University of Oxford

OXU is among the top Universities of the World. The Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (www.obs- gyn.ox.ac.uk) is one of the largest academic and clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology departments in the UK. The department conducts basic, clinical and translational science programmes under four overarching themes: Cancer, Global Health, Maternal & Fetal Health and Reproductive Medicine & Genetics. Research include genetic studies of women’s health and reproduction, the dissection of molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms underlying normal and aberrant reproductive tissue function, clinical studies in women’s health and pregnancy, and growth and development across the first 1000 days of life. The department includes the Oxford Maternal & Perinatal Health Institute bringing together world experts to resolve priority maternal and perinatal health problems on a global scale. The department is   located at two main sites, the Women’s Centre (John Radcliffe Hospital) and the Institute for Reproductive Sciences.

Short biography principal investigator

Prof. Dagan Wells

Prof. Dagan Wells

Assistance with training and supervision. D. Wells has been actively involved in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and the study of human gametes and embryos for 25 years. His work has led to the publication of over 150 peer-review publications and in the last decade. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal Society of Biology and the Institute of Biomedical Scientists. D.Wells currently serves on the Boards of several international journals and also professional societies and has a successful track record of student supervision. OXU will host secondment and provide trainings.

Key Research Facility and Equipment

The University of Oxford has access to world class core facilities (e.g. genomics, proteomics, etc).  Additionally, the Wells group has extensive facilities and a state-of-the-art lab of its own.

Current involvement in Research and Training Programmes

In the past ten years the Wells group have trained and supervised 21 MSc students (research projects of 4 months) and 11 PhD students (research projects 3-4 years). Dr Wells has also been extensively involved in teaching within OXU and on the organising committees of international conferences and educational/training workshops. The lab is involved in multiple ongoing research studies and collaborates widely internationally and with industry. Currently hosts 4 PhD students and 2 MSc students.

  1. Fogarty et al 2017. Genome editing reveals a role for OCT4 in human embryogenesis. Nature doi:10.1038/nature24033;
  2. Babariya et al 2017. The incidence and origin of segmental aneuploidy in human oocytes and preimplantation embryos. Human Reproduction (in press);
  3. Fragouli et al 2017. Analysis of implantation and ongoing pregnancy rates following the transfer of mosaic diploid-aneuploid blastocysts. Human Genetics doi: 10.1007/s00439-017-1797-4;