Faculty
Alejandro Chavez Badiola
Mexico
Alejandro Chavez Badiola
Dr. Chavez-Badiola graduated with honours from Medical School in 1999, and received his degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2004. In 2005 he entered the GMC register in the UK and received his training in Reproductive Medicine at the Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Liverpool. In 2008, he became Medical Director and Founder at New Hope Fertility Mexico, and lead the Mexican Team which worked with Dr. John Zhang to achieve in 2016 the first live-birth from a spindle nuclear transfer,
Since 2018, Dr. Chavez-Badiola is also CEO and Founder at IVF 2.0, a company dedicated to provide AI solutions to the IVF world. His current research interests include the meiotic spindle, the fertilisation process, applications of Artificial Intelligence in Reproductive Medicine, and is currently a PhD student in Reproductive Genetics at Kent University.
Jacques Cohen
USA
Jacques Cohen
Jacques Cohen is a reproductive biologist, laboratory product developer and high complexity laboratory director (HCLD). He is director and founder of the ART Institute of Washington, which runs the joint National Institute of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center IVF program in Bethesda Maryland (USA). He is product developer and co-founder of IVFqc/Althea Science, which develops software solutions for laboratories and clinics. He was co-founder of Reprogenetics, a PGT service, now continuing as Cooper Genomics. He was a co-founder and product developer of Life-Global/IVF-Online. He has (co-)authored more than 300 publications, several textbooks and 12 patents. He is Emeritus Chief Editor of Reproductive Biomedicine Online. He was one of the founders of Alpha – Scientists in Reproductive Medicine and one of the founders of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society – PGDIS. He is a founding member of the International IVF Initiative (i3).
Jacques Cohen was born in The Hague, The Netherlands and graduated (M.Sc.) in Biology of Reproductive Science in 1978 at Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. He has a Ph.D. from Erasmus University in Rotterdam (supervisor Prof. Gerard Zeilmaker), in aspects of in vitro fertilization and male factor infertility. His postdoctoral studies (1982-1985) were performed at Cambridge University (UK) and Bourn Hall Clinic (supervisor Prof Robert Edwards). Jacques Cohen has (co-)developed a number of embryological methodologies and devices: blastocyst cryopreservation, assisted fertilization, assisted hatching, preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy, ooplasmic donation, single sperm freezing, CODA filtration, Global media, and GPS dishes. He currently serves on Advisory Boards of biotech startups TMRW, Kindbody, DADI, Orchid Health, IVF 2.0, and Phosphorus.
David Gardner
Australia
David Gardner
David is the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF and a Distinguished Professor in the School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne.
He completed his PhD (1987) at the University of York. In 1988 he moved to Harvard Medical School, after which he moved to Monash, Australia, in 1989. In 1997 became the Scientific Director of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Denver, where his work on human embryo culture conditions revolutionised how human IVF is performed today with the introduction of blastocyst transfer.
In 2007 he was appointed Professor at the University of Melbourne and promoted to the level of Distinguished Professor in 2018. He has published over 285 papers and chapters and has edited 15 books, and is one of the mostly highly cited scientists in Reproductive Medicine, with over 25,000 citations and an H Factor of 91.
In 2017 in recognition of his many significant contributions to reproductive sciences he was elected as a Fellow into the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and further was the recipient of the Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
Linda Giudice
USA
Linda Giudice
Linda C Giudice, MD, PhD is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. She is a biochemist and reproductive endocrinologist specializing clinically in endometriosis, adenomyosis, infertility, pelvic pain, pregnancy loss, ovulatory disorders and premature ovarian insufficiency. Her research focuses on human endometrial function and regeneration, genetics and epigenetics of endometriosis, placental-uterine interactions, adenomyosis, and environmental impacts and climate change on reproductive health and human development. She has mentored over 250 students, fellows and faculty, authored >300 peer-reviewed publications and is co-editor of 7 books on women’s health, endocrinology, reproductive environmental health, endometrium, and endometriosis. She has received numerous awards acknowledging her contributions to science, medicine, and mentoring the next generation. Dr. Giudice is Past-President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Society for Gynecologic Investigation, and World Endometriosis Society. She currently is President of the International Federation of Fertility Societies and Chairs the Committee on Climate Change and Toxic Environmental Expsoures of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is active in improving access to quality fertility care in low and middle income countries. Dr. Giudice is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. National Academy of Inventors.
Gerard Letterie
USA
Gerard Letterie
Dr Letterie is a board certified reproductive endocrinologist, partner in Seattle Reproductive Medicine, Seattle WA and co-founder of Quick Step Analytics LLC. He completed residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC and a fellowship in REI at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. He serves on various educational committees within this specialty including as an oral examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is an ad hoc reviewer/editor for several journals including Fertility and Sterility among other journals. He is the author of two textbooks and over 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals, abstracts, chapters, invited reviews and monographs and several editorials and Op Ed’s. His interests include artificial intelligence and clinical healthcare, risk management and medical liability. Outside of his specialty, he enjoys sculling and can usually be found on the water at 5 AM daily.
Dean Morbeck
New Zealand
Dean Morbeck
Dr. Morbeck is the Scientific Director at Fertility Associates New Zealand, Sunfert International Fertility Centre, and an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Auckland. He oversees science in IVF clinics throughout New Zealand and Malaysia that annually perform >4000 fresh cycles. Prior to moving to NZ, Dean was an Associate Professor at the Mayo Clinic. He has a keen interest in quality of care, as evidenced by his publications on media composition and laboratory KPIs. He completed his MBA in 2015, which he is putting to use to improve both the science and patient experience at Fertility Associates and Sunfert.
Giles Palmer
UK
Giles Palmer
Giles Palmer is a clinical embryologist, skilled in laboratory, business and quality management. After graduating in Genetics at Leeds University, UK he worked as a research officer at London’s Hammersmith Hospital’s acclaimed IVF unit working with Professors Lord Winston and Alan Handyside. In the following years he worked as laboratory manager and clinic director in IVF clinics in Greece while consulting in several countries including Iceland, Nigeria and the Balkan states.
His research collaboration with St. Sophia’s Children’s Hospital (Athens University) resulted in the first births in Greece following embryo-biopsy and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. He has published in leading scientific journals on a variety of topics including pre-implantation genetic testing for Cystic Fibrosis and B-thalassaemia, Morphokinectics and Quality Management. He is a certified HCPC clinical scientist in the UK and has been accredited with Senior Embryologist Status by ESHRE.
More recently, Giles, has become a consultant for IVF clinics, Institute of Life, Athens and Nordica Fertility Centre in Lagos and product developer in a wide range of areas within the industry including Kustodian RFID cryogenic labelling and Shellbe Cleanroom systems.
Nicolas Plachta
USA
Nicolas Plachta
Nicolas Plachta is the William Richard Gordon President’s Distinguished Professor in Genetics at the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and a faculty member of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IRM). Originally from Argentina, he studied biology at Tel-Aviv University (Israel), earned his Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of Basel (Switzerland) under the supervision of Prof. Yves-Alain Barde, and performed postdoctoral studies in biological imaging at Caltech, with Prof. Scott Fraser. He was selected in 2011 as one of the first two PIs for the newly established European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Australia, based at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute of Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). In 2015, he moved to the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) in Singapore. In 2018, he became HHMI International Scholar and in 2019 Chih-Ye Visiting Professor of the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, Beijing).
Denny Sakkas
USA
Denny Sakkas
Dr. Denny Sakkas received his undergraduate training at the University of Melbourne, Australia and received his Doctorate of Philosophy at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He has been the Laboratory Director of IVF units in Europe and the USA and has extensive experience in clinical IVF and reproductive research. Dr Sakkas is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Boston IVF and remains as an Associate Professor at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Carlos Simon
Spain
Carlos Simon
Board Certified and Full Professor of Ob/Gyn at the University of Valencia, Spain; Senior Lecturer PT, BIDMC Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA, Adjunct Professor, Department of Ob/Gyn, Baylor College of Medicine, USA and Head of the Scientific Advisory Board of Igenomix.
My main interest is in the understanding of the human embryonic implantation process during the preconception period considering as key elements the embryo, the maternal endometrium, and the cross-communication between them using different scientific perspectives.
He is author of 463 publications in international peer-review journals, his Google Scholar is 100, editor of 19 books, and supervisor of 38 PhD Thesis.
Pubmed Publication List: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/simon_c
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=nA_MhRMAAAAJ&hl=es
Personal Website: www.carlos-simon.com
Gary Smith
USA
Gary Smith
Gary D. Smith, Ph.D., HCLD, is Professor of Ob/Gyn, Physiology, and Urology, Director of MStem Cell Laboratory, and Co-Director Reproductive Sciences Program, University of Michigan. He completed his Ph.D. and Postdoctoral training at Washington State University and the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, respectively. He has been Scientific Director of Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Laboratories for 26 years at institutions such as University of Chicago, University of Michigan, and Baylor College of Medicine. His reproductive research focuses on regulation of oocyte meiosis and chromatin segregation, male and female gamete cryopreservation, preimplantation embryo development, and integration of new biotechnologies into gamete/embryo/human embryonic stem cell isolation, culture, and selection. Studies range from very basic to translational research aimed at introducing new, or improving existing, means of preserving fertility or treating infertility.
Jeremy Thompson
Australia
Jeremy Thompson
Jeremy Thompson is an Adjunct Professor, The University of Adelaide and Chief Scientific Officer for two start-up companies, Fertilis Pty Ltd (est. 2019) and ART Lab Solutions Pty Ltd (est. 2018). He has held positions within several scientific societies, and received awards from the Society for Reproductive Biology and the International Society for Embryo Technology. He has worked as a clinical IVF Laboratory Director (Repromed, 2000-2004), but thereafter an NHMRC-funded researcher until his retirement in 2021. His research interests span from medium development for IVM and embryo culture, to inventing new medical devices for IVF clinics to equip them with tools that improve laboratory performance. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and reviews, and is consistently asked to speak both nationally and internationally.
Christos Venetis
Australia
Christos Venetis
Christos is a Consultant Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist. He is also an Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales and the Director of Clinical Research for IVFAustralia. He holds a prestigious NHMRC Early Career Fellowship for his work on improving the efficacy and safety of assisted reproduction technology (ART) using big data. His research has attracted more than 1.5 million dollars in funding in the last 5 years. He has been named in the top 2% of most cited researchers worldwide in Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine for 2019. He is an author of >100 publications in international scientific journals (h-index: 35, >5600 citations) and of several chapters in books and has been an invited speaker in >100 international scientific meetings. He has also co-edited a textbook on the evidence-based management of Recurrent Implantation Failure.
For many years he has been a passionate advocate of evidence-based medicine in his field and has been serving as a member of the editorial board of Human Reproduction since 2008. He is a regular ad-hoc reviewer for numerous scientific journals and is currently a Section Editor for RBM Online, an Associated Editor of Reproductive Sciences which is the official publication of The Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) and an Associated Editor of Fertility & Reproduction, the Official Journal of ASPIRE. He also regularly reviews research projects for national funding bodies in Europe and Australia.
His research interests include ovarian stimulation, endometrial receptivity, reproductive epidemiology and the health of mothers and babies after ART. He is currently leading a number of research projects in these fields both nationally and internationally and is mentoring junior colleagues.
Nikica Zaninovic
USA
Nikica Zaninovic
Director, Embryology Lab
PI, Embryonic Stem Cell Lab
Associate Professor Weill Cornell Medicine
BS, MS, and Ph.D. from the University of Zagreb, Croatia
Interest in clinical and experimental embryology as well as stem cell biology. Interested in developing predictive algorithms using time-lapse technology and artificial Intelligence.
Member of multiple professional Societies. Author of over 40 per-review articles and over 10 book chapters.
The reviewer of 6 international scientific Journals.
Scientific advisor at numerous biotechnology and AI companies.