About FSA

Luk Rombauts is an Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University and the Head of Reproductive Medicine at Monash Medical Centre, Southern Health. He is the Research Director of Monash IVF and a Research Fellow of the Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

His clinical interests include the management of male and female infertility, reproductive microsurgery, and advanced laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of severe endometriosis.

Petra is a passionate Clinical embryologist having worked in both Australia and the USA. Petra did her postgraduate training at the University of Melbourne in the laboratory of Professor David Gardner.

She is a past Chairperson of SIRT and currently serves as the SIRT representative on the FSA Board and RTAC. Petra is a highly sort after subject matter expert in Best practice clinical embryology and quality control together with effective laboratory workflow and quality assurance.

My role on the FSA Board is the representative for FNA and the secretary.

My current role is Nurse Unit manager at MonashIVF in Parramatta in western Sydney, where I lead a team of nurses over 3 sites. I have been involved in ART nursing for more than 20 years.  As well as a love of the job and the day to day care of our patients, my passion also extends to being a part of the process that provides support and educational opportunities to nurses working in ART. My career started in WA, where I became involved with the then Nurses Special Interest Group, now known as Fertility Nurses of Australasia (FNA). I then moved to Sydney, where my involvement with FNA continued including positions on the executive as the Secretary, the Chair and now the FNA representative on the Board of FSA.

Doug Yek is a Director of PIVET Medical Centre in Perth and Cairns Fertility Centre in Queensland. He has over 20 years of experience in the IVF and healthcare sector, with a background and qualifications in accounting, finance and management.

Hamish Barblett is a senior IVF Scientist at Genea Hollywood Fertility in Perth and past chair of the FSA professional group, Scientists in Reproductive Technology (SIRT).

He performs all IVF laboratory techniques and has an interest in the education of clinical scientists.

Sally completed her first degree at Edinburgh University in 1983 and took her first job as an embryologist at Bourn Hall, Cambridge UK, training under Mr. Patrick Steptoe and Professor Bob Edwards. She then worked on cattle IVF, in Cambridge and New Zealand moving to Australia in 1991. She completed a PhD at Sydney University evaluating the commercial practicality of producing lambs with sex-sorted sperm in 1997. She then returned to the clinical IVF field working as an embryologist Fertility First, Sydney and later joined Sydney IVF (Genea) as a research embryologist notably refining vitrification prior to release in clinics from 2004. Sally has been in her current role of Coordinator of the Master of Clinical Embryology Course since 2006, she also coordinates industry-led specialized IVF short-courses. She was instrumental in introducing a nationwide CPD scheme for SIRT members and currently a member of the “Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA) Advisory Panel”.

Dr Anne Clark trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist before becoming the first female doctor in Australia to obtain the CREI subspecialist qualification in reproductive medicine. She is currently Medical Director of Fertility First, which is an IVF and Fertility Clinic that also focuses on lifestyle modifications and peri-conception health to maximise a couple’s fertility and healthy ongoing pregnancies.

In 2015, Anne was appointed by the Federal Minister of Health as a person of ART experience to the NHMRC Embryo Research Licensing Committee.

Dr Clare Boothroyd is a Queensland graduate with first class honours with the unique combination of specialist qualifications in both endocrinology and gynaecology in addition to the Certificate of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Her specialist practice is limited to infertility and she is the medical director of Care Fertility Greenslopes based onsite at Greenslopes Private Hospital.

Narelle is a Fertility Counsellor in Brisbane and has worked as a Clinical and Health Psychologist for the past 25 years. She currently operates a private psychology practice with a focus on women’s mental health, including perinatal mental health and fertility counselling support.

She is a 2015 Churchill Fellow Recipient, investigating the risks and implications of Cross Border surrogacy for Australians. Narelle has presented nationally and internationally on topics including fertility, grief and loss, and clinical initiatives in maternal mental health care, and has contributed to the psychological research literature in these areas.

Simon McDowell is a Fertility Specialist working at Fertility Associates, Wellington, New Zealand. He is a qualified subspecialist and has a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery, primarily focusing on the management of severe endometriosis.

Simon holds an additional roles at Wellington Public Hospital and the University of Otago.

Christos Venetis is a Consultant Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist. He is an NHMRC Early Career Fellow and serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales and as the Director of Clinical Research for IVFAustralia.

His clinical and research interests include ovarian stimulation, endometrial receptivity, the management of low ovarian response and recurrent implantation failure, reproductive epidemiology and the health of mothers and babies after ART.

Iolanda Rodino is a Clinical Psychologist and Fertility Counsellor working in private practice . Over the past 20 years she has developed an independent consultancy service to several fertility clinics in Perth, offering evidenced based psychological care to patients facing the diverse emotional and relationship challenges associated with infertility.

Iolanda has a passion for psychosocial infertility research with particular interests in weight related concerns in women undertaking fertility treatment, PCOS, preconception care and third party reproduction.

A/Prof Anusch Yazdani is a subspecialist in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and an accredited Level 6 reproductive surgeon.

He is the Medical Director of the Queensland Fertility Group (QFG), the Queensland Director of Training for reproductive endocrinology and advanced gynaecological surgery, a Board member of the Fertility Society of Australia and the international representative body of gynaecologists, the AAGL .

A/Prof Yazdani is widely published and lectures nationally and internationally in his areas of interest, namely medical education, endometriosis, advanced gynaecological surgery and fertility.

Professor Beverley Vollenhoven is a Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist. She is the Deputy Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University and the head of Gynaecology at Monash Health, Victoria’s largest Health Care Provider.

She has been a clinician at Monash IVF since 1997. Her clinical interests are in all aspects of infertility both male and female, ovulatory disorders, eating disorders, menopause and fertility preservation. Her research interests are in the same areas.