The Education Committee is responsible for the training and education services offered by ARCS for Healthcare Scientists at any stage in their careers. The Education Committee focuses on the delivery of ARCS training schemes and NSHCS programmes such as the STP and HSST for HFEA licenced centres. Membership is made up of the leads of all the working groups which exist to manage the different training schemes for Healthcare Scientists.
Education Committee
Louise Hyslop
Co-chair ARCS Education Ctte
Louise completed a PhD in the mechanism of oocyte activation at fertilisation and secured a postdoctoral position studying human embryonic stem cells. She joined Newcastle Fertility Centre in 2005 and has progressed to Principal Embryologist with responsibility for training and service development. More recently she became the lead Embryologist for the mitochondrial donation programme having been assessed by the HFEA as competent to be a mitochondrial donation practitioner. She has a keen interest in training and routes to registration for Healthcare Scientists at all career levels having become a registered Clinical Scientist via ACS Route 2. Louise joined the Education Committee in 2018 and is currently the RCPath lead.
Louise Hyslop
Co-chair ARCS Education Ctte
Rachel Gregoire
Scientific Director/HFEA Person Responsible, Hewitt Fertility Centres, Liverpool Women’s Hospital, UK
Rachel has worked in the field of embryology since 1999, starting her clinical training at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee Scotland where she completed a PhD in Developmental Science focusing on glucose metabolism in late human embryonic and fetal development. In 2008 she moved to the Hewitt Fertility Centre Liverpool, one of the UK’s largest assisted conception providers, as Senior and then Lead Clinical Embryologist. In 2014 she worked with Glasgow Royal Infirmary as a Consultant Embryologist and HFEA Person Responsible where she led the scientific service in delivering cutting edge techniques and achieved a significant improvement in clinical and laboratory success rates. In 2017 Rachel returned to the Hewitt Fertility Centres in Liverpool and Knutsford as the Scientific Director and HFEA Person Responsible, where she continues to strive for excellence in laboratory techniques, and in clinical and laboratory success rates. The Hewitt Centres are leaders in the provision of training for future Reproductive Scientists and currently support both Andrology and Embryology students through their clinical training. Rachel is passionate about the training and professional development of Reproductive Scientists, supporting the academic and clinical Reproductive Scientists of the future, and is Co-Chair for the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS) Education Committee who develop and provide all training opportunities available for the ARCS membership. Rachel is also Deputy Chair of ARCS and a mentor for Laboratory Directors and HFEA Persons Responsible in the UK.
Rachel Gregoire
Scientific Director/HFEA Person Responsible, Hewitt Fertility Centres, Liverpool Women’s Hospital, UK
Emma Woodland
HSST Working Group Lead
Emma is a Clinical embryologist at the Salisbury Fertility Centre and the HSST lead for the ARCS Education SIG. Salisbury Fertility centre is a training centre accredited by the NSHCS for the Scientist Training Programme (STP) and Higher Specialist Scientific Training (HSST) programme. Emma started the HSST in September 2016 and over the years has enjoyed supporting STP trainees to complete their training. The HSST is a bespoke 5 year practice based education and training programme supported by an underpinning part-time professional doctorate and Medical Royal College qualifications. Emma has always been enthusiastic about training and is keen to offer support to anyone currently on, or thinking about applying for, the HSST programme.
Emma Woodland
HSST Working Group Lead
Lucy Wood
Embryology STP Curriculum Review Lead
Lucy is a Clinical Embryologist at Jessop Fertility within Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Since graduating from the 2012 cohort of the STP in Reproductive Science, she has been actively involved in the delivery of the training programme including recruitment and workplace training. Lucy's role as STP Curriculum Review Lead is carried out alongside a team of experts from the field of Reproductive Science. The team includes embryologists from both NHS and private clinics, as well as representatives from the HFEA, ARCS and academia.
Lucy Wood
Embryology STP Curriculum Review Lead
Joanne Adams
ABA Logbook Working Group Lead
Joanne is a Senior Andrologist and the Andrology Services Manager at Manchester Fertility and Donor Bank Manager for Semovo. Joanne was Secretary for the Association of Biomedical Andrologists (ABA) for 6 years and Chair of the ABA Education Committee for 3 years facilitating the Andrology Logbooks. Alongside this, Joanne is a Trustee of the SEED Trust, formerly known as the NGDT, and currently sit on the NEQAS Panel. Joanne was previously a member of the National Donation Strategy Group for the HFEA, created to bring about a greater awareness of donation process in clinics in the UK. Joanna leads
Joanne Adams
ABA Logbook Working Group Lead
Valerie Shaikly
Deputy Chair
Valerie, a founder partner of the Association of Clinical Embryologists, graduated in Biology in 1990 and began training as an embryologist under the tutorship of Lord Winston. She has since gained a masters degree in Health Promotion, PhD in Reproductive Immunology, Fellowship of the Royal Collage of Pathologists, Academy of Healthcare Science and Institute of Biomedical Scientists and is registered as a consultant clinical scientist specialising in genomic medicine within reproductive science. Working within her specialism to promote training of embryologists Val is ex-chair and member of the panel of examiners for reproductive science for the RCPath and assessor for the Academy of Clinical Science, Academy for Health Care Science and guest lecturer for STP at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is training lead for the Association of Reproductive Clinical Scientists support staff, member of the ARCS continuing professional development committee and co-chair of the ARCS education committee.
Valerie Shaikly
Deputy Chair
Jackson Kirkman Brown
Andrology STP Curriculum Review Lead/ Andrology STP NSHCS Lead Examiner
Jackson is HFEA Person Responsible and Science Lead at the Birmingham Women’s Fertility Centre and an NIHR ICA Reader in Human Reproductive Science and the University of Birmingham. He has worked across academic and clinical Andrology for many years, being well known for his research team’s research into calcium signalling, gamete recognition and control of sperm motility as well as more recently in sperm DNA quality and miscarriage. Clinically Jackson was recognised by an MBE for setting up the sperm salvage (fertility preservation) pathway for UK servicemen and day-to-day leads the PGT service in Birmingham.