FSA/BFS Exchange prize: Development of In Vitro Maturation (IVM) and its application in fertility preservation Professor Robert Gilchrist, NHMRC Investigator Fellow, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia
Professor Robert Gilchrist is a research scientist and a NHMRC Investigator Fellow. He is Research Lead of the Discipline of Women’s Heath UNSW, and Head of Research of the Fertility & Research Centre (Royal Hospital for Women/UNSW), and is a Fellow of the Society for Reproductive Biology. He is or has been a Scientific Advisory Board member and/or consultant to; City Fertility, IVF Australia, CooperSurgical, Repromed, Fertility SA, Cook Medical, and the NZ Ministry of Health.
Professor Gilchrist is a reproductive biologist whose research encompasses basic and applied aspects of ovarian folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation and preimplantation embryo development. He conducts discovery research on oocyte-somatic cell interactions as a determinant of subsequent embryonic development. He has made important scientific contributions demonstrating that oocyte paracrine signalling determines cumulus cell differentiation and function. Dr Gilchrist also studies new biomarkers of oocyte quality. In addition, he leads a translation research program with the objectives of improving oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) procedures for treatment of infertility and fertility preservation in women/girls with cancer. One of his IVM procedures is now in clinical practice. He has published 146 peer-reviewed papers including 27 reviews/chapters. He currently has an H-index of 51 with >8,500 citations [Scopus].