The University of Adelaide
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Current rates of infertility in Australia are high with approximately 1 in 6 couples requiring medical intervention to help them have a baby. Pregnancy rates from in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are low (approximately 30%) meaning that a large proportion of couples require multiple treatment cycles to fall pregnant or do not fall pregnant at all. Deirdre’s research is focused on trying to improving IVF pregnancy rates through improvements to laboratory technology. With a primary focus on optimising embryo freezing and culture media design as well as the development of non-invasive embryo selection techniques to assist in picking the healthiest embryos for transfer, aiming to increase IVF pregnancy rates and minimise damage to the embryo.
Dr Zander-Fox has previously been an active member on the SA committee of the Australian Society of Medical Research and is a member of Healthy Development Adelaide, getting involved in school talks around Adelaide discussing IVF technology. She is also involved with Seymour College, through CSIRO’s Scientists in Schools program, visiting the year 11 and year 12 biology classes. Since starting this in 2012, she has implemented a school program through Repromed visiting numerous school giving talks on IVF and its associated technologies.