Dr Catherine Coveney presenting on "Living and Dying with Rare Disease".
@drkatiecoveney.bsky.social is speaking at the CRR today on "Living and Dying with Rare Disease". This looks at six themes: diagnosis, care, challenges, reproductive decision -making, joy (very importantly), and support. A great discussion on how to theorise joy in families living with rare disease.
3/3 I argue that foregrounding everyday life with rare disease can reorientate analysis away from biomedical frameworks that prioritise fixing broken bodies and finding cures. Instead, redirecting attention to how people live with rare conditions rather than suffer from them.
2/3 Drawing on data from two empirical studies on lived experience of NS, my analysis centres six themes: diagnosis, care, challenges, reproductive decision -making, joy, and support.
1/3 Abstract: Informed by sociological and critical disabilities studies theory relating to care, chronic illness, and
temporalities, the talk focuses on parents lived experiences of caring for a child born with the rare
genetic condition Noonan Syndrome (NS).
Join us for a CRR in-person seminar in Leicester on Weds 15 April 12-1:30 where @drkatiecoveney.bsky.social, Loughborough University, will speak about 'Living and Dying with Rare Disease' focusing on parents' lived experiences of caring for a child with Noonan Syndrome. Email crr@dmu.ac.uk to book.
Aishwarya Viswamitra presenting on Endometriosis in the workplace
Yesterday we had one of our regular 'projects in progress' seminars, where researchers can showcase their ongoing work. This time we had Chris Elsey and team presenting on fertility and reproduction in women's sport, and Aishwarya Viswamitra presenting on her PhD on endometriosis in the workplace.
Martin Delatycki talking about the Mackenzie's Mission project on expanded carrier screening in Australia.
Final day of the ESHRE campus event, Carrier screening and infertility testing through the lens of GenEthics. Today Martin Delatycki is starting the final stream by talking about lessons learned from the government-funded Mackenzie's Mission pilot study for expanded carrier screening in Australia.
Cathy Herbrand presenting on the use of expanded carrier screening in UK gamete donation
It is great to see so many people at this ESHRE campus course.
Day 2 of the ESHRE campus course on Carrier screening and infertility testing through the lens of GenEthics. @cathy-herbrand.bsky.social starts the day by presenting on the use of expanded carrier screening in egg and sperm donation in the UK, and the wide variety of approaches in UK clinics.
ESHRE campus course on Carrier screening and infertility testing through the lens of GenEthics, in Ghent, 19-21 February 2026.
This week we are in beautiful Ghent for an @eshre.bsky.social campus event on expanded carrier screening. @precas-project.bsky.social PI @cathy-herbrand.bsky.social and team member Eva van Steijvoort are presenting and chairing, along with presenters from all over Europe.
Prof Cathy Herbrand talks on the BBC World Service about the news that sperm from a donor with an undetectable gene mutation has been used to produce nearly 200 children, some with childhood cancer. Available for 25 days, listen from 26m 50s into the recording. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Outgoing CRR Director Prof Nicky Hudson provides expert comment on the tragic news that sperm from a donor who unknowingly carried the gene variant for Li-Fraumeni syndrome was used to create almost 200 children. Some have since had childhood cancer. theconversation.com/one-sperm-do...
Flyer with the following text: Preconception Health: What Is the Problem Represented to Be? Merissa Hickman, PhD Candidate, University of Leicester Centre for Reproduction Research Seminar Series; Social Sciences Research and Innovation Institute, De Montfort University. Monday 19th January 2026, 12:30-14:00, in person at De Montfort University, Leicester. To register email crr@dmu.ac.uk (deadline to register 13 January). And a photo of the speaker
Join us on Monday 19 Jan 12:30-14:00, at DMU Leicester, for an in-person Centre for Reproduction Research (CRR) seminar. Merissa Hickman, University of Leicester, will be speaking about 'Preconception Health: What Is the Problem Represented to Be?'. Email crr@dmu.ac.uk by 13 Jan to register.
Sara, Jackson, Heidi and Cathy will now join Sarah for the first Q&A of the day, taking questions from our lovely audience!
#PETConf25
What do stakeholders in the UK really think of carrier screening? What are the benefits, and how useful is it?
#PETConf25
The final speaker for this session is Professor Cathy Herbrand, Principal Investigator at PRECAS (precas.dmu.ac.uk)
#PETconf25
A great discussion on expanded carrier screening at PET Conference, with @cathy-herbrand.bsky.social Sara Levene, Heidi Mertes and Jackson Kirkman Brown - sponsored by @precas-project.bsky.social Many thanks to everyone who came came along and asked a question #PET25
The CRR PRECAS team are at the @pet-bionews.bsky.social annual conference ‘What does genomics mean for fertility treatment’ . Project lead Prof Cathy Herbrand is presenting study findings
#PETconf25
Centre for Reproduction Research Seminar Series; Social Sciences Research and Innovation Institute, De Montfort University. Monday 17th November - 12-1.30 GMT, online. Complex fertility journeys and employment: Research insights and real-world impact. Dr Krystal Wilkinson, Centre for Decent Work and Productivity, Manchester Metropolitan University. To register email crr@dmu.ac.uk (deadline to register 12 November).
Join us on Monday 17 November 12-1:30 online for our first Centre for Reproduction Research (CRR) seminar of the year. @DrKrysWilkinson will be speaking about 'Complex fertility journeys and employment: Research insights and real-world impact'. Email crr@dmu.ac.uk by 12 Nov to register.
A new piece in @uk.theconversation.com from Nicky Hudson on the birth of the ‘world’s oldest baby’
theconversation.com/worlds-oldes...
Congratulations to @cathy-herbrand.bsky.social on this thought-provoking piece for The Conversation looking at the realities behind mitochondrial donation, following the news that eight babies have now been born using the technique in the UK.
Well worth a read.
Thank you so much to Rachel for coming all the way from @kent.ac.uk to deliver this fantastic and thought provoking seminar. Rachel has just submitted her thesis and her viva is early next month. We hope you will join with us in wishing her every success with this and with her important topic.
A screen shot of Rachel Arkell's header slide on the use of sodium valproate in pregnancy and reproduction.
Today we're delighted to welcome Rachel Arkell to talk about her research on the use of sodium valproate in pregnancy. Sodium valproate is a potentially lifesaving medication for epilepsy and bipolar disorder yet is associated with risk in pregnancy, raising queries about how it should be used.
Our (@gmthomas.bsky.social Tanisha Spratt @amychandler.bsky.social) book went to print - very exciting! The @britsoci.bsky.social London MedSoc Study Group is hosting a launch event (thanks @twiterney.bsky.social) on 19 June 18:00-19:30. All welcome, register here:
www.eventbrite.com/e/bsa-london...
Egg donation: what's really being said, and not said, to potential donors?
Our new research analyzes how fertility clinics across Belgium, Spain, and the UK present medical risks and incentives on their websites- and what that means for women considering donation.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
Check out this paper! Exploring how direct-to-consumer genetic testing is reshaping the world of gamete donor conception — and what that means for families, professionals, and policy makers
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Exploring how direct-to-consumer genetic testing and social media are reshaping donor conception and kinship. Parents share their views on the ‘right age’ for kids to connect with donor relatives and how childhood influences these decisions🧬 journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
Read this paper by Nicky Hudson, Cathy Herbrand and Lorraine Culley on the emergence and use of expanded carrier screening in gamete donation. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Celebrating the professorial inaugural lecture of Prof. Cathy Herbrand this week… 🥳
Happening this evening! Still time to book a place - check out our linktree