Invited speakers

Laura Bridgens

Laura Bridgens was conceived via anonymous donor sperm in the 1980s and is the founder of Donor Conceived UK a new peer-led charitable organisation dedicated to centring the rights of and enabling the best possible outcomes for donor conceived people. Laura is also a member of PROGAR a UK multi-agency, multi-disciplinary group whose focus is on the lifespan impact of donor conception and surrogacy, and is the chair of the Donor Conceived Register Registrants Panel.

Jason Kasraie

Jason is Consultant Embryologist, head of fertility services and Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority ’Person Responsible’ at the Shropshire & Mid-Wales fertility centre. He is a visiting Professor at the University of Chester. He holds Fellowships at Royal College of Pathologists and the Academy for Healthcare Science. He is a former chair of the Association of Clinical Embryologists and was the founding Chair of the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists. He has worked as a member of the board of the HFEA, a Director of the Association of Clinical Scientists, and a member of the professional council of the AHCS. He sits on the Genomics and Reproductive Science specialty advisory committee, and the Healthcare science committee at the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath).

George Lainas

Dr. George Lainas is a reproductive gynaecologist and the Scientific Director of Eugonia IVF Unit in Athens, Greece. He is a former Coordinator of the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Reproductive Endocrinology at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). Currently, he serves as an Associate Editor of Human Reproduction Update.

Dr. Lainas has played a pivotal role in the development of ESHRE guidelines: Recurrent Implantation Failure, Ovarian Stimulation in ART, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in IVF and Preconceptional care. He has authored numerous original research papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is a sought-after speaker at international conferences, having delivered over 100 invited lectures.

Hannah Newby

Hannah Newby is employed as a Regional Lab Director at Care Fertility, where she uses her expertise in multi-site management to oversee the Care clinics in the North of England; Manchester, Cheshire, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds.

Hannah is one of only a select few scientists in the UK qualified to Consultant Clinical Scientist level, demonstrating her deep understanding of reproductive science.

Passionate about nurturing future talent, Hannah plays a vital role in teaching on the STP training scheme. She is involved in writing the curriculum and currently serves as the lead content writer for the final year assessment exams.

Hannah has maintained a prominent and active role within the professional body; the Association of Clinical and Reproductive Scientists (ARCS), throughout her career. Formerly Chair of the Practice and Policies Committee and currently ARCS Secretary and Deputy Chair.

Joris Veltman

Professor Joris Veltman is a Dutch human geneticist, Chair of Reproductive Genomics and Director of the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh. Prior to this, he was Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine and Dean of the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University, and before that he worked at the Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University, The Netherlands.

Joris has contributed significantly to unravelling the genetic causes of rare disease, to our understanding of mutational mechanisms underlying genetic disorders and to the implementation of genomics approaches in medicine. His research using both exome and genome sequencing provided strong experimental evidence for a de novo paradigm in severe early-onset disorders.

In Edinburgh, Joris is starting up a multidisciplinary research group with expertise in genome technology and bioinformatics, applied to reproductive disorders. The group is particularly focused on studying the role of de novo mutations and structural variation in severe forms of male infertility, using short and long-read sequencing in patient-parent trios. It aims to identify genes, non-coding regions and biological mechanisms involved in male infertility and consecutively develop genetic tests for implementation in routine diagnostics. These male infertility studies are done in close collaboration with fertility experts from the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian, UK fertility clinics and international collaborators. Joris has co-founded the International Male Infertility Genomics Consortium (IMIGC.org) and is actively involved in promoting research and diagnostics of reproductive disorders. In addition, his group supports the application of genomics approaches in rare disease more broadly, including the study of complex genomics regions, as well as the clinical implementation of genomics tests.

In 2016, Prof. Veltman and Brunner were awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Medicine for pioneering the clinical application of next generation genetics. In 2021 he was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom.

Suzannah Williams

Prof Williams leads a multi-disciplinary group investigating ovarian function in health and disease at the University of Oxford, established in 2008, after gaining valuable experience working in Ireland, Australia and New York. The overarching aim is to generate new fertility preservation techniques by developing innovative new technologies for women and endangered species. She leads the Ovarian Research Programme for the Oxford Fertility Preservation Service. She founded the Rhino Fertility Project at Oxford in 2019 and the Poo Zoo in 2024. She is the Society for Reproduction and Fertility’s New Investigator of the Year 2010. Prof Williams enjoys supervising and mentoring; she has supervised over 90 graduate students. She also has a keen interest in scientific communication with her Conversation articles having over half a million reads.

Lucy Wood

Lucy is a final-year HSST trainee in Reproductive Science based at Jessop Fertility in Sheffield. She has a strong interest in education and training, having led the curriculum review for the STP in Embryology. Lucy previously served as Secretary for ARCS and continues to contribute to the field through the ARCS Education Committee.