About Us - Reproductive Medicine

Professor William Ledger is Director of the Department of Reproductive Medicine. He is also Head and Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, School of Women’s & Children’s Health at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney and Head of the Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of New South Wales. 

Professor Ledger moved to Sydney in 2011 having been Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Sheffield since 1999. Before that he was Reader in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Oxford and Clinical Lecturer and Subspecialist Trainee in Reproductive Medicine in Edinburgh. He was a Member of the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for five years before his move to Australia, and also was Chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Examinations and Assessment Committee for five years to 2010, and a Member of Council of the RCOG.

His research interests focus on in vitro fertilisation and assisted reproduction, impacts of reproductive disorders such as gynaecological cancer, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome on quality of life, reproductive effects of cancer treatment and health economic and demographic aspects of infertility. He is married, with three sons.
 

Dr Rachael Rodgers completed her training in obstetrics and gynaecology in 2016. She is completing her final year of sub-specialty training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. She is currently working as a staff specialist at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney.

She is also undertaking at PhD at the University of New South Wales, where she is working to develop novel agents to protect the ovaries during the administration of chemotherapy.

Dr Michael Costello is a fertility specialist who is also a renowned expert on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), both in Australia and internationally.  As a member of the PCOS Australian Alliance (PCOSAA) Strategic Advisory Group, he chaired the “Therapy for Infertility for PCOS Guideline Development Group” for the Evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - the first guideline of its kind both nationally and internationally, published in 2011.

After completing his specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, he undertook further sub-speciality training in infertility at The Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney and the Jessop University Hospital in Sheffield, England.  Michael has sub-specialty certification in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI) and a Masters in Reproductive Medicine at The University of Sydney.

Michael is currently Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology with the University of NSW and Clinical Academic with the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the Royal Hospital for Women He lectures regularly at local, national and international scientific meetings and has written over 50 medical publications including scientific journal papers and book chapters.  He is also an editor for the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders & Subfertility Group.  His main research interests include Infertility and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
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Rebecca Deans is a gynaecologist, working at the Royal Hospital for Women and Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick NSW. She is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

She has a Masters of Medicine (Reproductive Health Sciences & Human Genetics) from Sydney University, Australia.  She also holds the Certificate of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.  

Following her fellowship she travelled to the United Kingdom to undertake post fellowship training in the area of Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology. She has a special interest in Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology, Infertility and Fertility Surgery.

Dr Raewyn Teirney has been working in Gynaecology and Infertility for more than 15 years. Raewyn practices all aspects of infertility, however her special research and clinical interest in PCOS is paramount, having published many papers on this topic. 

Raewyn studied at Auckland University before taking her Masters of Medicine in Reproductive Health and Human Genetics at The University of Sydney. On completing her obstetric and gynaecology training in Sydney, Raewyn continued further sub-speciality training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as a clinical lecturer at Cambridge University and Bourn Hall IVF Centre in England - one of the world’s leading centres of IVF research and clinical excellence. She obtained her Certification in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI) in 2002. Raewyn’s experience in laparoscopic surgery complements her busy fertility practice.

Louise is a specialist in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine. Following completion of training and working as a consultant in the National Maternity Hospital and Merrion Fertility Clinic, Dublin, she returned to Sydney with her family in 2011.

Louise provides an attentive individualised approach for all couples and individuals. Her specialist services include male and female infertility, reproductive medicine & fertility preservation, recurrent miscarriage and gynaecological disorders.

Following graduation with honours in medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Louise undertook specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and received her certificate of specialist training from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Ireland in 2010. During this time she also completed Higher Diplomas in Colposcopy, Forensic Gynaecology and Genito-Urinary Medicine.

Her subspecialist fellowship in Infertility, reproductive medicine and laparoscopic surgery brought her to Sydney in 2006 at IVF Australia, Royal Hospital for Women and Sydney Women’s Endosurgery Centre.
 

Gavin Sacks is a fertility specialist and obstetrician, investigating and managing all aspects of male and female infertility and he established the recurrent miscarriage clinic at RHW.  

Gavin studied medicine at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the UK, and completed his PhD in reproductive immunology at Oxford. He now teaches and examines for the Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Reproductive Medicine degrees at UNSW, is an examiner for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and is an Associate Editor for Human Reproduction. He is actively involved in miscarriage research, with a particular interest in the role of the immune system (natural killer cells) in early pregnancy.

Dr Stephen Horrowitz is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with 30 years of experience in general gynaecology, laparoscopic surgery and complicated obstetrics.  He has always had a special interest in infertility and is involved in all aspects of infertility including basic assessment, ovulation induction, Intra-uterine insemination, laparoscopic management of endometriosis and pelvic/tubal adhesions as well as tubal surgery. He has a special interest in congenital uterine anomalies and performs corrective hysteroscopic surgery.

He obtained his medical degree in Cape Town (UCT) in 1976 and followed this with one year in General Practice. In 1985 he completed his specialty training in Cape Town obtaining the South African specialist degree {FCOG(SA)} as well as the FRCOG (UK) (with medal). After immigrating to Australia in 1985 passed the Australian specialist exam FRANZCOG.

In 1988 he started as a lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of NSW teaching both under and post graduates in the field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He was also appointed as a Clinical Academic and Consultant at the Royal Hospital for Women. 
 

Shannon is a urological surgeon, who is passionate about andrology and dedicated to treating male infertility.

She is an accomplished and proficient micro surgeon, whose experience in the male genitourinary system enables her to offer comprehensive treatment to men with infertility problems.

After graduating from New York University, Shannon completed her MBBS at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) before specialising in Urology. Shannon spent time further developing her skills at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she worked with Dr Craig Neiderberger and Dr Lawrence Ross, two of the foremost male infertility experts in the United States.

Following her return to Australia Shannon has been working alongside Dr David Golovsky, the country’s leading expert in male infertility, and undertaking a shared research project with a team from the UIC into clomiphene citrate (hormone optimisation for male infertility).
 

Dr Logan is a clinical psychologist and fertility counsellor at the Fertility and Research Centre, available to see patients who experience reproductive and fertility-related distress, require psychological assistance/support in relation to their reproductive health or treatment, or require mandatory counselling to proceed with an ART procedure. She has undertaken specialist training in perinatal mental health counselling, and utilizes a range of therapeutic strategies to assist individuals and couples. She is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Infertility Counsellor’s Association (ANZICA), Fertility Society Australia (FSA) and the Australian Clinical Psychology Association (ACPA). 

Dr Logan also works as a clinical researcher, conducting research on reproduction and oncology, to improve the psychological health of cancer patients and survivors within the School of Women and Children’s Health, UNSW. She is a leading researcher on the FUTuRE Fertility research team, across both the Sydney Children’s and Prince of Wales Hospitals. She is also a supervisor for undergraduate medical students at UNSW undertaking research in reproduction, fertility preservation, and oncofertility. 

Dr Logan completed a Bachelor of Arts / Science Psychology (Honours) at the Australian National University and a Doctor of Clinical Psychology / PhD at the University of Sydney. She was awarded an Australian Postgraduate scholarship in 2012-2015, a University of Sydney, School of Psychology Publication Award in 2015 and a Conjoint Early Career Research Award for the School of Women and Children’s Health UNSW in 2017. 
 

Jodie Mosca has been a Senior Social Worker at The Royal Hospital for Women since 2010. She graduated with honours from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Social Work, and also holds a Masters of Social Work in Counselling from the University of New South Wales.  During her time at RHW, Jodie has endeavoured to support women and their families through the pain of infertility and perinatal loss, complex medical pregnancies and challenging psychosocial circumstances. 

Jodie is a member of the Fertility Society of Australia and of ANZICA, the fertility counsellors’ network. Along with the Department of Reproductive Medicine NUM, she maintains the RHW donor data registry, a unique resource, which holds RHW’S information on donors, recipients and offspring.  Jodie manages historical inquiries from families – parents, offspring and donors – helping them to think through any of the issues that concern them, and acts as a safe middle ground when families and donors are in contact.
 

Marianna is the Nurse Unit Manager of Reproductive Medicine. Marianna has many years of nursing experience and has specialised in Reproductive Medicine the last 7 years.

Marianna is responsible for the co-ordination of the clinics and patient’s care during treatment cycles. The department is accredited every year by RTAC and this process is co-ordinated by the NUM. 

Mildred Jaramillo graduated in 2004 with a postgraduate diploma in midwifery from the University of Sydney.  She has been working as a fertility nurse in the Dept of Reproductive Medicine since 2006.  

Mildred has keen interests in improving infection control measures and is involved in auditing procedures and initiatives to this cause.

Rona has been a registered nurse and midwife since 1984 and trained in London. She came to Australia in 1987 and joined the RHW reproductive Medicine Unit in 1992.

Rona became a Clinical Nurse Specialist in 1993 and has remained in Reproductive Medicine for 20 years as she enjoys helping to create families.

Therese has a great passion for women's health, especially in the area of reproductive medicine. She has a great desire to help those in need achieve their dreams.

She completed her midwifery training through the RHW in 1998 and has worked in The Department of Reproductive Medicine for the past 12 years.

Nikki qualified as a registered general nurse at Kingston Hospital, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, in 1986.  She then went on to qualify as a registered midwife at St Helier Hospital, Carshalton, Surrey, in 1988.  Nikki worked as a midwife at St Thomas’ Hospital before working for 6 months in a bush hospital in Halls Creek in the Kimberleys, in WA.  Although this was a big change from inner London to outback Australia, this was a great experience for Nikki and she loved Australia.

In Nov 2005, Nikki took on the role of EPAS coordinator, back to a role she has always been passionate about. She has worked in EPAS for over 14 years, both here at the Royal and in the UK. Her aim is to provide an efficient yet sensitive and supportive service for the women who use it.

Nikki was a member of the Women’s Hospitals Australasia expert reference group, which produce a clinical practice guideline, ‘Management of Early Pregnancy Loss’ in 2007.  She also worked with the Department of Health NSW on the clinical advisory group in 2008 – which looked at best practice for EPAS both new and established and a policy document following the Hughes/Walter Inquiry in 2007.
 

Chris Nicol is the Scientific Director / Senior Hospital Scientist in charge, of the SEALS Andrology Laboratory at the Royal Hospital for Women. This is a specialised service provided by NSW Health Pathology to support the activities in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the RHW, Oncology Services at the Sydney Children’s Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital.

Chris has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Laboratory Science) at Charles Sturt University and in 1991 gained employment at the Prince of Wales Hospital in the Microbiology Department. In 2002 Chris commenced working in Andrology and in 2011 completed a Master of Reproductive Medicine at the University of NSW. Chris is a member of the Fertility Society of Australia, Scientist in Reproductive Technology and the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction and in 2012 was granted membership to the International Society for Fertility Preservation.

Chris’s interest lie in providing quality semen analysis, male gamete and female ovarian tissue cryopreservation for oncology patients, the donor sperm program, assessment of sperm DNA damage by Flow Cytometry and looking at methods to continually improve the preparation of fresh and frozen spermatozoa for use with assisted reproduction.

Harleen Kaur is currently working as a Hospital Scientist and second in charge of SEALS Andrology laboratory, Department of Reproductive Medicine, RHW.  She obtained her PhD in the field of Reproductive Biology from overseas and worked as a Post-doctorate mainly on identification of sperm antigens. She came to Australia in 1999 and commenced working in the Andrology department in 2003, since then she has pursued her career in male fertility assessment and cryopreservation of human gametes.
 
Harleen’s interests lie in Assisted Reproductive Technology as well as providing the best professional care to the Oncology patients. Harleen also is a trained NATA Auditor and performs internal auditing to assist a high standard of quality assurance. Harleen has been presenting papers at conferences and has published many papers in reputed international journals.
 

Sukran is a full time technical officer in the Andrology Laboratory in Reproductive Medicine Department at the Royal Hospital for Women. Sukran studied her Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Science in Pamukkale University, Turkey.

Sukran has completed her Master of Philosophy Degree in Physiology Department, University of Sydney. Her research topic was, The Role of L-proline in Pre-implantation Mouse Embryo. Sukran is currently studying as a Doctor of Philosophy part time student. Her topic on the PhD is, Mouse Embryo Brain Angiogenesis.

Ms McShane is the Endocrine Laboratory Senior Scientist. She graduated with a Masters of Science (Medicine) UNSW in 1990. She is currently employed as a Senior Scientist in charge of the Endocrine Lab at the Royal.

She has a long standing interest in women's health particularly pre-eclampsia, first trimester screening and fertility issues. Over the last 25 years, she has trained many junior scientist and presented research work at conferences both locally and internationally.

Grace is a Technical Officer in the SEALS Endocrinology Department. She has worked in the laboratory located in the Department of Reproductive Medicine since 1997. Grace specialised in the Ovulation Induction program.

She has been the point of support, coordination and care for the patients on this program for many years. She also performs First trimester Screening and other diagnostic tests for different departments within the Royal Hospital for Women and Prince of Wales Hospital.  

Grace has been involved in a recent statistical analysis of OI patients and their reproductive outcomes.

Stef is the Department Secretary. She has worked in the department for 15 years and previously worked in Medical Records and Outpatients.

She has vast experience in her role and lends constant administrative support within the team environment.

She is a highly valued member of the team.