The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
The Role Of Growth Differentiation Factor 9 (GDF9) In Human Fertility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$568,811.00
Summary
IVF comes at a substantial financial burden to the Australia health system through Medicare. There is mounting evidence to suggest that egg quality is the key limiting factor in female fertility. The aim of this proposal is to produce a key egg-secreted protein which is critical for the ability of the egg to be fertilized and to develop a diagnostic assay to measure egg quality to improve the treatment of infertility.
I am a reproductive biologist, studying how the environment, both in vivo and in vitro, interacts with oocytes and early embryos in determining both their short and long-term development, with specific interests in application to clinical infertility treatment.
Re-energising The Preimplantation Embryo To Extend Lifetime Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,156,936.00
Summary
Diseases of aging are associated with shortening at the ends of chromosomes called telomeres. The length of an individual’s telomeres is established during embryo development, and in situations where embryo development is compromised such as with maternal obesity the normal process of telomere lengthening may not occur. We will determine how such disruptions in embryo telomere lengthening contribute to poor health in adulthood and test ways to restore the natural process.
Optimising Female Fertility: Controlling Ovulation And Promoting Embryo Developmental Potential
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$459,270.00
Summary
A good quality egg at the right time is required to make a healthy embryo, influencing its lifetime health trajectory. My research aims to determine how the female ovary produces a good quality egg and releases it at the right time. This is essential for improving reproductive health in women and will identify how maternal health influences egg quality and the earliest stages of embryo growth, providing the healthiest start to life.
The Legacy Of The Egg: How Maternal Factors Set Offspring Health And Lifecourse Potential
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$697,605.00
Summary
Before an oocyte is fertilised, it contains all the material needed to form an embryo, and a legacy of information about its environment. My research aims to discover how oocyte signals, accumulated before conception, determine the health of the future individual; and then harness this knowledge to improve female reproductive health and generate new approaches to treat infertility and to optimise healthy embryo development in all pregnancies.
UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF METAPHASE II SPINDLE TRANSFER
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,629,373.00
Summary
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases are transmitted from a mother's eggs to her children. However, the levels of affected mtDNA differ amongst her eggs. Consequently, a carrier would not know if the newborn child were to suffer from these diseases. Mitochondrial Donation offers couples the potential to have an unaffected child. We will undertake the most comprehensive study of mitochondrial donation using one of its associated approaches to determine if it produces healthy embryos and offspring.
Genetic testing of IVF embryos promises to improve success but shows no effect of live-birth rates. Many embryos are mosaic: containing cells with correct and incorrect chromosome numbers. Current testing is an invasive biopsy which fails to diagnose how many cells are abnormal in the cells that develop into the baby. Here we will use imaging to determine the ratio of abnormal:normal cells resulting in a non-invasive diagnostic that will improve IVF success.
Identification Of Factors Essential For Oocyte Viability
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$220,500.00
Summary
Approximately 2% Australia children are now conceived using in vitro fertilisation technologies, allowing infertile couples to bear their own children. However, a major consequence of IVF techniques is multiple pregnancies (i.e. twins and triplets) which is a major health risk to mothers and their infants. Furthemore, IVF increases birth defects, which are mostly attributed to the increased multiple pregnancies, but is also observed in pregnancies involving a single infant. It is essential that ....Approximately 2% Australia children are now conceived using in vitro fertilisation technologies, allowing infertile couples to bear their own children. However, a major consequence of IVF techniques is multiple pregnancies (i.e. twins and triplets) which is a major health risk to mothers and their infants. Furthemore, IVF increases birth defects, which are mostly attributed to the increased multiple pregnancies, but is also observed in pregnancies involving a single infant. It is essential that IVF techniques are developed that enables the transfer of a single embryo to the mother resulting in the birth of a single healthy baby, without the ethical concerns of surplus embryo disposal. Women receiving IVF are required to adminster hormones that stimulate the eggs in their ovaries to mature to the point where they can be fertilised by their partner's sperm. These hormones, called gonadotrophins, override the body's own ovarian stimulating system and cause many eggs to mature and be collected for fertilisation, instead of normally just one. In this way, the best embryo(s) can be selected for transfer back to the mother, and other embryos can be frozen and stored for later use. However, large doses of gonadotrophins has consequences. They can be dangerous to some patients who are sensitive to their potency, and stimulate a massive response. They also reduce the quality of eggs and subsequent embryos, which reduces the chances of a pregnancy. All this can be avoided if eggs can be collected from ovaries in an immature state and maturation achieved in the laboratory. However, although attempted, this has not been a successful technique, primarily because we don't understand the process of human egg maturation. Our research will investigate the biochemistry, physiology and genetics of non-human eggs and embryos resulting from eggs that are grown and matured in the laboratory, to develop techniques for the successful maturation of human eggs in the laboratory.Read moreRead less
Women are born with a limited supply of eggs and are unable to make new eggs after birth. Because of this, the number and health of eggs established within the ovary early in life influence the length of time for which a female will be fertile, her age at menopause, and the health of her offspring. This project aims to shed some light on the mechanisms that control egg supply and reproductive longevity in women by investigating the role of the cell death protein Bid within the ovary.