Professorial Inaugural Lectures

51 newly promoted and recruited Professors are taking part in the 2018 Meet the New Professor series at UNSW Sydney to mark their achievement and showcase their specialist knowledge. Please join us for the fifth lecture for the 2018 series.

Lecture 1: The endo the road…

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects 10% of women – some 730,000 Australians.  Chronic pain and infertility are the cardinal symptoms of this disease that has both genetic and environmental aetiological factors. Increasing awareness through medical and patient groups have lobbied government on this disease resulting in Australia’s first National Action Plan on Endometriosis announced in 2018.  Both clinical and scientific research has been funded under a MRFF grant of $2.5million with UNSW a key stakeholder.  The link between clinicians, researchers and patient groups has been instrumental in ensuring endometriosis is on the road, even if just the beginning.  

Lecture 2: Dialogue with the oocyte: The making of a good egg

The egg cell forms the foundation of a woman’s fertility and the health of subsequent offspring. The egg is a special cell, being fragile and in finite supply. My research has focused on understanding the basic biological mechanisms contributing to egg health. This has enabled the development of novel reproductive technologies such as egg in vitro maturation, which generates embryos and pregnancies without the need for extensive hormone stimulation of women, as occurs in IVF. This has important application for fertility preservation for cancer survivors, for treating certain types of infertility and for advanced breeding technologies in farm animals.