I am a Consultant Clinical Scientist in the NHS and Scientific Director of the clinical Department of Reproductive Medicine, which offers infertility treatment services to the North West of England.  I hold the post of Person Responsible to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for research licences in embryo research (licence R0026) and embryonic stem cells (R0171).  I co-direct (with Professor Sue Kimber) the NW Embryonic Stem Cell Centre (NWESCC) based in the Manchester NHS Trust and the University of Manchester.

I am a member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee, advisor to the MHRA and an examiner in Embryology for the Royal College of Pathologists

Previous posts

• Research Student (1989 - 1992)
  Dr HJ Leese, University of York
  Funded by MRC
• Post-doctoral Research Fellow (1992 - 1993)
  Dr HJ Leese, University of York
  Funded by Journal of Reproduction and Fertility
• Post-doctoral Research Fellow (1993 - 1997)
  Dr RM Schultz, Department of Biology
  University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
  Funded by NIH

Present appointments

• Scientific Director (1997 -present)
  Department of Reproductive Medicine, St Mary's Hospital
  Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)
• Consultant Clinical Scientist (1997 - present)
  Department of Reproductive Medicine, St Mary's Hospital
  Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)
• Co-Director (2006 - present)
  NW Embryonic Stem Cell Centre (NWESCC)
• Professor (hon) of Clinical Embryology and Stem Cell Biology (2009 - present)
  Faculty of Biology, Medical and Human Sciences, University of Manchester

Human embryo research:

• Single embryo and single cell transcriptome and epigenome profiling of human embryo development
• Regulation of metabolism and cell fate in early human development
• human embryo implantation using in in vitro model systems
• The impact of the environment on early human development and implantation

Assisted reproduction research:

• Outcomes of assisted reproduction treatment
• Assessing the impact of new technologies in assisted reproduction
• The growth and long term health of children born by assisted reproduction 
• The impact of cryopreservation on the developmental competence of human oocytes

Sperm research:

• The impact of environmental and lifestyle exposures on male fertility and sperm DNA
• Sperm micromotors for detection and treatment of ovarian cancer
• The impact of the male contraceptive pill on sperm quality

Stem cell research

• Generation of clinical grade embryonic stem cells suitable for clinical transplantation
• Proteomic and metabolomic analysis of embryonic stem cell growth and differentiation to chondrocyte

Clinical lead for the UK National MSc in Assisted Reproduction at Manchester Metropolitan University 

Teach on University of Manchester MRres Reproduction and Early Pregnancy

I am a tutor on the subspecialty training programme in Reproductive Medicine under the auspices of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

I am an examiner in Embryology for the Royal College of Pathologists.

Professional advisory or consultancy work

• Co-opted expert on Embryology for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee (SCAAC) (2005 - present)
• Advisor the MHRA on IVF culture media

Offices held

• Elected member of the General Council of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (2002 - 2004)
• Co-opted embryology expert to HFEA committee on Safety and New Technology (SANT) (2004 - 2005)
• Reproductive scientist member of the British Fertility Society Executive committee (2005 - 2009)
• Examiner in embryology for the Royal College of Pathologists (2009 - present)
• Vice-chair of the UK Clinical Embryonic Stem Cells Forum (2010 - 2015)

Academic

• BSc (Hons), University of London, UK. Class 2:1 (1983)
• PhD, University of York (1992)
• FRCPath, Royal College of Pathologists (2009)

Professional

• Association of Clinical Embryologists Certificate in Clinical Embryology (hon)
• State Registration as a Clinical Embryologist with Healthcare Professions Council (CS00267)