Professor Christopher Chen is the Founder, and Chairman of ACRM (Advanced Centre for Reproductive Medicine), and presently, The Director of IVF SG, in Singapore.
An IVF pioneer who’s made several important contributions to advance the cause of fertility medicine. His expertise stems from 49 years in practice. Across the years, Professor Chen and his associates have treated and assisted thousands of couples and put them on the path to fertility.
Professor Chen He who graduated from Medical School in one of the University in Singapore in five years instead of the typical six, and subsequently studied Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Three and a half years later, he was officially an accredited Specialist.
By the time Professor Chen was 28 years old, he was a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, London, a Fellow of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a Fellow of American College of Surgeons. He chose to return to Singapore, becoming a lecturer in the National University of Singapore. Two years later, he was made Associate Professor; it was during this period that he made the most important breakthroughs in his research on immunological infertility, which would help him later in advancing IVF.
After his stint at the National University of Singapore, Professor Chen was recruited by Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia to lead their research into infertility. In 1983, Professor Chen made history when he successfully delivered the world’s first IVF-conceived triplets. The siblings, Chenara, Aaron and Jessica Guare, were a sensation in the medical world when they were first born.
Shortly after, in 1986, Professor Chen experienced yet another breakthrough; he became the first person to successfully freeze the human egg. The development of this technique enabled women all over the world to circumvent age-related fertility issues by banking their eggs at a younger age and thawing them out later in life when they are ready to have children. One of the most important uses of this technique comes in the case of cancer treatment. Young women who have to go through infertility-causing chemotherapy or radiation treatment are now able to freeze their eggs before embarking on their treatment.
Nine years after going to staying in Australia, Professor Chen was asked to return to Singapore by the Ministry of Health and the National University of Singapore.
Across his career, Professor Chen has received plenty of recognition from his peers in the medical and scientific community. He was the past World President of the International College of Surgeons and currently the Editor-in- Chief of the International Surgery journal in Chicago, USA of the International College of Surgeons.
On top of that, Professor Chen has been appointed Professor at University of Queensland, Australia, and Professor and Doctor of Medicine (MD) Honoris Causa at the University of Newcastle, Sydney, Australia. He has established The Professor Christopher Chen Chair in Reproductive Medicine at University of Queensland, Australia.
His life’s work speaks for itself, and his dedication towards advancing the state of reproductive medicine continues to be an inspiration to fertility specialists worldwide.