Page 16 - FSANZ SPRING -2021

Congratulations to the Society’s 2021
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The FSANZ Research Foundation has announced the successful applicants for the 2021 research grants. There were joint winners in each division of the grants.
Ferring FSANZ Leaders in Fertility Research and Education Grant
Fabrizio Horta, Lecturer/Teaching and Research Coordination, Monash University.
Research Project: Improving embryo selection in IVF treatments through incorporating novel non-invasive live cell metabolic imaging of embryos using adapted confocal microscopy: A live birth safety study.
Developing non-invasive methods that are reliable to assess oocyte and embryo quality has been a critical goal for assisted reproductive technologies.
Since the first report of successful clinical pregnancy with the use of IVF the introduction of oocyte and embryo grading systems have been based on oocyte/embryo morphology.
Although these approaches significantly improved clinical outcomes their accuracy remained limited, being part of the clinical routine without improvements in methodologies applied to date. Indeed, in women younger than 35 years, 60 per cent of fresh embryos transferred do not result in clinical pregnancy, presenting an increased failure in women of advanced reproductive age.
In order to solve this gap, our project introduces novel non- invasive metabolic imaging that could allow the creation of new standards of oocyte and embryo quality in IVF treatments through simple and accessible technology.
The impact of new standards of oocyte/embryo quality could improve patient treatment prognosis due to transferring better quality and more likely viable embryos based on metabolism measurements rather than embryo morphology alone.
The impact of novel non-invasive metabolic monitoring could potentially allow improved clinical outcomes as well as the development of new strategies to improve and monitor embryo metabolism through culture media development.
Rebecca Kelley, Clinical Research Embryologist, Melbourne IVF.
Incubating human sperm under physiological oxygen reduces oxidative stress: Effects of DNA fragmentation and metabolism.
After ejaculation, sperm is exposed to oxygen concentrations around 5 per cent to 7 per cent in the female reproductive tract. However, in assisted reproductive technology (ART), sperm is typically prepared and incubated at atmospheric (~20 per cent) oxygen before insemination.
Oxygen is a key regulator of cell function and an inappropriate oxygen concentration can cause dysregulation of cellular processes and oxidative stress.
In sperm, oxidative stress can lead to reduced motility, DNA damage, lower fertilisation success and poor embryo development.
This study will expand on previous work that indicates incubation of sperm at 5 per cent oxygen can reduce oxidative stress during preparation for ART using a comprehensive approach including assessment of DNA fragmentation and metabolism.
Merck FSANZ Leaders in Innovation/Fertility Research Grant
Wann Tinn Teh, Clinical Researcher, Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne IVF.
Molecular approaches for understanding the role of uterine natural killer cells in women with reproductive failures.
Uterine natural killer (uNK) cell assessment is one of the most discussed fertility tests among patients.
While uNK’s are thought to play a key role in implantation and development of healthy pregnancy, there is a poor evidence base for the effectiveness of the clinical tests currently being offered to our patients.
Endometrium can now be accurately dated using next generation sequencing (NGS). Single-cell RNA sequencing (sc-RNAseq) coupled with microfluidics and computational tools also allow for efficient cellular transcriptomics.
The overall aim for this research project is to understand the role of uNK cells in human reproductive failure using molecular approaches.
Based on our pilot data, we hypothesise that it will be possible to identify one or more molecular markers (transcriptomic profile) that accurately reflects uNK numbers in the endometrium through sc-RNAseq, and that by using NGS data to accurately determine cycle stage we will be able to develop a more accurate reference range for normal uNK cells than currently exists.
An accurate reference range will be the initial step towards determining whether uNK cells are a useful marker for predicting implantation failure in IVF patients.
Dr Dave Listijono, CREI Fellow, IVF Australia, and AGES Fellow (SWEC), St. George Hospital.
Effect of vasopressin hydrodissection technique in laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometrioma on ovarian reserve.
Endometriosis is a common inflammatory condition that affects women during their reproductive years with potentially debilitating sequelae in the form of sub-fertility and chronic pain.
Endometrioma is a sub-set of endometriosis, primarily affecting the ovaries. Surgical excision is the mainstay treatment for endometriomas, however surgery is often detrimental to ovarian reserve due to the inadvertent removal of healthy ovarian tissue and attempts for haemostasis via bipolar diathermy, which contributes to further ovarian damage through thermal injury.