S P E C I A L I S T I N S I G H T

The story began with my academic journey turning into my personal journey . My background as a molecular geneticist , with an undergrad in genetics , was followed by a masters in prenatal genetics and foetal medicine , and then a PhD in stem cell genetics and developmental biology . After obtaining a lectureship at University College London , I began teaching masters and medical students about women ’ s health , covering anatomy , physiology and fertility . I found it incredibly frustrating , as I was presenting alarming statistics on the prevalence of infertility and other women ’ s health conditions , yet there was a glaring lack of supportive technology . Despite the high number of women affected , advancements in technology to aid in diagnosis or reduce diagnosis times were simply not keeping pace .

As a woman myself , I struggled with the idea that I couldn ’ t find any answers about my own body . Despite having such a strong academic background where you ’ re looking at the most detailed molecular signatures of embryo formation , I still didn ’ t know whether I , as a woman , would have eggs that would fertilise to become embryos . This felt to me like a real failure in modern medicine . The fact we can ’ t give women the tools , and they deserve to understand their reproductive health .

When I reached my 30s , the advice I kept hearing was , ‘ Just freeze your eggs .’ But I couldn ’ t shake the question : do I even need to ? Is this an insurance policy that may not even pay off ? I wanted to make a more informed decision – couldn ’ t I look at data to determine whether I need to freeze my eggs or if I have time to wait ? I wanted data that reflects modern realities , not just generic statistics that can sometimes scare women or oversimplify things . Women today face different exposures and lifestyles compared to previous generations , and it felt essential to consider this .

When we looked for information to help us build what we wanted to build , we saw the data in many cases was poorly powered and based on small-scale studies .

When I met Dr Natalie Getreu , when she was doing her PhD , we joined forces . We met one evening in the Institute for Women ’ s Health at UCL ’ s bathroom , and I said to her , ‘ Geez , you don ’ t look good . Are you okay ?’ And she said : ‘ I ’ d love to get your career advice . How did you get to where you are ?’ And I just responded , ‘ It ’ s not worth it and shared my idea for Hertility .’ It was then that we started to work together . Then my identical twin sister , fortunately , is a corporate lawyer and worked on the incorporation of companies and venture capital , law and mergers acquisitions . She helped to incorporate the company and lent all her legal skills giving the structural integrity a company needs .

This began as a clinical trial . I got an Innovate Grant to develop predictive algorithms for gynaecological pathologies . The reason I pursued this was the possibility that a significant number of women facing infertility might be experiencing it due to underlying conditions , like endometriosis or PCOS . If we could identify and predict these pathologies , we could screen these women as highrisk candidates for infertility . When we started recruiting at the Royal Free Hospital , lockdown hit , and all non-essential clinics were closed . We shifted to online recruitment and were astonished – within a month , 7,000 women had registered their interest to participate in the trial .

That catalysed the mission for us . It wasn ’ t just us as academics wanting answers to these questions , but the women out there who are searching for answers about their bodies and have nowhere to turn .

Hertility aims to bring clarity to women ’ s reproductive health quickly , often providing answers within days instead of years . What key insights or challenges led you to create this fast-tracked approach to hormone and fertility testing ?

We went back to basics . With a GP appointment , you have on average nine minutes to discuss as many different aspects of your health to qualify for a referral . If we were to ask as many questions as possible that can lend to a clinical diagnosis using a digital interface this removing one barrier to entry . It decreases the limitation of time and dodges the stigma associated with speaking to a stranger and telling them the most intimate aspects of your life , including how you bleed , how often you ’ re having sex , whether you ovulate or previous sexually transmitted infections . Many of these questions yield hugely informative aspects of your health and can feel unnatural to us as women to tell a stranger , albeit your GP , about .

When we built this , we took all of the international diagnostic criteria and guidelines for as many different conditions as possible . Right now , we can screen for 18 different conditions and embed them within our health assessment . We are using a data-first approach to understanding what is wrong with somebody by cleverly triaging them .

What do you find to be the most common myths or misunderstandings about reproductive health that Hertility aims to debunk ?

I think it ’ s less about debunking and more about providing women with insights into the most basic

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