Educated in the UK, Dr Tracey Edgell came to Australia in 1999 after completing her PhD at the University of Hertfordshire. She spent 11 years working within the Australian biotechnology sector as a Research and Development scientist, with expertise in developing protein isolation/analysis techniques, biomarker identification and assay development. During this time, Dr Edgell’s work generated novel intellectual property and she oversaw a number of products to commercial release. Dr Edgell joined the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in 2011 under the mentorship of Professor Lois Salamonsen.

Dr Edgell’s initial focus was to examine the role of cytokines in determining endometrial receptivity and predicting IVF outcome. This project has led to the completion of a 400 patient clinical trial and the generation of two patents. Dr Edgell is collaborating with a commercial partner on the project.

Dr Edgell’s program of research also examines protein glycoforms and their relationship with endometrial receptivity, regulation of fertility and potential diagnostic use. Another major focus is the often overlooked proliferative phase of endometrium formation. This study was performed largely by Dr Harriet Fitzgerald during her PhD and has identified significant differences in cytokine, proteome and glycoproteomes of infertile women during the endometrial renewal phase. This study progressed to generating a 3-dimensional co-culture model of gland development, opening the way for future studies examining potential therapeutics to improve endometrial growth and treatment of infertile women.

Dr Edgell has been successful in securing funding from NHMRC, including a current Development grant to perform a multi-site validation of a prognostic for predicting IVF outcome. Additonal funding from Merck Serono Grant for Fertility Innovation (2012, 2013, 2015), Ferring Innovation Grant (2018) and in 2017 Dr Edgell was the recipient of the Fielding Innovation Award.