Successful fertility treatment is all about teamwork. From the first consultation right through to the treatment process and afterwards, an experienced, highly skilled and committed team is here to ensure the best possible advice, treatment and care.
In the background, our embryologists and technical staff apply equal dedication.
Everyone at Bridge is committed to your success.
Director and Medical Director
Mohamed Menabawey MBBCH, FRCOG Mr Menabawey qualified at Cairo University, completing his specialist training in the UK. He has held a Rockefeller Foundation Research Fellowship at The Department of Reproductive Physiology at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and was subsequently appointed Lecturer and Senior Registrar at St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Mr Menabawey joined Bridge after ten years as Consultant Infertility Specialist and Gynaecologist at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust and Person Responsible for the Assisted Conception Unit services at The University Hospital of Hartlepool during which time he introduced the Quality Assurance System ISO 9002 to the maternity service.
Mr Menabawey has long experience in infertility management and IVF, is an accomplished gynaecological surgeon and an expert in fertility restoration surgery.
Deputy Medical Director
Miss Nataly Atalla MRCOG PhD MSc Dr Atalla graduated in 1991, trained in obstetrics and gynaecology in Cairo and was granted sponsorship for a PhD in the UK in 1996. She practised as a senior registrar in the NHS and completed her MRCOG and PhD in 1999. This was followed by a five year period of specialised training in reproductive medicine in leading NHS and private centres in the UK - at St Bartholomew's Hospital, Lister IVF Unit, Bourn Hall, ARGC, London Women's Clinic and, finally, at Bridge.
Her experience in assisted conception is wide - with high skills in embryo transfer techniques, outpatient hysteroscopy, transvaginal scanning, management of recurrent implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage. She is an expert in managing egg donation, sperm donation and egg freezing programmes.
After a further period in the Public Sector, Miss Atalla has been accredited as a Consultant and has rejoined Bridge as Deputy Medical Director.
Consultant in Pre-implantation Genetics
Professor Alan Handyside MA PhD Leading scientist in human embryology and the genetics of early human development who has pioneered the development of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and Genetic Embryo Testing for chromosome aneuploidy - two groundbreaking techniques for identifying genetic abnormality and for assisting embryo selection which are both now available at Bridge.
As a Board Director of Bridge, Professor Handyside supports the Bridge team in all aspects of patient care and has led an international development team to a major breakthrough with the recent launch of Karyomapping.
Associate Director
Mr Laurence M A Shaw MB BS (LOND) FRCOG Laurence Shaw qualified at St Bartholomew's Medical School and held a consultant post at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust until September 2005. He has served as Clinical and Medical Director in the NHS. His main interests are the diagnosis of infertility, menopause and endoscopic surgery. He maintains his links with Kent through regular surgeries in Thanet and Canterbury.
Medical Team
Senior Fertility Specialist Professor Martha Dirnfeld
Martha Dirnfeld trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Free University of Brussels and the Carmel Medical Centre in Haifa, Israel. She is a consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and has been the Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and IVF at the Carmel Medical Centre since 1985. Dr Dirnfeld spent a year as a clinical Senior Research Fellow at St Bartholomew's Hospital, is the author of many scientific papers in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and has been a member of the Bridge team since 2003.
Senior Fertility Specialist
Dr Sami Al Shenar MBBS, MRCOG, DFSRH
Dr Al Shenar qualified as a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1999 and then worked in IVF in a very busy fertility centre in Jordan. After moving to the UK in 2001, he worked in obstetrics and gynaecology in NHS hospitals (Royal Blackburn, Wythenshawe, Royal Oldham, Darlington, Barts & The London) and, in 2007, gained the Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London. Dr Al Shenar has wide experience in minimal access surgery, ultrasound scanning and all areas of fertility treatment and joined the Bridge team in 2008 as a Fertility Specialist.
Consultants
Fertility Specialist (Male Factor)
Dr. Richard Balet MD
Richard Balet trained as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the University of Paris. After ten years at the Polyclinique in Deauville, where he was responsible for directing the IVF programme, Dr Balet moved to London as Senior Research Fellow at the Royal London Hospital and subsequently joined Bridge as a specialist in Male Infertility. Dr Balet has published articles relating to infertility in men with spinal injuries, transport IVF and male infertility in general.
Fertility Specialist
Ms Amanda Jane Tozer MB, BCh, MRCOG
Amanda Jane Tozer is the lead clinician at St Barts Fertility Centre. One of the UK’s leading fertility specialists and a valuable addition to the Bridge team, Ms Tozer qualified at the University of Wales College of Medicine. She has special expertise in menopause, transvaginal scanning and minimal access surgery, directs training and development programmes in reproductive medicine and has published extensively on a wide range of fertility-related subjects.
Fertility Specialist Mr Kamal Ojha MD FRCOG
Kamal Ojha trained in India and completed his MRCOG in Britain in 1995. He specialises in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and is currently a consultant at the St. George's Medical School in London. His specialised interest is in scanning and, in particular, the new 3D and 4D Doppler imaging techniques now available at Bridge.
Fertility Specialist
Miss Dayo Abayomi, MB BS, MSc (Lond), FRCOG
Dayo Abayomi is a Consultant Gynaecologist with a special interest in fertility service management. She trained under Professor Lord Robert Winston at Hammersmith Hospital London where she also did a research fellowship with the WHO in 1982, and with Mr John Parsons in the Assisted Conception Unit at King's College Hospital, London, participating in the establishment of a fertility unit in Singapore which she managed for 5 years until 1991.
Scientific Team
Scientific Director
Alan Thornhill BSc (Hons) PhD
State Registered Clinical Scientist, High Complexity Laboratory Director - (American Board of Bioanalysis)
One of the UK's leading specialists in diagnostic genetics who has joined Bridge as Scentific Director following periods as Director of the Andrology, IVF and PGD laboratories at Mayo Clinic, USA, and as Scentific Director of the London Fertility Centre. Author of over 100 articles on fertility and genetics.
Alan has a PhD in Genetics from the University of London, with post graduate training in single cell diagnostics at the Institute of Child Health.
Lab Manager (Research)
David Gillott BSc (Hons) PhD
David Gillott obtained his PhD from St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School ( Queen Mary College, University of London) in 1998. As a biochemist specialising in infertility research, it is his objective to investigate the expression, molecular interactions and clinical significance of the principal players in biological systems - the proteins. Dr Gillott retains an honorary lectureship at the University of London, co-ordinates research at Bridge and is actively teaching and publishing. He utilises the expanding field of proteomics to address a variety of fertility-related issues such as follicular development, uterine receptivity and embryo stem cell differentiation.
Emeldah Thema RN, RGM DipHE in Nursing Studies, Fertility Nurse
Marta Espejo RN
Fertility and DCU Nurse
Alice Denga RN, ENB DipHE in Assisted Conception
Fertility Nurse (weekend)
Julius Aganga
Operating Department Practitioner
Martin Alegata
Registered Nurse
Day Care Unit
Amanda Hopton
Nursing Administrator
Justine Bond RN
Fertility Nurse
Shelly Tse
Sonographer
Amanda Rosenbrock
RGN, Nurse (weekend)
Kate Warrener RN, RM, BM, BN
Fertility Nurse
Yolanda Wade
Medical Records Officer
Kimberley Goodrich
Fertility Care Assistant
Lucy Smith
Fertility Care Assistant
Deborah Sherwood
Senior Fertility Care Assistant
Elly Mathews
Programme Co-ordinator
Elrich Bezuidenhoudt
DCU Healthcare Assistant
Egg Donation Team
Ema Locker BSc (Hons) Programme Manager
Sharon Walster
Programme Co-ordinator
Vita Anderson BA
Programme Co-ordinator
Counselling
Pip Reilly MA
Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling Studies.
Pip is a BSCP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy), accredited practitioner and has extensive experience in all aspects of counselling and psychotherapy. He is a Board Member of ICSI (International Consumer Society for Infertility and BICA (British Infertility Counselling Association)
Bridge is open from 8.30am to 6.00pm on weekdays and 9am to 12.30pm at weekends.
Consultations are available from Monday to Friday inclusive and by special arrangement - out of normal hours on Thursday evenings (last appointment at 19:45) and on two Saturday mornings each month from 09:00 to 12:00 (last appointment at 11:00).
To arrange an appointment to see one of our Gynaecologists for a consultation, please email us here or call Reception on 020 7403 3363.
A referral letter from your GP or specialist would be helpful but is not essential. If available, your referral letter can be sent to us prior to consultation or brought with you on the day. Please make sure you bring any relevant medical reports or test results with you if these have not already been forwarded to Bridge by your referring doctor.
