Miss Aban Kadva PhD FRCOG
Medical Director

Aban qualified from the University of Mysore, India in 1978 before going on to complete the rest of her training in the UK. Her interest in subfertility began when she was working as part-time Clinical Research Fellow /Honorary Registrar to Professor O Djahanbakhch in the Academic Department of
Obstetrics & Gynaecology, St Bartholomew’s & The Royal London School of Medicine & Dentistry. In April 1994 she helped to set up the Reproductive Endocrine Clinic at Newham General Hospital and also during her time at Newham she was trained in
assisted conception procedures. In May 2001 Aban was awarded the higher degree of PhD for her research and thesis entitled “Melatonin and LH Pulsatility in Human Reproduction”. Since April 2001 Aban has been employed by Essex Rivers Healthcare
NHS Trust as a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at Colchester General Hospital.
In August 2006 Aban was appointed as Medical Director of Isis.

Terry Leonard C.Biol. M.I.Biol.
Scientific Director & Person Responsible

Terry Leonard is a Reproductive Biologist and has worked in fertility laboratories since 1978. Between 1978 and 1986, he worked at the Middlesex Hospital as a Seminologist, where he gained a degree in Immunology. In March 1986 Terry moved on to work in IVF laboratories and since then he has acquired comprehensive experience in all assisted
conception techniques. He was one of the first
practitioners of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in the United Kingdom and has now personally performed over 1000 ICSI procedures.
Terry has helped to set up IVF laboratories both in this country and abroad as well as teaching other embryologists how to perform micromanipulation techniques. He was appointed as a Scientific and ICSI Inspector for the Human Fertilisation and
Embryology Authority (HFEA) in 1996 and continued to fulfil these roles until June 2006 when the HFEA started using in-house inspectors. Terry has been a Director of Isis since it was set up in 1999.

Dr Gidon Lieberman MD MRCOG
Clinical Director

Gidon is a Consultant Gynaecologist at The Whittington Hospital and Honorary Senior Lecturer at University College London. He undertook his undergraduate studies at St Andrews University and Manchester Medical School. After qualifying in 1993 he did his general obstetrics and gynaecology training in North East London. During this time he was granted his MD thesis which concerned the development of new techniques in diagnosing ovarian cancer. He was heavily involved in the ultrasound assessment of the pelvis, which subsequently led him to develop an interest in fertility. Following his general training he went on to be a Clinical Lecturer at The Royal Free and University College Hospital Medical School until 2004. Gidon then successfully completed Sub-speciality training in Reproductive Medicine at St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London Hospital.

Gidon has published in a wide area of gynaecology including gynaecological cancer and reproductive medicine. His current research interests are the integration of nutrition and acupuncture into mainstream fertility treatment. Gidon joined the team at Isis in May 2007.

Mr Tom Boto FRCOG
Consultant Gynaecologist

Tom qualified from King’s College Hospital Medical School in 1980 and after Registrar appointments at The Royal London, Newham General and UCH/Whittington Hospitals he was appointed Senior Registrar on the UCL-Ipswich rotation. Since 1992 Tom has been employed by The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust as a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist. His special interest is fertility and reproductive medicine and he is the clinical lead in providing this service in the trust.

Dr Caroline Marfleet MBBS MFFP & RHC

Caroline was appointed Consultant in Family Planning and Reproductive Health at Colchester General Hospital in 1995. Her special interests are subfertility, menstrual disorders, family planning and the menopause. She is responsible for all the couples with subfertility who are referred to Colchester General Hospital and is actively involved with consultations and management of couples seen at Isis.

Dr Fabio Casale
Consultant Anaesthetist

Fabio was a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Relief at Colchester General Hospital from May 1975 until October 2003 when he retired from full-time work. Since then he has been working regularly doing sessional work both in the NHS and also bringing his vast experience to Isis.

Sarah Pallett
Director and Unit Manager

Sarah qualified as a Nurse in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Her experience has included medical nursing, community nursing and gynaecology. In the mid 1990's Sarah helped develop a nurse-led infertility service in Southend-on-Sea. In 1999 she moved to Brentwood Fertility Unit as a Nurse Co- ordinator, gaining a Diploma in Nursing Studies. Sarah joined the Isis team in the summer of 2001.

Fiona Wallington
Senior Nurse Co-ordinator

Since qualifying as a nurse in 1988 Fiona has gained considerable experience in gynaecology and fertility. She worked as a Fertility Co-ordinator in the NHS before joining Isis in May 2003.

Julie Mckay
Nurse Co-ordinator
After qualifying as a nurse in 1991 Julie gained considerable experience in surgical medicine. In 1994 she moved into the field of Reproductive Medicine, spending four years working in a fertility clinic in Central London. After gaining a Diploma in Higher Education (Infection Control) Julie worked as a Clinical Research Co-ordinator before resuming her interest in fertility treatment.

Gemma Brown
Fertility Nurse
Gemma trained as a nurse at City University, London before qualifying in March 2003. She then worked briefly as an agency nurse before joining Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps in November 2003. Unfortunately, Gemma had to leave the RANC after sustaining an injury during basic training. In March 2004 she started work as a scrub and circulating nurse in the gynae and urology theatres at Colchester General Hospital. Gemma joined Isis in November 2006.

Jane Gorringe
Enrolled Nurse
After qualifying as a nurse in 1975 Jane worked at Colchester Maternity Hospital acquiring many years experience in theatre, recovery and post-delivery care. Her practical experience also includes managing a unit for the long term care of the elderly.

Sarah Read BSc
Embryologist

Sarah began her career as a clinical embryologist at Essex Fertility Centre in November 1995. After five years there (including a gap year when she spent some time working at Westmead Fertility Centre, Sydney, Australia) Sarah left to set up a new purpose-built IVF unit at The Essex Nuffield Hospital where she became senior clinical embryologist and unit manager. Sarah joined Isis in May 2006 as a senior clinical embryologist.

Ken Read HDCR(R) DMU
Sonographer

Ken trained and worked as a radiographer at Colchester General Hospital for over 10 years before undertaking further training to become a sonographer. After qualifying he spent 2 years as a sonographer before being promoted to Ultrasound Superintendent, a role in which he continued for the next 24 years. During that time he was responsible for expanding ultrasound services in Colchester to multiple users. Ken was also involved in providing ultrasound training to student sonographers and junior doctors. In October 2007 Ken joined Isis where his experience has enhanced the ultrasound side of the unit.

Richard Clarke
Operating Department Practitioner

Richard has been a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps since 1983 and a qualified Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) since 1987. During this time he has gained experience in all aspects of his profession and has developed a particular interest in trauma and orthopaedic surgery. His military career has taken him all over the world and he has completed eight operational tours abroad including areas of conflict such as The Balkans and Iraq. Richard has been working at Isis since February 2004.

Pip Reilly
Fertility Counsellor

Pip is a BACP / UKCPR accredited counselling practitioner and has extensive experience helping couples to deal with many of the complex issues surrounding fertility treatment. He is a past Chair of ISSUE (National Fertility Association) where he was involved in the merger of CHILD and ISSUE to form Infertility Network UK (I N UK) and was subsequently appointed as a member of the I N UK Board of Trustees. He is also an executive member of BICA (British Infertility Counselling Association). Pip has two degrees in Counselling Studies and an MA in Social Science. He has a keen interest in furthering the emotional support strategies of individuals (male/female) and couples with fertility issues. Pip joined Isis in 1999.

Kate Asbridge
Administrator

Kate has a wealth of experience in medical administration. She qualified as a medical secretary with the AMSPAR medical secretaries diploma in 1982. Subsequently she worked for the NHS as a secretary/PA in various departments including psychiatry, general medicine, surgery and paediatrics. She also worked for 5 years in a GP surgery in Colchester. Prior to joining Isis in February 2007, Kate spent 3 ½ years at Essex County Hospital as a PA to a consultant ophthalmologist.

Sarah Ward
Finance and Administration Co-ordinator

Prior to joining Isis in January 2005, Sarah has worked in a variety of accounting roles ranging from purchase and sales ledger to credit control. This broad experience has provided her with a good insight into the different aspects of accounts.

Julia Curties
Receptionist

After leaving school, Julia joined the Midland Bank (now HSBC) where she learnt all the different branch roles. Her experience of admin and reception was gained at HSBC where she was based in the banking hall and dealt with customers face to face. In 2003 Julia went to work for Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust based in the ophthalmology appointment office at Essex County Hospital where she dealt with patients over the telephone. Julia joined Isis in July 2006.

Mark Passmore
Finance Director

Mark qualified as a chartered accountant in 1977 with Price Waterhouse. He has experience in running the financial operations of a wide variety of companies and since 1998 has also been running his own Chartered Accountancy practice in Colchester. Mark has been a director of Isis since its inception.