Mary Herbert

Mary Herbert is a Professor of Reproductive Biology at Newcastle University and Scientific Director at Newcastle Fertility Centre. Professor Herbert’s lab advances knowledge of the biology of germ cells and early embryos with the goals of improving understanding of infertility and extending the scope of reproductive technologies to prevent transmission of disease. After seeing how mitochondrial disease was devastating families, Professor Herbert developed a groundbreaking technique to transfer healthy mitochondria to fertilized embryos using nuclear transplantation. This cutting-edge mechanism has the potential to prevent the transmission of fatal mitochondrial disease from mother to child. Professor Herbert’s work has been critical in the development of UK law permitting these new techniques to be offered in clinical treatment. In addition to mitochondrial disease, Mary’s research focuses on the underlying causes of infertility, miscarriage and birth defects in older women. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and a member of the scientific advisory board for the Association of Clinical Embryologists in the UK.