His mission is to provide compassionate and personalised care to couples on their journey to parenthood. QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE
Originally from Roman city of Chester in the United Kingdom, Dr Lighten graduated from Cambridge University Medical School. His first post as a fertility doctor was working for Prof. Lord Robert Winston at the Hammersmith Hospital in London. At that time, Lord Winsto
n was one of the UK’s pre-eminent Fertility Specialist and his research team led by Prof. Alan Handyside had just become the first in the world to perform preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). His research, although rather esoteric 25 years ago, has become highly relevant. Dr Lighten was the first scientist to demonstrate genomic imprinting in human embryos. Disruption of this imprinting process by IVF culture is now much studied and is known to be the cause of rare genetic conditions that can cause overgrowth syndromes and cancers. Dr Lighten was demonstrated the importance of insulin-like growth factors in human embryo development. The study of growth factors is now also at the forefront of embryology research as researchers look for ways to improve IVF outcomes. Dr Lighten was awarded the prize for the most promising young scientist by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Endocrinology (ESHRE) in 1997 for his research in genetics and embryo development. This publication continues to be cited in research papers today. In 1998, Dr Lighten was awarded a PhD at Imperial College in London. His work was published in leading journals including Nature Genetics. Dr Lighten completed his specialist training in London and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Further studies at the Oxford University Fertility Unit led to him completing sub-specialist training in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery (CCSST) which is the UK equivalent of the CREI. At Oxford, Dr Lighten jointly led an important multi-centre randomised clinical trial into the role of metformin in women with polycystic ovaries having IVF. This research was recognised with prizes from the British Fertility Society (BFS) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
