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Our R&D centre receive support from CDTI to study new strategies to prevent prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities

Embryotools is currently involved in several research projects that aim to develop new technologies for the treatment of infertility problems.

Among them we highlight the project financed by the European Reginal Development funds (ERDF) Ref. RD 15-1-0011 that aims to develop a new technique for meiotic spindle replacement in oocytes affected by mitochondrial or other cytoplasmic problems.

Project title: Desenvolupament d’una novedosa tècnica de TRA: transferència de fus matern (MST). RD 15-1-0011.

Maternal spindle transfer overcomes embryo developmental arrest caused by ooplasmic defects in mice

Fourth Baby Born in 14 Months Using the Maternal Spindle Transfer Method as Part of Pilot Trial Conducted by the Institute of Life and Embryotools Scientific Team

Désolé, cet article est seulement disponible en English, Español et 中文. Pour le confort de l’utilisateur, le contenu est affiché ci-dessous dans la langue par défaut du site. Vous pouvez cliquer l’un des liens pour changer la langue du site en une autre langue disponible.

Founders

Nuno Costa-Borges, PhD

CEO&CSO, Co-Fondateur

Dr. Nuno Costa-Borges is an embryologist that has been involved in both research and clinical practice for over 15 years. As a PhD fellow of the Portuguese national funding agency for science, Nuno spent several years developing strategies to improve the efficiency of animal cloning, having accomplished the first animals successfully cloned in Spain in 2009. After finishing his PhD at the University Autonomous of Barcelona, he joined the embryology team of IVI Barcelona, where he has worked as a clinical embryologist. Later on, he co-founded Embryotools, where he has been devoted on offering training and consulting services to the IVF community worldwide. Additionally, as scientific director of Embryotools, Nuno has also been committed to the development of new IVF techniques, such as, the flicking method for the biopsy of blastocysts or spindle transfer for mitochondrial replacement in oocytes and embryos. Nuno’s work has led to several peer-reviewed publications and he has been invited speaker in numerous international conferences and scientific meetings, as well as awarded with prestigious prizes and grants.

Gloria Calderón, PhD

Former president

Dr. Gloria Calderón is a clinical embryologist who has been part of the team that managed to obtain the first pregnancies by IVF in Spain. With more than 30 years of experience in the field of assisted reproduction, Dr. Calderón is an international reference with extensive knowledge in clinical embryology, quality control and design of IVF laboratories. She has been the main internal scientific advisor for the IVI group between 2000 and 2013 (> 25,000 cycles / year) and is currently a guest lecturer in Master's programs at 6 Universities in Spain. Throughout her career she has provided consulting services throughout the world, and is frequently invited as speaker to the most important conferences of the sector in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Middle East. She is the author of more than 200 publications and abstracts in international journals and conferences, including Human Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility, ESHRE, ASRM, etc. and a member of the Human Reproduction Medicine Review Committee. In addition, Dr. Calderón is part of the panel of reviewers of reputed scientific journals.

Executive board

Laboratory staff

Enric Mestres, PhD

Directeur de laboratoire
Responsable qualité

Embryology laboratory

Mònica Acacio, MSc

Directrice du centre
vétérinaire
et de recherche

Embryology laboratory

Queralt Matia, MSc

Directrice du centre des produits

Embryology laboratory

Carolina Castelló, BSc

Directeur de la formation
Coordinatrice du centre de consultation clinique

Embryology laboratory

Andrea Villamar, Tech

Co-Directrice du centre de contrôle de la qualité

Quality control laboratory

Albert Martínez, MSc

Co-Directeur du centre de contrôle de la qualité

Quality control laboratory

Aina Franco, MSc

Coordinatrice de laboratoire

 

Quality control laboratory

Pau Soler, Tech

Technicien en embryologie

Quality control laboratory

Carlota Gutiérrez, MSc

Coordinatrice marketing

 

Embryology Laboratory

Sonia Gago, MSc

Doctorante

Embryology laboratory

Aran Santamaría, MSc

Technicienne en embryologie

Quality control laboratory

Alba González, MSc

Technicienne en embryologie

Quality control laboratory

Irune Pontejo, MSc

Technicienne en embryologie

Quality control laboratory

Administration

External advisors

Dagan Wells, PhD

Conseiller scientifique

Dagan Wells has been actively involved in preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and the study of human gametes and embryos for over two decades, conducting his first PGD cases in 1992. He spent several years developing novel PGD tests at University College London, accomplishing the first comprehensive chromosome analysis of cells from human embryos in 1998, using a combination of whole genome amplification and comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH). In 1999 Dagan moved to the United States and joined Reprogenetics, one of the world’s largest providers of PGD services. In 2003 he initiated Reprogenetics’ highly successful single gene PGD program, testing embryos for numerous serious inherited conditions. Dagan later joined the faculty of Yale University Medical School, where he spent four years running a research laboratory, before returning to the UK in late 2007. His research group is now located in the Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Oxford. Dagan’s work has led to the publication of more than 120 peer-review publications and book chapters and has been recognized with the award of numerous prizes and grants. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and currently serves on the Editorial Boards of several international journals. Dagan also directs Reprogenetics-UK, an independent laboratory offering state-of-the-art PGD services to IVF clinics throughout the UK and internationally.

Klaus Rink, PhD

Conseiller scientifique

German physicist, specialized in experimental physics, fluent in English and French. He is renowned for research and development of laser products for medical applications in the fields of in vitro fertilization, tissue welding and the treatment of kidney stones. In 2000 he co-founded OCTAX Microscience GmbH in Germany. OCTAX develops and manufactures IVF medical equipment, ranging from therapeutic to diagnostics appliances. OCTAX is reputed worldwide for producing the most reliable and accurate laser equipment, researched and developed by Dr. Rink since 1992. Scientific achievements: /1st birth after laser assisted hatching (1.48 μm) /1st birth after laser assisted blastomere biopsy and PGD /1st birth after laser assisted polar body biopsy /1st birth after laser assisted immobilization of spermatozoa /1st pregnancy after laser assisted zona drilling for ICSI /1st pregnancy after laser assisted removal of necrotic blastomeres from cryopreserved embryos

Gabriel Clérico

Vétérinaire

Gabriel José Clérico is a distinguished Argentinian biotechnologist specializing in equine reproductive technologies. He has played a pivotal role in advancing assisted reproduction in horses, particularly in the areas of oocyte vitrification and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In a landmark study published in Theriogenology in 2021, Clérico and his team reported the successful birth of live foals from vitrified/warmed immature equine oocytes matured with or without melatonin supplementation. This achievement marked a significant milestone in equine reproductive science, demonstrating the viability of vitrified oocytes in producing healthy offspring. Beyond his groundbreaking work in oocyte vitrification, Clérico has contributed to the broader field of equine assisted reproduction through studies on oocyte maturation dynamics and the timing of polar body extrusion, further informing best practices in ICSI procedures. Gabriel Clérico's contributions have not only advanced scientific understanding but have also had practical implications for equine breeding programs, offering new avenues for preserving and propagating valuable genetic lines.  

Xavier Santamaria, M.D., PhD

Conseiller médico-scientifique

Board Ob/Gyn specialist in Reproductive Medicine. He obtained a post-graduate fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale University (USA) and completed his Ph.D. at the Universitat Autònoma Barcelona (Spain). Dr. Santamaria war the Director of the International Department at the IVI between 2012 and 2016. In 2016, he joined Dr. Simon's Research group as a Senior Principal Investigator, where he has developed his research related to Asherman's Syndrome. His mail clinical and scientific interest is in understanding the regenerative capacity of the human endometrium and developing strategies to regenerate the endometrium to improve embryo implantation. His group was the first to complete a trial using human bone marrow stem cells to treat Asherman's syndrome and endometrial atrophy (PMDI:27005892) demonstrating this approach's feasibility in treating endometrial pathologies. As a result, CD133+ cells have been designed as the first Orphan Drug (ODD) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the field of gynecological research. Dr. Santamaria has also participated as an inventor in 7 different patent applications, and is a co-founder and scientific director of 4 different start-up companies. He has published 27 papers in peer-reviewed journals (H-index of 15) and 12 book chapters. He has been an invited speaker at more than 70 international conferences and was awarded the prize for Best Oral Presentation for Young Investigators at the Society of Ginecological Investigation Meeting in 2009. He has directed one doctoral thesis.

Olmo Rigoni

Conseiller commercial

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