Achievements & publications

The Women’s has a long-standing international reputation for its fertility work.

Important milestones

1977 - Commenced fertility clinics, research and treatments for Victorian patients

1980 - Pioneered Australia’s first IVF service with the birth of Australia’s first IVF baby Candice Reed

1984 - Established low-cost IVF services in India

1994 - Established the world’s first egg bank

1995 - Began the first dedicated fertility clinic for patients with HIV and other serious viral illnesses

1997 - Established Australia’s first dedicated Fertility Preservation Referral Service for cancer patients

2000 - Campaigned to change Victorian legislation for equal access to IVF treatment

2013 - Achieved the world’s first successful pregnancy from ovarian tissue grafting

2022 - Led the establishment of public IVF and fertility clinics in Victoria

2023 - Established Australia’s first public egg and sperm bank

Scientific publications

From fertility research at the Women's

1. Sii S, Polyakov A, Rozen G, Agresta F, Stern K. Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in breast cancer patients: Does oestrogen receptor status make a difference? Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2023;63(6):774-9. (PMID: 37317583)
2. Wei Zhou, Siena Barton, Jinwei Cui, Leilani L Santos, Guannan Yang, Catharyn Stern, Violet Kieu, Wan Tinn Teh, Catarina Ang, Tarana Lucky, Joseph Sgroi, Louie Ye, Evdokia Dimitriadis. Dysregulation of apical secretion in infertile human endometrial organoids impairs trophoblast cell adhesion.  Frontiers in Endocrinology in press. (PMID: 36589798)
3. Moravek MB, Pavone ME, Burns K, Kashanian JA, Anderson RA, Klosky JL, Stern C et al. Fertility assessment and treatment in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023;70 Suppl 5: e28854. (PMID: 37381152)
4. Slonim M, Peate M, Merigan K, Lantsberg D, Anderson RA, Stern K, et al. Ovarian stimulation and oocyte cryopreservation in females and transgender males aged 18 years or less: a systematic review. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023;14 :1146476. (PMID: 37404308)
5. Kieu V, Polyakov A, Rozen G, Lantsberg D, Stern C, Tinn Teh W. Live birth rates in day 5 fresh versus vitrified single blastocyst transfer cycles: A cross-sectional analysis. Int J Reprod Biomed. 2023;21(3):245-54. (PMID: 37122887)
6. Rozen G, Stern K, Lensen S, Polyakov A. Barriers to reproductive treatments in Australia. Aust J Gen Pract. 2023;52(3):109-12. (PMID: 36872087)
7. Rozen G, Stern K. An update on fertility assistance and assisted reproductive technologies. Aust J Gen Pract. 2023;52(1-2):11-7. (PMID: 36796763)
8. Kennedy AL, Vollenhoven BJ, Hiscock RJ, Stern CJ, Walker SP, Cheong JLY, et al. School-age outcomes among IVF-conceived children: A population-wide cohort study. PLoS Med. 2023;20(1):e1004148. (PMID: 36693021)
9. Zhou W, Barton S, Cui J, Santos LL, Yang G, Stern C, et al. Infertile human endometrial organoid apical protein secretions are dysregulated and impair trophoblast progenitor cell adhesion. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022;13 :1067648. (PMID: 36589798)
10. Kieu V, Stern C, Harris J, Jayasinghe Y, Bradford N, Cui W, et al. Australian fertility preservation guidelines for people with cancer 2022: review and recommendations. Med J Aust. 2022;217(11):564-9. (PMID: 36309915)
11. Tahmasbpour Marzouni E, Stern C, Henrik Sinclair A, Tucker EJ. Stem Cells and Organs-on-chips: New Promising Technologies for Human Infertility Treatment. Endocr Rev. 2022;43(5):878-906. (PMID: 34967858)
12. Mizrachi Y, Weissman A, Rozen G, Rogers PAW, Stern C, Polyakov A. Timing of progesterone luteal support in natural cryopreserved embryo transfer cycles: back to basics. Reprod Biomed Online. 2022;45(1):63-8. (PMID: 35534393)
13. Kieu V, Lantsberg D, Mizrachi Y, Stern C, Polyakov A, Teh WT. A survey study of endometrial receptivity tests and immunological treatments in in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2022;62(2):306-11. (PMID: 34862795)
14. Allen M, Hale L, Lantsberg D, Kieu V, Stevens J, Stern C, et al. Post-warming embryo morphology is associated with live birth: a cohort study of single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer cycles. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2022;39(2):417-25. (PMID: 35043277)
15. Salama M, Lambertini M, Christianson MS, Jayasinghe Y, Anazodo A, De Vos M, Stern C et al. Installing oncofertility programs for breast cancer in limited versus optimum resource settings: Empirical data from 39 surveyed centers in Repro-Can-OPEN Study Part I & II. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2022;39(2):505-16. (PMID: 35032286)
16. Teh WT, Chung J, Holdsworth-Carson S, Donoghue J, Healey M, Rees H, Bittinger S, Obers V, Sloggett C, Fung JN, Mortlock S, Montgomery GW, Girling J, Rogers P. A new method for normalising endometrial gene expression across the menstrual cycle. Nature Communication. 2023 Oct 6;14(1):6222. (PMID: 37798294)
17. Barton S, Zhou W, Santos L, Menkhorst E, Yang G, Teh WT, Ang C, Lucky T, Dimitriadis E. miR-23b-3p regulates human endometrial epithelial cell adhesion implying a role in implantation. Repeoduction. 2023 Mar 8; 165(4):407-416. (PMID: 36757298)
18. Rozen G, Rogers P, Mizrachi Y, Teh WT, Parmar C, Polyakov A. Serum progesterone concentration on the day of embryo transfer in stimulated cycles does not correlate with reproductive outcomes. Reprod Biomed Online. 2022 Dec;45(6):1160-1166. (PMID: 36137874)
19. Tanaka K, Amoako AA, Mortlock S, Rogers PAW, Holdsworth-Carson SJ, Donoghue JF, Teh WT, Montgomery GW, McKinnon B. Gene expression of the endocannabinoid system in endometrium through menstrual cycle. Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 7;12(1):9400. (PMID: 35672435)
20. Lau LS, Allingham C, Anazodo A, Sullivan M, Peate M, Hunter S, Stern C, Ryan AL, Super L, Orme LM, McCarthy M, Gook D, Lewin J, Marino J, Ryan J, Downie P, Manudhane R, Winstanley M, Pettit T, Lantsberg D, Irving H, Reid S, Heath JA, Kabalan-Baeza P, Wanaguru D, Moore L, Gillam L, Zacharin M, Assis M, Rozen G, Hunter T, Julania S, Sharwood E, Ameratunga D, Jayasinghe Y; ANZCO Clinical Trial Network. The Australian New Zealand Consortium in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults Oncofertility action plan. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2024 May 7:e31041. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31041. Epub ahead of print. (PMID: 38715224.)
21. Polyakov A, Rozen G, Gyngell C, Savulescu J. Novel embryo selection strategies-finding the right balance. Front Reprod Health. 2023 Dec 15;5:1287621. doi: 10.3389/frph.2023.1287621. (PMID: 38162011)
22. Polyakov A, Piskopos J, Rozen G. Posthumous conception in Australia – legal and ethical considerations. Med Leg J. 2023 Nov 24:258172231200839. doi:10.1177/00258172231200839. Epub ahead of print. (PMID: 37999639.)
23. Polyakov A, Rozen G. Exploring the complexities of posthumous reproduction in fertility preservation for oncology patients with poor prognosis. Reprod Fertil. 2023 Nov 1;4(4):e230072. doi: 10.1530/RAF-23-0072. Epub ahead of print. (PMID: 37962498)
24. Polyakov A, Mirmilstein V, Rozen G. The numbers just do not add up. Fertil Steril. 2024 Jan;121(1):133. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2023.10.014. Epub 2023 Oct 13. (PMID: 37839722.)
25. Polyakov A, Rozen G, Lensen S, Shoham G, Weissman A, Mizrachi Y. Providers' attitudes towards payment to egg donors: an international survey. Hum Fertil (Camb). 2023 Dec;26(6):1439-1447. doi: 10.1080/14647273.2023.2265151. Epu 2024 Jan 24. (PMID: 37815388)
26. Field A, Rozen G, Gan J, Polyakov A. Assessing obstetric outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing fresh, artificial, and natural thaw embryo transfer cycles. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2024 Apr;64(2):104-113. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13750. Epub 2023 Sep 13. (PMID: 37702424.)
27. Rozen G, Polyakov A. Prednisone and Live Birth Rate in Patients With Recurrent Implantation Failure. JAMA. 2023 Sep 12;330(10):971. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.12631. (PMID: 37698569)
28. Medwin C, Rozen G, Agresta F, Nassar N, Polyakov A. The ovarian hyperstimulation that truly matters: Admissions, severity and prevention strategies. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2023 Aug;63(4):583-587. doi: 10.1111/ajo.13688. Epub 2023 Apr 16. (PMID: 37062907.)
29. Rozen G, Polyakov A. Tackling the RIF mirage with theoretical cumulative implantation rate. Fertil Steril. 2023 Jul;120(1):210. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2023.03.024. Epub 2023 Mar 24. (PMID: 36965596)
30. Polyakov A, Piskopos J, Rozen G. Elective egg freezing: State of the ART. Aust J Gen Pract. 2023 Jan-Feb;52(1-2):20-23. doi: 10.31128/AJGP-08-22-6546. (PMID: 36796764)
31. Polyakov A, Rozen G. Embryo research: destiny is what counts. J Med Ethics. 2022 Jul 20:jme-2022-108533. doi: 10.1136/jme-2022-108533. Epub ahead of print. (PMID: 35858756)
32. Polyakov A, Amor DJ, Savulescu J, Gyngell C, Georgiou EX, Ross V, Mizrachi Y, Rozen G. Polygenic risk score for embryo selection-not ready for prime time. Hum Reprod. 2022 Sep 30;37(10):2229-2236. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deac159. (PMID: 35852518)
33. Gan J, Rozen G, Polyakov A. Treatment outcomes of blastocysts thaw cycles, comparing the presence and absence of a corpus luteum: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 26;12(4):e051489. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051489. (PMID: 35473741)