Sarah Martins da Silva – expert in male infertility
Dr Sarah Martins da Silva graduated MBChB (medicine) from University of Edinburgh in 1995.
Her career path has included working as a MRC Clinical Research Fellow, culminating in completion and submission of MD thesis (2007), subsequent specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and latterly working as an academic clinician in Ninewells Hospital and University of Dundee.
She became a fully accredited specialist in 2013, and is now a consultant based mainly in Ninewells Assisted Conception Unit. Her clinical areas of interest are infertility and reproductive endocrinology, with a particular focus on male factor infertility.
Her current post is part-funded by a Fellowship from NHS Research Scotland Fellowship, and she continues active andrology translational research. Key areas of research include: drug discovery for male subfertility, examination of sperm damage from environmental factors, and benefits of dietary supplements, including antioxidants to sperm, extending our understanding of the genetic problems which may underlie male infertility, and failed fertilisation.
The Assisted Conception Unit provides an ideal interface for patient contact and recruitment, and also offers an exciting opportunity to develop clinical services. Sarah envisages delivering an andrology-orientated clinical infertility service with embedded research interests, including pioneering a Scottish microsurgical sperm retrieval service, establishing dedicated male infertility clinics covering all aspects of fertility problems including obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia, testicular cancer and post-chemotherapy / radiotherapy patients, and creation of a Scottish Sperm Bank in partnership with other Scottish NHS infertility services, to improve recruitment of sperm donors.
Sarah is a member of British Fertility Society (BFS), Scottish Fertility Group, National Services Division Scoping Group on Provision of Gametes: donation, assessment, storage, transport and clinical use within NHS Scotland, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), International Network for Young Researchers in Male Fertility (INYRMF), American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and British Medical Association (BMA).
