances in various areas, including achievements in:

  • Translational medicine, such as the invention of the male Fertell over-the-counter home fertility test.[11] 
  • The first detailed studies of ion channels in human sperm.[12][13] 
  • A clinical trial of how to select the best sperm for ICSI and the associated basic science of how it works – HABSelect [14] that, for the first time in any trial dataset, showed that up to 40% of miscarriage may be explained by which sperm fertilises the oocyte.[7] 
  • Detailed characterisation of the events occurring in sperm in response to steroid hormones,[15] including the discovery of slow calcium oscillations,[16] now thought to possibly regulate motility.[17] To date the identity of the cell receptors involved has not been clearly elucidated.[18] 
  • Substantial follow-up data of children born through IVF treatment to check for increased risks associated with the treatment.[19] 
  • Research on the area of gametogenesis, this includes research derivation of gametes from embryonic stem cells by Dr Sarah Conner at the University of Birmingham and work to identify the genes that are expressed during normal and perturbed spermatogenesis.[20] 
  • Due to its interest in human embryonic stem cell research, the group and associated clinic was one of five selected around the UK to receive Medical Research Council funding to elevate the IVF laboratories to ‘cleanroom‘ levels. 
  • The Centre for Human Reproductive Science also has psychology collaborations to actively pursue research enabling better understanding of patient feelings and care during fertility treatment;[21] and issues surrounding motivation to be a donor and receipt of donor gametes.[22] 

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