Three Parent Families - a lecture by Dr Louise Hyslop
An exclusive event for RSB members exploring the pioneering technique to prevent mitochondrial disease.

Details

When? Wednesday 25 February 2026, 16:00 to 17:00
Members Only This is a members-only event
Where? Online (Zoom)
CPD Approved This event is approved for CPD

Three-person IVF prevents inherited incurable mitochondrial disease


Hear from embryologist Dr Louise Hyslop who worked on the pioneering technique which uses the egg and sperm from the parents, and a second egg from a donor. In 2025 it was confirmed that this process lead to babies born free of incurable mitochondrial disease.

Talk outline

Around one in 5,000 children are born each year with mitochondrial DNA mutations that can cause devastating disease. These harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA can reduce the availability of energy which can have a significant impact tissues that have high energy demands such as the heart, muscle and brain. These diseases are passed from women to their children because mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited.

To this day there are no cures for mitochondrial DNA disease so researchers have been developing techniques to reduce the risk of women passing on the disease to their offspring. This webinar will explore the journey of the Newcastle team from the development of the new IVF-based mitochondrial donation technology in the research laboratory to the translation of the technique into the clinical laboratory. The culmination of the work led to the establishment of a care pathway for women with mitochondrial DNA disease and the births of eight babies with no signs of having mitochondrial DNA disease.

About our speaker

Dr Louise Hyslop joined Newcastle Fertility Centre in 2005 as a trainee and has progressed to Consultant Embryologist with a lead role in research and innovation. She is also an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University and has a long-standing research interest in developing treatments to reduce the risk of women passing on mitochondrial DNA disease to their children.

Louise had a key role in translating the mitochondrial donation technique from the research lab into the clinical lab.  She is named on the clinic HFEA licence as a Mitochondrial Donation Practitioner and performed the technique which led to the births reported in The New England Journal of Medicine publication in 2025. 

Chair

This webinar will be chaired by Emeritus Professor Patricia Kuwabara FRSB, Chair of RSB College of Organisational Members, and Professor of Genomics at the University of Bristol.

Who should attend?

This talk would be of interest to scientists, students, and those interested in genetics and human mitochondrial disease.

Cost and booking

This event is free to attend and exclusively for RSB members (including paid membership applications awaiting election). 


Special requirements

If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know during your booking using the additional information options, and we will do what we can to accommodate your needs.

Continuing Professional Development

This event is approved by the Royal Society of Biology for the purposes of CPD and can be counted as 3 CPD points.

Contact

For event, booking and website queries, please contact Lucy Eckersley at events@rsb.org.uk or on 020 3925 3445.

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