Project to purify sperm for IVF success receives funding

The University of Adelaide’s Professor Sarah Robertson has received more than $820,000 to address a significant unmet health need which forms part of the IVF process.

Professor Robertson, who leads the Reproductive Immunology Group at the Robinson Research Institute, was granted $820,607 through the 2024 National Health and Medical Research Council Development Grants.

“One in six couples worldwide experience infertility, and around half of those seeking in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment are affected by male infertility,” said Professor Robertson.

“Successful fertilisation requires healthy sperm with high DNA integrity.

“However, current methods of sperm preparation select only on the basis of motility and morphology, not DNA integrity and developmental competence.

“This is a major cause of conception failure which requires repeated, onerous and expensive IVF cycles. It results in over-use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), causes early pregnancy loss and obstetric disorders, and has long-term negative health consequences for children conceived by IVF.”

Professor Robertson and her team will develop a user-friendly, surface-engineered device that mimics natural processes within the female body to purify fertile sperm.

“This innovative technology will facilitate a simpler IVF clinical pipeline with improved success rates - by removing a major barrier impeding creation of quality embryos, it is expected to improve pregnancy rates and health outcomes for infertile couples and IVF children,” said Professor Robertson.

“The device utilises coated surfaces that detect biomolecules on the spermatozoa plasma membrane to sequester DNA-damaged sperm, ensuring high quality, developmentally competent sperm are utilised for fertilisation.”

Professor Anton Middelberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), University of Adelaide, congratulated Professor Robertson on her funding.

“This is an exciting project for the University of Adelaide as it fosters collaboration amongst a cross-disciplinary team with extensive clinical and commercial experience,” said Professor Middelberg.

“Professor Robertson and her team are addressing a very real global challenge. Their work aims to improve the outcomes of the more than 20 million IVF cycles that are undertaken globally each year.”

The device is expected to be accessible in laboratories within three to five years.