Joyce Harper

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Joyce Harper is Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women's Health, University College London where she heads the Reproductive Science and Society group. She is a passionate educator, author, podcaster, academic, researcher and public speaker working on empowering women to have good health and happiness.

Contents

Biography

Joyce Harper has been a leader in the field of fertility and genetics since 1987. As well as being an established scientist with over 260 scientific publications, [1] Harper is a passionate educator of the public and students at all levels, from school children to PhD level. She started her career as a clinical embryologist and joined University College London (UCL) in 1994. She heads the Embryology, IVF and Reproductive Genetics Group at UCL and her past research interests include preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), reproductive genetics, new technology in IVF, embryo selection for IVF. Her recent work is on reproductive health education including menstruation, fertility, and menopause. [2] In 2014 she was made Professor in Reproductive Health at UCL. [3] She is head of the Institute for Women’s Health (IfWH) Department of Reproductive Health. For 25 years she was the IfWH Director of Education and set up two Masters Programmes in 1996 and 2009. [4] She has been on the executive committees of the main IVF societies and organisations including ESHRE, PGDIS, ISPD, HFEA and the British Fertility Society. In 2014, with Alpesh Doshi, Joyce set up the Embryology and PGD Academy to run training courses in all aspects of laboratory IVF and PGD. In 2015 Harper established a web-based forum to discuss women's health issues, Global Women Connected and in 2021 she published a book that took her over 30 year to write - Your Fertile Years, published by Sheldon Press. She is currently writing a book sharing the stories of over 50 women over 50 to empower women to lead their best lives. Her current main roles are a blogger and podcast (www.joyceharper.com), chair of the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (see below), co-founder of InTune, the UK menopause education and support programme and SwimHer, a research network to examine the effects of cold water swimming on Women's Health.

In 2025 Joyce is running a number of retreats to empower women to lead their best lives and help them find good health and happiness. This includes a one day retreat in Brighton and a week long retreat in the South of France to explore cold water swimming and yoga.

Early life and education

Joyce Harper was born in 1963 and was educated in Longfield Infant and Junior School, Whitmore High School and Lowlands Sixth Form College in Harrow. She read Biochemistry at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London from 1981–1984 and obtained a 2:1. She joined the Pharmacology department at King's College London where she completed her PhD in 1987 under the supervision of Professor John Littleton looking at the effects of alcohol on catecholamine release from adrenal chromaffin cells. [3]

Career

Career in research

Joyce Harper started work in fertility in 1987, initially spending a short time at the Hallam Medical Centre as a clinical embryologist and then moving on to work with Professor Ian Craft at the London Fertility Centre where she became scientific director in charge of the IVF laboratory. She helped thousands of people have a baby. She designed new IVF labs at Cozens House, 112A Harley Street and in Dubai.

In 1992 she joined Alan Handyside and Robert Winston in the PGD team at the Hammersmith Hospital performing clinical biopsies and FISH diagnosis as well as undertaking research into chromosome abnormalities in human embryos. In 1993 she started a joint project with the Hammersmith Hospital and University College London. In 1994 and 1996 she published two papers on the world data of PGD. She was one of the first to report on the high levels of chromosome abnormalities in human preimplantation embryos.

In 1996, with Professor Joy Delhanty and Professor Charles Rodeck, she designed the first of her MSc programmes (Prenatal Genetics and Fetal Medicine) and in 2002 she developed a second MSc programme (Reproductive Science and Women's Health). She directs both programmes and has taught hundreds of students who have gone on to be leaders in the field of reproductive medicine.

For two decades her main research and clinical interest was PGD and she wrote the first text book on PGD in 1998 and a second edition in 2001. She was deputy director of UCL Centre for PGD and helped perform hundreds of PGD cycles, testing embryos for specific genetic diseases. She supervised several PhD students. She became a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in 2007.

More recently her research interests have expanded to include fertility education, IVF add-ons, FemTech and donor conception. She was co-founder of the fertility education initiative to develop awareness of issues affecting fertility and pregnancy. [5] In 2019 she became co-founder of the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration who have made many resources for the public, teachers and health professionals to support education of all aspects of reproductive health.

In 2023 she started her podcast - Why didn't anyone tell me this? Which has been listened to in over 90 countries. In 2025 the podcast enters season 3.

She is invited to give numerous lectures at international conferences, including plenary and key-note speeches. In February 2017 she talked at the UN, New York for the International Day for Women and Girls in Science. [6] [7]

Career in education

Joyce Harper is a passionate educator. Since establishing her first MSc in 1996, she has been the IfWH graduate tutor, the faculty graduate tutor and chair of the School of Life and Medical Sciences Education Domain and Director of Education for the Institute for Women’s Health. Joyce became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2007.

Harper started running hands on workshops on embryo biopsy and the diagnosis used in PGD in 1996. In the UK Harper has run hands on workshops annually or biannually since 1996 and also ran numerous workshops overseas. In 2014, Joyce and Alpesh Doshi established the Embryology and PGD Academy to expand the repertoire of workshops to include wider aspects of IVF and PGD. The Academy developed a certificate in clinical embryology to ensure that embryologist globally have adequate training.

Joyce Harper has had many senior roles in the main IVF organizations and scientific societies where she has worked on scientific and education projects.

Institutional roles

ESHRE

Harper was an executive committee board member (2002-2005) and member of the local organising committee for ESHRE 2013 annual meeting in London (2011–2013). She has been involved with the special interest group in Reproductive Genetics being deputy chair (1997-2005) and chair (2011–2013). She was a founding member of the certification for clinical embryologist working group (2006-2009) and a member of the task force on PGS (2007-2011). She was a founding member of the working group looking at Culture Media since 2011 and this work is ongoing. She was a founding member and lead of the joint committee of ESHRE and the European Society of Human Genetics, 2005, 2013, 2016. Her most notable work for ESHRE was being co-founder and deputy chair 1996-2006, chairman 2006–2009 and past chair 2009- 2013 of the ESHRE PGD Consortium. She has also been involved in setting up many courses, workshops and conferences for the PGD Consortium. She embedded in the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration within ESHRE in 2021.

International Society of Prenatal Diagnosis

Harper was a member of the Board from 2006–2012, was involved in organisation of ISPD conferences and also responsible for setting up special interest groups.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society

Harper was a founding Board Member from 2003-2005 which included chairing the local organising committee for the PGDIS London 2005 conference

British Fertility Society

Harper has been an executive Committee member from 2011 to the present. She is deputy lead of the Fertility Education Initiative which was established in 2015 to improve fertility education in the UK.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

Harper has had many roles in the HFEA including chair of the Horizon Scanning Group since 2007, advisor to the Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee from 2009 to the present, person Responsible for UCL research licence, nominal Licensee for Centre for Reproductive and Genetic Health treatment licence, consultant for HFEA consultation document on PGD, member of HFEA working group on Embryo Biopsy and a HFEA Inspector for embryo biopsy.

Public engagement

In 2017 she organized the first Purple Tent events, to bring women together to celebrate being a woman.

Annually the Institute for Women's Health holds a week of activities for International Women's Day and Harper has been involved every year. She has participated in a debate on social egg freezing, debate on reproductive genetics and given two UCL lunch hour lectures on International Women's Day.

Harper visits a number of schools and gives lectures on careers in science, applying to university, IVF, genetics and all aspects of women's health from the menstrual cycle to the menopause.

She also gives public talks and discussion groups on all aspects of women's health, including Wellbeing Over 40 and Career and Motherhood. She runs corporate workshops for women.

Art projects

The Empty Project: Louse Wilson. Louise makes visual and multi-sensory site-specific performances, walks and installations that seek to articulate, reflect upon and transform significant life-events. Joyce was involved in Warnscale - a landmark walking performance, reflecting on In/Fertility and childlessness. Warnscale is an area of fells to the south of Buttermere Lake. Walking art book published in May 2015.

25 Years of Techno Art by Abdul Haqq. Featured in this book. Published 2014. A third earth book.

Appeared on album notes for Underground resistance – Interstellar fugitives. [8]

Designing sex: Adam Peacock. Adam is artist in residence at the London School of Fashion. Joyce participated in a discussion event. The project is ongoing.

Press and media

Joyce Harper is often quoted in the press and media - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/joyceharper/radio-press-and-media

Personal life

Joyce Harper is a single mother of three sons. She lives near Cambridge, UK.

Publications

A full list can be found at - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/joyceharper/publications/#tabs-3

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In vitro fertilisation</span> Assisted reproductive technology procedure

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova from her ovaries and enabling a man's sperm to fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After a fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is transferred by catheter into the uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intracytoplasmic sperm injection</span> In vitro fertilization procedure

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure in which a single sperm cell is injected directly into the cytoplasm of an egg. This technique is used in order to prepare the gametes for the obtention of embryos that may be transferred to a maternal uterus. With this method, the acrosome reaction is skipped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preimplantation genetic diagnosis</span> Genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is the genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation, and sometimes even of oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD is considered in a similar fashion to prenatal diagnosis. When used to screen for a specific genetic disease, its main advantage is that it avoids selective abortion, as the method makes it highly likely that the baby will be free of the disease under consideration. PGD thus is an adjunct to assisted reproductive technology, and requires in vitro fertilization (IVF) to obtain oocytes or embryos for evaluation. Embryos are generally obtained through blastomere or blastocyst biopsy. The latter technique has proved to be less deleterious for the embryo, therefore it is advisable to perform the biopsy around day 5 or 6 of development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority</span>

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the United Kingdom providing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination and the storage of human eggs, sperm or embryos. It also regulates human embryo research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisted reproductive technology</span> Methods to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryos, and/or the use of fertility medication. When used to address infertility, ART may also be referred to as fertility treatment. ART mainly belongs to the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Some forms of ART may be used with regard to fertile couples for genetic purpose. ART may also be used in surrogacy arrangements, although not all surrogacy arrangements involve ART. The existence of sterility will not always require ART to be the first option to consider, as there are occasions when its cause is a mild disorder that can be solved with more conventional treatments or with behaviors based on promoting health and reproductive habits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Edwards (physiologist)</span> English physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine (1925–2013)

Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards was a British physiologist and pioneer in reproductive medicine, and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in particular. Along with obstetrician and gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe and nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy, Edwards successfully pioneered conception through IVF, which led to the birth of Louise Brown on 25 July 1978. They founded the first IVF programme for infertile patients and trained other scientists in their techniques. Edwards was the founding editor-in-chief of Human Reproduction in 1986. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the development of in vitro fertilization".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Society for Reproductive Medicine</span> US medical association

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary organization for advancement of the science and practice of reproductive medicine. The society has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and its administrative office in Birmingham, Alabama. An associated special interest group, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), maintains a national registry for tracking IVF attempts and outcomes.

Jane Denton,, is a United Kingdom nurse and midwife notable for her contributions to fertility nursing and genetics. She was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reproductive medicine</span> Branch of medicine

Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis.

Sammy Lee was an expert on fertility and in vitro fertilisation

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It created the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority which is in charge of human embryo research, along with monitoring and licensing fertility clinics in the United Kingdom.

The Birmingham Women's Fertility Centre at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, Birmingham, England, formerly named the "Assisted Conception Unit", is one of the UK's leading medical centres for infertility treatment and care. It is the longest established fertility clinic in the Midlands, marking thirty years operations in the year 2010. The clinic is based in an NHS hospital and provides integrated care to both NHS and private patients; the staff is internationally recognised for their work in treating with infertility. The clinic runs active programmes of egg-sharing, sperm donation and egg-donation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yury Verlinsky</span> Russian-American medical researcher (1943–2009)

Yury Verlinsky was a Russian-American medical researcher specializing in embryonic and cellular genetics. He is best known as a pioneer in prenatal diagnosis for detecting genetic and chromosomal disorders six weeks earlier than standard amniocentesis. The founding father of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and embryo analysis prior to in-vitro fertilization (IVF), Verlinsky used his polar body biopsy technique to detect potential birth defects in offspring. It is now accepted worldwide as the standard for the most efficient and effective means of analyzing the chromosomal status of an embryo.

Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), sometimes called mitochondrial donation, is the replacement of mitochondria in one or more cells to prevent or ameliorate disease. MRT originated as a special form of in vitro fertilisation in which some or all of the future baby's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) comes from a third party. This technique is used in cases when mothers carry genes for mitochondrial diseases. The therapy is approved for use in the United Kingdom. A second application is to use autologous mitochondria to replace mitochondria in damaged tissue to restore the tissue to a functional state. This has been used in clinical research in the United States to treat cardiac-compromised newborns.

Geeta Nargund is a professor and medical doctor in the field of natural and mild IVF and Advanced Technology in Reproductive Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Dale</span> British reproductive scientist

Brian Dale is a British reproductive scientist living in Sorrento, Italy. He is currently owner and Director of the Centre for Assisted Fertilization, which has offices in Naples and Rome and Director of London Fertility Associates Ltd in London. He is also founder and partner in the Swiss-based company, International Fertility Associates.

Simon Fishel is an English physiologist, biochemist and pioneering in vitro fertilisation (IVF) specialist.

Alexander M. Feskov is a Ukrainian physician, reproductive scientist, and ultrasonographer who specialises in reproductive technology and fertility treatment.

Dmitri Dozortsev is a Russian-American physician scientist, inventor and researcher. Dozortsev's contributions in research and publications are mostly in the areas of human reproductive medicine and biology. In particular, he is best known for his studies of in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer. Dozortsev currently serves as President of the American College of Embryology and as Director of Omni-Med laboratories.

AIVF is Tel Aviv-based healthtech startup focused on revolutionizing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) through the application of artificial intelligence (AI). The main company's product is EMA software platform.

References

  1. ↑ "Iris View Profile". iris.ucl.ac.uk.
  2. ↑ "Joyce Harper - Global Women Connected". globalwomenconnected.com.
  3. 1 2 "joyceharper". www.ucl.ac.uk.
  4. ↑ "EGA Institute for Women's Health". www.instituteforwomenshealth.ucl.ac.uk.
  5. ↑ "About » British Fertility Society". britishfertilitysociety.org.uk.
  6. ↑ "International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February". www.un.org.
  7. ↑ Science, International Day of Women and Girls in. "2017 International Day of Women & Girls in Science Program". womeninscienceday.org.
  8. ↑ "Sonic Warfare installment 3". wordpress.com. 4 January 2009.
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