Dr Emmalee Ford

Education is a road to empowerment

Emmalee is passionate about scientific literacy and education about reproductive health. Having began her university journey as a secondary science education student, Emmalee was determined to inspire the next generation of scientists. Realising the research potential at the University of Newcastle, Emmalee decided to pursue her goal in a new environment, by working with other scientists and the public to increase awareness about fertility and reproductive health.
“Even when I was specialising in reproduction, there was so much I still didn’t know about how my body worked.”
Though trained as a traditional molecular biologist, Emmalee began to incorporate public health research into her PhD. During this time Emmalee investigated how much the general public understood fertility, and investigated new ways to bridge the gap in fertility knowledge.

The cause is key to the cure

Emmalee also specialises in researching a process that occurs in the ovaries known as primordial follicle activation. Primordial follicle activation is the mechanism by which eggs are selected for growth and eventual ovulation. When this process is altered, it can lead to the early loss of eggs in a condition known as premature ovarian insufficiency. One in 100 women are diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency, which is characterised by early menopause before the age of 40.

The process of primordial follicle activation remains poorly understood despite decades of research, and Emmalee investigates the role of supporting cells in the ovary to determine how the ovary selects which eggs to grow. This type of research is used to find better ways to diagnose premature ovarian insufficiency, and to find treatments for those at risk of losing their fertility, like patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Modern solutions applied to modern problems

Emmalee’s current research is focused on addressing fertility knowledge in young people. Throughout her PhD, Emmalee studied reproductive health apps which include apps that track menstrual cycles, or provide fertility ratings to avoid or plan pregnancies. She believes that apps have an important role to play in understanding fertility, but there is much work to be done.
“Apps provide a comfort to hundreds of thousands of people who want to learn more about their bodies. Except the market isn’t regulated, and apps are selling a service that isn’t one-fits-all. Lots of content can be misleading or outright false. Even the apps with better quality information hide this behind a paywall, which really limits the good they can do for us.”

Emmalee continues to champion reproductive health knowledge by using her voice in the community to reduce the taboo of discussing sexual health. She appears in local media, and at community events to foster interest in fertility awareness and to continue to be a visible young women in STEMM to inspire the next generation of scientists.
A new project sees Emmalee along with Doctor Jessie Sutherland and a multi-disciplinary team of academics and industry leaders to research fertility knowledge in high schools. By educating young people at this key period in their lives, they can be empowered to understand their bodies and make informed decisions with their lifestyle and future family planning.