Qualifications
- PhD / DPhil (University of York)
Summary
Roger Sturmey is a Professor of Reproductive Medicine at the Hull York Medical School and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester and serves as HFEA Person Responsible for human embryo research licenses at both institutions. He is interested in studying metabolic function at the nanoscale of individual oocytes and embryos and how this links to embryo physiology, and has subsequently applied these interests to somatic cells and stem cells. His laboratory studies oocytes and embryos of domestic species; notably bovine, porcine and equine, in addition to work on human embryos. His research has identified key metabolic adaptations of early embryos in response to nutritional and physiological challenges, informing the debate on maternal health around conception. His group has also developed a novel model of the female reproductive tract which has provided new insight into the formation of reproductive tract fluid. From 2017-22 he served as the Basic Science Officer for the ESHRE Embryology Special Interest Group, as well as a Board Member of the Association of Embryo Technology in Europe, Associate Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University where he teaches on the NHS STP Embryology Training programme and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee the animal IVF Technology company IVF Bioscience. In 2023 he was appointed as Chair of Scientific Advisory Panel for the UK Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS), and is serving as a member of the Programme Committee for the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR)'s 2024 annual conference.
Roger teaches throughout Phase 1 of the HYMS MBBS, covering topics in early development and reproductive health, as well as offering a Scholarship and Special Interest Project (SSIP) on Infertility. In addition, he teaches a number of components of the BSc in Biomedical Sciences, covering areas of cellular metabolism and early development. Furthermore, he teaches on the HYMS MSc in Pharmacology and Drug Development, leading a new module on Bioanalytical Techniques. Away from Hull, he is a guest teacher on the NHS STP Training programme for Clinical Embryologists.
Journal Article
Changing the public perception of human embryology
Rivron, N. C., Martinez-Arias, A., Sermon, K., Mummery, C., Schöler, H. R., Wells, J., …Kato, K. (2023). Changing the public perception of human embryology. Nature Cell Biology, 25, 1717–1719. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-023-01289-4
Practical considerations of dissolved oxygen levels for platelet function under hypoxia
Kusanto, B., Gordon, A., Naylor-Adamson, L., Atkinson, L., Coupland, C., Booth, Z., …Arman, M. (2021). Practical considerations of dissolved oxygen levels for platelet function under hypoxia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(24), Article 13223. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413223
Amino acids and the early mammalian embryo: Origin, fate, function and life‐long legacy
Leese, H. J., McKeegan, P., & Sturmey, R. G. (2021). Amino acids and the early mammalian embryo: Origin, fate, function and life‐long legacy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(18), Article 9874. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189874
Research interests
Roger is interested in the metabolism of the oocyte and early embryo and how this relates to onward development. He is especially focussed on the interaction between energy metabolism and epigenetic adaptations during early development. Moreover he works on how the environment in which the early embryo completes its development can modify critical events in ways that might alter onward development and ultimately affect the lifelong health of offspring. To study the periconceptual environment, he has developed cell-based models of the oviduct (Fallopian tube) and is now pursuing research into how the external conditions (maternal health, environmental contaminants) affect early development. He uses numerous techniques to study metabolism at the single cell-level and has applied these approaches to other cell types, notably blood platelets.
Lead investigator
Project
Funder
Grant
Started
Status
Project
Establishing the sperm and seminal plasma specific mechanisms of paternal programming
Funder
BBSRC Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Counc
Grant
£21,567.00
Started
1 January 2022
Status
Ongoing
Project
HIKE: Validating the measurement of respiration by mammalian embryos (HIKE)
Funder
MRC Medical Research Council
Grant
£30,183.00
Started
1 October 2023
Status
Ongoing
Project
Maternal Health and Reproductive Success (MHaRS) Forum
Funder
NIHR National Institute for Health Research
Grant
£487.00
Started
1 September 2019
Status
Complete
Project
Iron and Heart: A pilot trial of the effect of intravenous iron supplementation (Mononfer) in deficient but not anaemic patients with chronic kidney disease stages 3b or worse on functional status and cardiac structure and function
Funder
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Grant
£47,850.00
Started
1 June 2015
Status
Complete
Project
Essential equipment: The biochemistry of the human embryo
Funder
Hull IVF Trust Fund
Grant
£5,994.00
Started
10 November 2019
Status
Complete
Project
Does PRP affect oocyte and embryo development?
Funder
Hull IVF Trust Fund
Grant
£13,300.00
Started
1 January 2021
Status
Complete
Project
Embryo quality revisited: understanding and reversing the hidden impact of obesity
Funder
ESHRE European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Grant
£138,500.00
Started
1 June 2019
Status
Complete
Postgraduate supervision
Early mammalian embryo development
Cellular metabolism