Infertility affects one in six couples and 40% of the problems are contributed to the male partner. With birth rates in Europe now only 1.4 children/couple and 1-5% of those births aided by assisted reproductive technology (ART), research to understand infertility and improve infertility treatments could not be more timely. Over the past decade the Reproductive Medicine Research Group has focused on Andrology with twin aims:

- to understand the endocrine, cellular and molecular reproductive dysfunctions in infertile men

- to establish novel prognostic tests to enhance ART success

Within this framework, the group has explored the effects of specific lifestyle (recreational drugs and diet) and disease (diabetes mellitus) factors on male fertility. We have recently developed novel male fertility tests (based on sperm nuclear DNA damage assessed by strand breaks and oxidised bases) with both diagnostic and prognostic value in assisted reproductive technology (for IUI, IVF and ICSI).

Other interests include the impact of cancer on male fertility and the social impacts of ART failure and twin successes on the wellbeing of male and female patients.

I am managing director of Lewis Fertility Testing Ltd; a spin out company from Queen's University. Lewis Fertility Testing Ltd provides a diagnostic service for male fertility health. See http://www.lewisfertilitytesting.com/

I am a strong supporter of the SSC programme introduced by the GMC in 1993 (summarised in publication 'Tomorrows Doctors').  Due to its popularity, I have been running a second year SSC in Reproductive Technology in both semesters since the inception of the SSC programme here in 1998.