A recently awarded Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project is already delivering exciting results. The 30 month project recently established between Professor of Genetics, Darren Griffin, at the School of Biosciences and the London Women’s Clinic (LWC) will enable the Clinic to screen for couples at risk of transmitting chromosome abnormalities in human embryos. Professor Griffin and Professor Alan Handyside at The Bridge Centre, now part of LWC, jointly developed a universal means of detecting any genetic disease in an IVF embryo in 2010. The process was called ‘Karyomapping’ and will form part of the project.

LWC is one of the leading centres for infertility treatment and women’s health services in Britain. The clinic is based in Harley Street, London and has a number of satellite clinics around the country including one recently opened in Canterbury in December of last year. The Associate, Dr Becki Gould, a recent PhD graduate of Professor Griffin’s lab is responsible for delivering the KTP project on a day-to-day basis. She will take on the temporary role of an andrologist at the Canterbury clinic providing valuable new knowledge to the team. She will also be Patient Coordinator for the new “One by One Plus” programme that aims to reduce the cost of IVF while improving its success rate through genetic screening. Much of the groundwork has already been done, in part through Becki’s efforts, and LWC announced the launch of the programme at a meeting in London last week.

Knowledge transferred through this project will enable the highest quality of genetic diagnosis and screening and Becki is looking forward to playing an integral role in the Clinic under the guidance and support of Professors Griffin, Handyside and the LWC team.

From left to right, Dr Christian Ottolini (Company Supervisor and recent PhD graduate of Prof Griffin’s lab); Dr Kamal Ahuja (Scientific and Managing Director of LWC); Dr Becki Gould (KTP Associate); Prof Darren Griffin; Eddie Kuan (Special Projects Manager at LWC); Clare Witcher (Knowledge Transfer Officer, University of Kent).