Male Fertility

Allan is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield School of Medicine and Biomedical Science and the Head of Andrology for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. His research interests are in male fertility and infertility. It is estimated than 1 in 6 couples have a problem in conceiving a child and in about half of these cases, a problem is identified with the male partner.

Recent research projects have included investigating the role of sexually transmitted infections, such as Chlamydia on sperm function. He has collaborated with aerodynamic engineers at the University of Glasgow to investigate the fluid mechanics of sperm movement. He was one of the national coordinators of the CHAPS-UK project investigating the effects of occupation and lifestyle on semen quality in British men.

Allan is currently the Chairman of the British Fertility Society and also chairs the Steering Group for the UK National External Quality Assurance Scheme for Andrology. He also sits on the Editorial Boards of the journals Human Fertility, Reproduction and Fertility and Sterility. He was an advisor to the NICE Fertility Guideline Development Group and has contributed to working parties of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Department of Health and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

In addition to Science and Clinical Work, Allan is an accomplished broadcaster and regularly appears in the press and on television commenting on breaking news stories about infertility and IVF. He has also made a number of television programmes include Britain’s Secret Code Breaker (2011), Donor Unknown (2011), The Great Sperm Race (2009), The Truth About Food (2007), Make me a Baby (2007) and Lab Rats (2004).

Allan is also the course director for the new MSc in Science Communication and regularly organises training courses in Science Communication.

You can follow his general musings about science, sperm, male fertility and the life of an academic here. His University of Sheffield webpage is here.