Qualifications
Dr Hayden Homer has attained the highest levels of both Clinical Specialist and University Academic Qualifications.
- Certified Sub-specialist in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (CREI)
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists - Fellow of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (FRANZCOG)
- Certificate of Completion of Sub-specialist Training in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery (CCSST)
The Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (UK) - Member of The Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (UK) (MRCOG)
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK - Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS with Honours)
The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
Dr Hayden Homer’s Current Positions
- Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Sub-specialist and Gynaecologist
Queensland Fertility Group - Head of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital - Christopher Chen Chair in Reproductive Medicine
UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland - Director, Christopher Chen Oocyte Biology Research Laboratory
UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland - Head of Fertility Research Theme
UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland - Associate Editor
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Clinical:
Dr Homer has over 20 years’ experience in Fertility and Gynaecology. He brings a unique wealth of expertise and evidence-based knowledge to provide his patients with highly individualised treatment plans that maximise their chances of successful outcome.
Hayden trained and worked for 17 years in the United Kingdom at leading reproductive medicine units and with top fertility specialists and gynaecologists, including Professor TC Li at Sheffield (an expert in tubal reconstructive surgery and recurrent miscarriage), Prof Alison Murdoch at Newcastle-upon-Tyne (the team that developed the world’s first mitochondrial transfer treatment for mitochondrial diseases) and Drs Melanie Davies and Ertan Saridogan at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), one of Europe’s leading Reproductive Medicine Units. At UCLH, Dr Homer undertook IVF training and practiced in conjunction with the Centre for Reproductive & Genetic Health, which consistently boasts the highest IVF success rates in the UK. Before leaving the UK, Doctor Homer was a consultant sub-specialist in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery at UCLH where he was the lead for IVF and Recurrent Miscarriage.
Dr Hayden Homer was recruited to the University of New South Wales (Sydney) from the UK in 2014 through their Strategic Priority Funding. Shortly after moving to Sydney, he was head-hunted by the University of Queensland in 2016 to take up the highly prestigious Christopher Chen Chair in Reproductive Medicine at UQ, Australia’s first and only fully endowed Chair in the field. Since moving to Australia, Dr Homer has been accredited as a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (FRANZCOG). In recognition of his leadership in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI), he has also been accredited at the most advanced level of REI by RANZCOG with Certification in REI (CREI). Dr Homer is the first and only international medical graduate to be accredited with CREI through equivalence.
Dr Hayden Homer is one of only 4 CREI-accredited fertility sub-specialists in Queensland certified at the highest level of expertise for undertaking assisted reproductive treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), IVF/ICSI, surgical sperm extraction (e.g. TESA) and advanced reproductive surgery (e.g. for uterine septae, endometriosis and fibroids). He is the only one in Queensland accredited with both CREI and CCSST, which is the advanced REI sub-specialisation accreditation from the UK’s Royal College of O&G. He is also the clinical lead for the REI clinic at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital. Because of his extensive knowledge in all aspects of fertility research (see below), he therefore has unique insight into interventions that can improve IVF treatment success rates.
Research:
Dr Homer is internationally renowned for his research into female fertility, especially the effects of ageing on egg quality. He set up and directs Queensland’s first Oocyte Biology Research Laboratory. Dr Homer has secured several research grants in Australia as lead CIA investigator, most of which are from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), altogether totalling over $3M. At UQ, Dr Homer is the Research Lead for the Fertility Theme. His lab is studying the most challenging aspects of female fertility, including why egg quality declines with ageing, and is developing innovative new treatments for reversing the effects of ageing on eggs.
Dr Hayden Homer has published widely on egg quality and oocyte biology in some of the world’s premier journals such as Science, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications and Developmental Cell. He has also written widely on various aspects of fertility and reproduction, including recent publications on the effects of female ageing on egg quality, recurrent miscarriage and preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A).
In the UK, Dr Homer held a highly prestigious Wellcome Trust Clinician Scientist Fellowship ($1.2M), only the second one ever awarded to Reproductive Medicine. He has won over a dozen research prizes and awards including the prestigious Medical Research Society Prize (the first one to be awarded to O&G), the Blair Bell Research Prize, the William Blair Bell Memorial Lecture and an RCOG Wellbeing of Women Fellowship, to name a few. He was also the first of the UKCRC Walport Lecturers across all specialties in the UK to attain clinician scientist status.
Doctor Homer is regularly invited to speak at national and international meetings. He is Associate Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of O&G. He also lectures widely to trainee doctors, specialists, nurses, GPs and the wider public, headlining two sold-out UQ Public Lectures:
UQ Health Matters Lecture Series: Nature vs. Nurture – How the first 1000 days affect lifelong health; https://medicine.uq.edu.au/event/session/9381
UQ Global Leadership Series: Frontiers in Fertility Treatment; https://alumni.uq.edu.au/event/session/frontiers-in-fertility-treatment