Logo
Overview
The University of Adelaide, in partnership with Genea, has successfully completed the first-ever practical embryology training course for undergraduate students in Australia, marking a significant milestone in fertility education and workforce development.

Six students, five third-year students and one honours student studying a Bachelor of Health and Medical Science degree, completed the pioneering semester-long research integrated course, which launched in July 2024. The programme provided students with 100 hours of practical training in gamete handling, embryo culture, cryopreservation, and quality control in a clinical-grade research embryology laboratory.

Dr Nicole McPherson, Research Leader in the Discipline of Reproduction and Development at the Robinson Research Institute and Director of Research and Science Education for Genea, co-headed the course alongside Professor Rebecca Robker. "This collaboration offers our students the opportunity to observe and assist our experienced embryologists in real-life clinical settings, allowing them insights into the daily operations of an IVF laboratory," Nicole explained.

The course addresses a critical workforce challenge in the fertility sector. Nicole noted that the training will significantly reduce the time taken between training a newly graduated scientist to a fully skilled embryologist, which currently takes anywhere between 18 to 24 months. Students are trained with the latest clinical embryology protocols, ensuring they are more job-ready when entering the market.

Conducted at the ART Innovations Laboratory within the School of Biomedicine and Robinson Research Institute in the Adelaide Health and Medical Science building, the course exposed students to a range of research methodologies and practices to broaden their critical thinking skills.

Diana Bui, Genea's Director of Clinical Embryology, emphasised the importance of this initiative given the global annual growth rate for demand in IVF treatment is 6.9 per cent. "This course will address an increasing need for well-trained clinical embryologists in the future," she said.

The successful completion of this groundbreaking course has paved the way for its continuation in 2025, representing Genea's ongoing commitment to education and advancing the fertility sector.