Our purpose
To analyse and summarise the latest IVF research to help you make informed decisions about IVF optional extras.
What is Evidence-based IVF?
Evidence-based IVF is an unbiased resource about IVF optional extras. It provides information on the effectiveness, safety, costs, and other considerations relating to optional extras to empower patients to make informed decisions about their fertility care.
We are an independent entity based at the University of Melbourne. We are not affiliated with any specific IVF clinics or commercial companies, ensuring that our recommendations are unbiased and based solely on the latest IVF research and evidence.
How is Evidence-based IVF funded?
Evidence Based IVF is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australian Government) and The University of Melbourne.
Why can you trust Evidence-based IVF?
Evidence Based IVF is grounded in scientific evidence, transparent about our processes, and independent of commercial interests.
We follow an established and systematic approach to identify relevant studies and critically appraise them, combine results from multiple trials into a summary estimate, and translate them into our evidence categories. This methodology follows gold-standard guidelines such as those set out by Cochrane and is carried out by a team of Expert Researchers.
Our robust approach to evidence collection and synthesis is available on our website, for anyone interested in how we generate our findings.
We are objective and transparent because we are impartial. We do not accept funding or sponsorship from any organisations with a financial interest in IVF or IVF treatment options. Our Expert Researchers are free from financial conflicts of interests related to the IVF options they review.
Our Team - Expert Researchers
Our team of Expert Researchers are international experts in conducting and appraising scientific research such as clinical trials. These experts are responsible for developing the scientific methodology underpinning Evidence-based IVF and for reviewing the evidence for each IVF option. All Expert Researchers are highly skilled in the critical appraisal of scientific evidence and the specific methodologies used at Evidence-based IVF. Our Expert Researchers are all University academics, with no financial ties or relationships to any IVF clinics or companies.
Dr Sarah Lensen
Sarah is the Lead Expert Researcher at Evidence-based IVF and an internationally recognised authority in IVF research and methodology. She has contributed to numerous randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews assessing fertility and IVF treatments. She has over 70 published research papers, many focused on IVF optional extras and add-ons, and she also serves as Chair of the International IVF Add-ons Group.
Dr Jack Wilkinson
Jack is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Biostatistics, University of Manchester. His research focuses on evaluating health interventions, particularly in subfertility and assisted reproductive technologies (ART). He leads the UK-government-funded INSPECT-SR project, developing a tool to detect problematic randomized controlled trials, including those affected by data fabrication or falsification.
A/Professor Vanessa Jordan
Vanessa is an internationally recognised expert in research methodology and statistics in global health research. A leader in public health ethics and policy, she is a ministerial appointee to New Zealand’s National Ethics Advisory Committee and an Associate Director for Cochrane New Zealand. She has advised organizations such as the NZ Heart Foundation, PHARMAC, and FSANZ on evidence evaluation. She has over 100 published research articles.
Professor Mohan Kamath
Mohan is an IVF doctor in India. He received his medical and clinical trial training in India and the UK. He holds editorial board positions in prestigious international journals in the field of reproductive medicine, including the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility group. His areas of interest include PCOS, endometriosis, and dietary interventions in infertility. He has published over 110 publications in reproductive medicine.
Dr Rui Wang
Rui is a clinical epidemiologist specialising in reproductive and women’s health. He co-leads the NextGen Evidence Synthesis Team at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney. His research focuses on infertility, PCOS, fallopian tube disorders, assisted reproduction, and pregnancy complications. He has led major international evidence synthesis projects and established global networks connecting trialists, clinicians, and methodologists.
Dr Pedro Melo
Pedro is an IVF doctor in the UK. He completed his medical and embryology training in Lisbon, Paris and Oxford for postgraduate training. Pedro combines his clinical practice with research in infertility, miscarriage, and ovarian function. He is the national clinical coordinator for the LOCI randomised trial and a teaching associate at Green Templeton College in Oxford.
Dr Laurentiu Craciunas
Laurentiu is an IVF specialist in the UK where he completed his medical and research methodology training. His research interests are in genomic medicine and endometrial receptivity in the context of recurrent miscarriage. He has contributed to multiple international guidelines in infertility and IVF.
Professor Madelon van Wely
Madelon is an epidemiologist and researcher specialising in reproductive medicine. She co-leads the Cochrane Gynecology and Fertility group and the Cochrane Sexually Transmitted Infections group. Currently her research focuses on the reliability of scientific evidence and the importance of considering patient preferences.
Collaborators
We engage with a broad group of collaborators who help review the content on our website. This includes researchers and methodologists, IVF specialist, embryologists, and IVF patients. All of these groups have been involved in the development, design, and evaluation of the Evidence-based IVF website.
- IVF specialists and embryologists check the website content is clinically and scientifically accurate.
- IVF patients make sure it is easy to understand and free from overly technical language.
All the information we publish goes through multiple levels of editing to ensure that the information presented is accurate, evidence-based, and unbiased.
To maintain the rigor and impartiality of our process, our collaborators do not participate in the analysis or summarisation of the evidence. This is a task specifically for the Expert Researchers, who are clinical trial methodologists and skilled researchers, and have no financial ties with drug companies or private IVF clinics in Australia.
Our collaborators
Alex Polyakov, Fertility Specialist
Alice Poulton, Associate Genetic Counsellor
Anusch Yazdani, Fertility Specialist
Brian Zikmund-Fisher, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Equity
Cecilia Sjoblom, Scientific Director (IVF scientist) and Associate Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology
Cindy Farquhar, Fertility Specialist
Clare Boothroyd, Fertility Specialist
Dean Morbeck, Chief Scientific Officer
Deirdre Zander-Fox, Chief Scientific Officer and Scientific Director (IVF scientist)
Elina Roumian, Senior Embryologist
Emma Ebinger, Scientific Director (IVF scientist)
Fabrizzio Horta, Senior Lecturer and Scientific Director
Gavin Sacks, Fertility Specialist
Genia Rozen, Fertility Specialist
Hazel Robson, Genetic Counsellor
Hector Georgiou, Fertility Specialist
Iolanda Rodino, Fertility Counsellor
Jane Lyttleton, Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Practitioner
Karin Hammarberg, Senior Research Fellow (adjunct)
Kate Stern, IVF specialist
Kelton Tremellen, Fertility Specialist and Professor of Reproductive Medicine
Lisa Lee, Scientific Director (IVF scientist)
Louise Hull, Fertility Specialist and Professor of Women's Health
Lucy Prentice, Fertility Specialist
Luk Rombauts, Fertility Specialist
Michael Costello, Fertility Specialist
Michelle Peate, Associate Professor of Decision-making in Reproductive Health
Mike Armour, Associate Professor in Reproductive Health
Olivia Levis, Fertility Nurse
Raelia Lew, Fertility Specialist
Rebecca Kerner, Fertility Counsellor
Rebecca Ryan, Cochrane Researcher
Roger Hart, Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Specialist
Ryan Rose, Scientific Director (IVF scientist)
Samantha Costa, Nurse Practitioner
Sarah Robertson, Professor of Reproductive Immunology
Tamara Hunter, Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility Specialist
Tammy Hoffmann, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology
Tristan Hardy, Obstetrician/Gynaecologist and Genetic Pathologist
Wan Tinn Teh, Fertility Specialist
To safeguard the privacy of IVF patients, we do not disclose their names on this website.
Explore more information about Evidence-based IVF
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IVF optional extras
Information about IVF treatment options and add-ons, and the evidence for their effectiveness and safety
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Our research methods
The methods we use to find research studies, extract data, combine study results together, and translate the findings for IVF patients.
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Join our IVF research panel
Join the (In)Fertility Research Panel at the University of Melbourne, and contribute to important infertility and IVF research.
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Frequently asked questions
Answers to common questions about IVF, IVF treatment options, and how evidence is assessed on the Evidence-based IVF website.
Disclaimer: Evidence-based IVF is a web-based resource that provides evidence-based information based on research and other data. Content on the Evidence-based IVF webpage is provided for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. You should consult with qualified and appropriately experienced medical professionals when considering the information from this webpage. Scientific studies and clinical trial results are continually being published. While considerable care has been taken, The University of Melbourne cannot, and does not make any representations and gives no warranties that the information associated with the Evidence-based IVF webpage is in every respect correct, current, complete, reliable, or suitable for any purpose and use is entirely at your own risk.
Stay up-to-date with the latest evidence
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