Obituary: Dr Elpida Fragouli

Dr Elpida Fragouli, a highly accomplished scientist in the field of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and volunteer writer for BioNews, sadly died at the end of last year due to cancer.

Elpida obtained a BSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Surrey, and an MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Sussex, specialising in genetic manipulation and molecular biology. Elpida went on to join a team led by Professor Joyce Harper and Professor Joy Delhanty at University College London (UCL) in 1999, where she was awarded an MSc in Prenatal Genetics and Fetal Medicine and a PhD in Human Genetics. She remained at UCL, working as part of the preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) team carrying out research into the cytogenetics of human oocytes.

Professor Harper, who worked with Elpida for seven years, wrote in ESHRE News: 'It is with great sadness that Elpida Fragouli passed away after a very short illness due to cancer at the end of December 2023. She has been a key scientist in the field of PGT for over 20 years. Her contribution to the academic and clinical literature has been of global importance.'

In 2006 Elpida moved to the USA where she took an internship and subsequent research position at Yale University Medical School, Connecticut. Returning to the UK a year later, Elpida briefly worked as a researcher at the University of Oxford in the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health before taking a position as a senior cytogeneticist for Reprogenetics UK, a PGD laboratory based in Oxford, where she remained for ten years. Continuing in this field, Elpida joined another PGD laboratory in Oxford, Juno Genetics, as the research laboratory director, before becoming a full time academic at Bournemouth University as a lecturer in biomedical science in the department of life and environmental sciences.

Elpida was a prolific writer, publishing over 150 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and book chapters, for which she has been given multiple awards. Elpida also had several roles at ESHRE and was a member of the editorial boards of Human Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility and RBM Online.

On a more personal note, Elpida joined the team of volunteer writers at BioNews in 2021, with a flair for writing reviews she was a respected and valuable member of our team, with her most recent published in November (see BioNews 1217).

Elpida focused her research on gaining a better understanding on the genesis of chromosome abnormalities in human gametes and embryos, and improving IVF outcomes. Throughout her career, Elpida was responsible for the development, validation, and clinical application of several key PGT techniques, including comparative genomic hybridisation, which was the first comprehensive chromosome analysis method to be widely applied for the study of human embryos in both clinical and research settings. Elpida's research also led to the most detailed characterisation of chromosome abnormalities in human oocytes published to date.

Professor Harper said: 'Elpida will be missed by many of us on a personal level and leaves a huge gap in the field. She leaves behind her young son, Alexander.'