Stephen graduated from Edinburgh University where he did his clinical training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology before moving to Bristol University where he undertook his MD thesis “The relationship between poor ovarian response to gonadotrophin stimulation and the outcome of in vitro fertilisation” under Professor Mike Hull and Professor Julian Jenkins. His main clinical interests are in Infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology. His research interests are in the mechanisms controlling ovarian response to stimulation and the role of glucocorticoids in IVF practice and has published widely in this area of poor ovarian response with more than fifty publications.

He is currently Clinical Director for Women and Children’s services and was Person Responsible for the Centre between 2007 and 2012. He has previously Chaired the Coventry Research Ethics Committee and is a Training Programme Director of the Postgraduate School of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, in the West Midlands Deanery, and Chairs the Rotations committee. He is lead for the CLRN, West Midlands South, Reproductive Health and Childbirth Research Group.

Mr Richard Kennedy

• Consultant in Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine

Richard Kennedy is an NHS obstetrician and gynaecologist specialising in reproductive medicine and IVF since the mid eighties. He set up and led the NHS IVF service in Coventry in 1990, the first such NHS programme in the West Midlands. He has led an active research group in reproductive medicine at the University of Warwick, now Warwick Medical School where he holds an honorary Readership. He publishes regularly in peer reviewed journals and is a reviewer for a number of journals. He was a member of the RCOG Infertility Guidelines Committee and has been a long serving member of the British Fertility Society where he served for five years as Honorary Secretary.

He is the Secretary General of the International Federation of Fertility Societies, a position held since 2007. He has held NHS management roles since the early 90’s and has been the Medical Director/ Chief Medical Officer of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust with overall responsibility for quality of care and patient safety, governance and clinical performance since 2007.

Dr Rina Agrawal

• Consultant in Reproductive Medicine& Obstetrics/Gynaecology at UHCW
• Hon. Associate Professor in Reproductive Medicine at Warwick University

Dr Rina Agrawal is a Consultant and Hon. Associate Professor in Reproductive Medicine and in Obstetrics / Gynaecology with dual accreditation in the UK and in India. She received her formal training in Repdroductive Medicine and Assisted Conception at University College Hospital, London where she did her PhD. She was the Director at London Women’s Clinic and Hallam Medical Centre, the first centre in the UK to offer Assisted Reproduction and has worked with Professor Howard Jacobs who contributed enormously to the field of IVF and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Professor Robert Edwards who pioneered IVF and created the world’s first IVF baby, Professor Stuart Campbell who pioneered the use of Ultrasonography and Professor S L Tan who heads the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at McGill’s University

She also has an independent practice at Harley Street in London and has individually managed over 6,000 cycles of IVF/ICSI and more than 7,000 insemination treatment cycles over the last 17 years.

Rina has published extensively over the years in several international journals. She has over 50 publications, written a book on PCOS and has been an invited speaker at over 75 national and international meetings over the years.

Her areas of expertise within the field of Reproductive Medicine are Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Unsuccessful Implantation during IVF, Angiogenic factors in reproduction on which her PhD is based, Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, Ovarian Stimulation Protocols and Ultrasonography including Doppler and 3D Ultrasonography.

Mr Tarek Ghobara

Consultant Obstetrician, Gynaecologist & Subspecialist in
Reproductive Medicine at UHCW.

Dr Ghobara started his Reproductive Medicine training at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Coventry in 1997 up till 2002. Between 2003 and 2008 he worked at University of Bristol and Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine where he gained the accreditation as a Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and surgery.

In addition to his wide experience in assisted conception techniques including IVF and ICSI he has special interest in Laparoscopic & Hysteroscopic Surgery for treating Endometriosis, Fibroids and Surgical Treatment of Fallopian Tubes. He also runs the Male Subfertility Clinic at CRM.

His research areas were treatments using thawed frozen embryos in addition to Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm injection Treatment.

Junior Medical Staff

Dr Radha Venkatakrishnan, Specialist Registrar, Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Dr Harish Bhandari, Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Mohammed Akhtar, Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Chellappah Gnanachandran, Specialist Registrar, Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Nursing Team

Louise Wilson, Sister
Fiona Oldfield, Sister
Olivia Sabin, Sister
Rachel Rust, Sister
Debbie Darrell, Staff Nurse
Natalie Austin, Staff Nurse
Samantha Marriott, Staff Nurse
Jagruti Panchal, Staff Nurse
Jade Dempsey, Staff Nurse
Buffy Connor, Health Care Assistant
Lisa Chittum, Health Care Assistant

Scientific Staff

Professor Geraldine Hartshorne
Scientific Director

Geraldine is the Scientific Director, a post she holds together with a Professorial Fellowship at Warwick Medical School. Her PhD, awarded in 1989, was supervised by Professor Robert Edwards, IVF pioneer and Nobel Prize winner in 2010. She held appointments at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, before moving to Warwick in 1995. Her work spans a wide range of research and clinical service development. Her research interests are mainly focused on human egg development, embryo viability assessment, and the social and ethical dimensions of human assisted conception. As well as gaining knowledge that is important for progress, her research ensures that services at the CRM are continually updated and that improvements can be introduced rapidly. Geraldine is involved in many professional and academic activities, for example, she is Chair of Examiners in Clinical Embryology at the Royal College of Pathologists and an editor of the learned journal 'Reproduction'.

Ben Lavender
Head of Embryology and Andrology Teams

Ben is responsible for the Embryology and Andrology team within the Centre for Reproductive Medicine. He leads the team and ensures that all of the processes undertaken in the laboratories are performed accurately, according to strict CRM protocols and according to external guidelines and ensures that the best possible methods are used for successful patient treatment. He has been in the field of embryology since 1992 and most recently managed the embryology team at IVF Hammersmith in London. During his time at IVF Hammersmith he worked closely with Professor Lord Robert Winston as a member of the team that carried out the first Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis treatment for an IVF patient.

Ben is especially interested in methods that can be utilised in the laboratory to ensure sperm, eggs and embryos are cultured in the best possible way to ensure optimal quality for patient treatment. He is also interested in the new techniques available for assessing embryo quality to ensure that all possible information is utilised when selecting an embryo for transfer.

Scientific Team

Ben Lavender, Head of Embrology & Andrology Teams
Jaswinder Rai, Senior Embryologist
Dr Deborah Taylor, Senior Embryologist
Sarah Drury, Senior Andrologist
Pavan Kachhwaha, Embryologist/Andrologist
Dr Caroline Watkins, Embryologist/Andrologist
Sarah Turner, MLSO
Scarlett Poulter, Trainee Embryologist
Dr Fataneh Ghafari, Trainee Embryologist
Paula Frost, Senior Cryobank Officer
Claire Thompson, Laboratory Administrator

Counselling Team

Justine Barrett, Specialist Infertility Counsellor
Linda Best, Counsellor

Administration Team

Lisa Martin, Quality Manager
Julie Corkery, Assistant Administration Manager
Vivienne Scaysbrook, Support Secretary
Tracy Peckett, Support Secretary
Karen Brough, Receptionist
Debby Flowers, Receptionist
Pauline Jackson, Receptionist
Julie Jacques, Receptionist