Future Developments

The Trust continues to seek opportunities to support work in the field of fertility, complications of pregnancy, fetal development and diseases of women.

Multidisciplinary approaches are utilised to expand our understanding of the science underlying human reproduction and neonatal disorders and to use these to improve diagnosis and treatment.

A first class environment

The Trust aims to provide a first class environment for training basic and clinical scientists who will pioneer medical research in these fields and lead it in other key centres around the UK and overseas in the new millennium.

Recently two young scientists have been appointed as part of a new human embryonic stem cell initiative. They will investigate genetic changes that take place in the embryonic stem cells and the factors that control their development.

Synopsis of research plan

Fertility Studies

The Trust is world renowned for its work on infertility, led by Professor Robert Winston. He pioneered the development of in vitro fertilisation and, together with Professor Alan Handyside, was first to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis to screen embryos for inherited disease. One of the common causes of infertility is polycystic ovary syndrome, associated with hormone imbalance. Professor Steven Franks has found that the incidence of the syndrome is influenced by the genes that a woman inherits and he is now identifying those that increase her susceptibility.

Stem Cell Biology

There is considerable hope that embryonic stem cells will be useful for the treatment of many common diseases, especially degenerative disorders that progress with age. We have recently initiated a programme of embryonic stem cell research in the Centre by appointing young scientists to do fundamental research in this important area. The work is at an early stage but their major challenge is to discover the signalling pathways that switch stem cells into specialised types of cells that can be used to replace defective tissues in the body. It may also be possible to use other types of stem cells and Professor Nick Fisk is studying the potential for stem cells from cord blood to repair certain diseases or damaged tissues.

Pregnancy Disorders

The Trust is at the forefront of research into disorders of pregnancy that affect the health of the baby or of the mother. The most serious problems include very premature babies and growth-restricted babies both of which can lead to health problems during childhood or later as adults. Our hope is that we can either delay or even prevent premature births but until then these very small babies are subject to intensive treatment in the hospital. A major breakthrough came from the work of Professor Philip Bennett who discovered a major inflammatory factor that is responsible for initiating child birth. It controls the activity of a network of genes which he is investigating as potential targets for therapeutic intervention to prevent pre-term births. Many of these pregnancy related problems and also miscarriage seem to arise from defects in implantation. Professor Jan Brosens is investigating how the complex network of hormones, growth factors and cytokines interact to control this process and has unravelled some of the key regulatory steps. Some disorders affect both baby and mother. Professor Catherine Williamson has recently discovered the genetic basis for some metabolic disturbances but the majority have yet to be explained.

Cell and Molecular Studies

While we understand a lot about human reproduction there is much more to learn. There are many gene networks and signalling pathways that we are just beginning to identify and these can only be investigated in animal models. In this way, Professors Ilpo Huhtaniemi and Malcolm Parker have discovered new factors which control ovulation and metabolism. Their challenge for the future is to use the information they gain from studying animals to improve human health.