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From embryology training courses to groundbreaking research, the University of ����ɫ�� is taking a comprehensive approach to improving IVF. 

The birth of the first baby conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in 1978 marked the beginning of a global fertility revolution. Since then, millions of children have been born via IVF. The groundbreaking treatment has helped families grow despite circumstances once seen as barriers: medical conditions that hinder conception, reproductive difficulties related to age or illness, and biological challenges faced by same-sex couples and single parents. However, despite the importance and growing prevalence of IVF, its success rates have remained stagnant. In the last two decades, just 18 percent of initiated cycles in Australia and New Zealand result in a live birth, according to the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit. Fortunately, researchers at the University of ����ɫ��’s Robinson Research Institute (RRI) are investigating strategies to enhance outcomes, including more accurate assessment of embryo viability, streamlined fertilisation treatment, sperm purification, investigation into underlying causes, and improved embryology training for students.

“Infertility affects one in six people globally,” says Associate Professor Kylie Dunning from RRI and Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS). 

“Improving IVF success rates is important for addressing the emotional, medical, and financial burden associated with infertility.”Associate Professor Kylie Dunning

Dunning’s research seeks to increase live births from IVF by advancing embryo selection, a critical challenge for clinics. Rapidly identifying a patient’s most viable embryo can expedite pregnancy, reducing the financial and emotional tolls of failed cycles. Currently, the methods used to assess embryo health involve an invasive biopsy of embryonic cells that become the placenta. Dunning and her research team are exploring a novel non-invasive approach that assesses embryonic cells destined to form the actual fetus, giving better insights into its viability. The new approach works by shining gentle doses of light onto the embryo and capturing the scattered light that comes back to reveal the intricacies of its biochemistry. 

“This method is expected to provide a clearer determination of which embryos are more likely to result in a live birth. The goal is to decrease the time it takes to successfully take home a baby,” Dunning says. 

The team, which includes researchers from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, the University of Nottingham in England, and the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, has recently transitioned to 3D molecular imaging techniques, a groundbreaking step that provides a comprehensive non-invasive view of the embryo as a whole.

Other University research is aimed at sperm optimisation. A second project led by Dunning seeks to improve accessibility to Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), the only fertility treatment available for men with a low sperm count. The procedure is challenging to administer, involving the injection of a single sperm into an egg. However, Dunning’s team has invented a tiny 3D-printed “Garage” device that simplifies the process. The Garage, developed through a partnership with medical technology company Fertilis, can safely house up to 10 unfertilised eggs in their own minuscule pods, ready for injection. This new approach is less technically challenging for the embryologist, hopefully making it faster, cheaper, and more conducive to high-quality embryo production.

Another project, led by the Reproductive Immunology Group’s Professor Sarah Robertson, is working to create a device that sequesters DNA-damaged sperm to ensure that only healthy, high-quality specimens are used for fertilisation. The device, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, works by mimicking natural processes within the female body that select the best-quality sperm. 

“This innovative technology will facilitate a simpler IVF clinical pipeline with improved success rates,” Robertson says.

“By removing a major barrier impeding development of robust embryos, it is expected to improve pregnancy rates and health outcomes for infertile couples and IVF children.”Professor Sarah Robertson

Another key challenge is the general health of many people of reproductive age. Professor Louise Hull, working with a team including Dr Lachlan Moldenhauer, is researching how metabolic problems affect the uterine lining’s ability to support embryo implantation. Their work suggests that a form of pre-diabetic state affecting the immune response is common in people experiencing infertility. Their findings open up the potential to improve IVF success by addressing metabolic dysfunction.

In addition to bettering the future of fertilisation procedures, University of ����ɫ�� academics are working to bolster the workforce. A new semester-long course is helping meet the increasing need for clinical embryologists as demand for IVF treatment continues to grow. The course, presented in partnership with world-leading fertility clinic Genea, is headed by Dr Nicole McPherson and Professor Rebecca Robker, both senior researchers at RRI. In its first year, six students pursuing a Bachelor of Health and Medical Science took part in the course, receiving 100 hours of practical training in an embryology laboratory.

“We’re excited for our students to be trained with the latest clinical embryology protocols, ensuring that they are job-ready when entering the market,” McPherson says. 

“The course will significantly reduce the time taken between training a newly graduated scientist to a fully skilled embryologist.”

What’s next?

As the training course continues to prepare students for the field, University of ����ɫ�� research continues to advance the field itself. Fertilis is taking the 3D-printed Garage device into global clinical trials, and Robertson’s sperm-purifying device is expected to land in laboratories in two to four years.

With millions of IVF cycles undertaken each year, the exciting research offers hope for better outcomes.

“Higher success rates would reduce the need for repeated cycles, minimising health risks and improving mental wellbeing,” says Dunning. 

“More broadly, higher success rates would better support those wishing to start or grow their family and contribute to population stability in regions with declining birth rates.”