Jack Fertility

Cecilia Lindgren and I are delighted to share the publication of a multi-year collaborative effort led at the University of Oxford Big Data Institute to understand the genetic basis of female and male infertility, now out in Nature Genetics Nature Portfolio. Give the article a read here - https://lnkd.in/ejVzP5AB - and let us know what you think! While infertility affects 1 in 6 couples worldwide, its cause remains unknown in up to 30% of cases. We worked with researchers from seven cohorts - UK Biobank, Genes & Health, Children of the 90s (ALSPAC), Estonian Biobank, deCODE genetics, Det Danske Bloddonorstudie and Copenhagen Hospital Biobank, and FinnGen - totalling over 1 million participants, to provide the first comprehensive overview of the genetic determinants of infertility. Here are some of our many takeaways: 1. We found 22 genetic variants for infertility in women, and 3 in men - many of which affect functions such as reproductive tract development and sperm motility. 2. Female infertility of unknown cause was highly associated with endometriosis (genetic correlation = 71%), leading us to wonder if undiagnosed endometriosis is responsible for many of these "unknown" cases. 3. Anovulatory female infertility (when an egg is not released as part of the menstrual cycle) shares three genetic variants with another common female reproductive health condition, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We also found negative correlation with dizygotic twinning (when two eggs are fertilised during the same cycle, leading to fraternal twins), suggesting treatments for this type of infertility could target ovulation rate. 4. We conducted genetic studies of reproductive hormones that affect fertility, such as luteinising hormone (which triggers egg and sperm production), oestradiol (the main oestrogen found in women), and testosterone. While we found nearly 300 genetic variants for these hormone levels, there wasn't much overlap with variants for infertility. This should be read carefully, as hormone levels can fluctuate over time and are difficult to capture in such large-scale studies. 5. And finally... if you're wondering how genetic variants for infertility are passed down over the generations, read the paper for a little snippet on a variant that may confer immune benefits while increasing the risk of infertility! Huge thanks to the Wellcome Trust and Gates Foundation, among many, many other funders supporting biobanks around the world and the 50+ authors on this paper. Laura Wittemans Duncan Palmer Nikolas Baya Teresa Ferreira Frederik Heymann Lassen Melody Parker Saskia Reibe Ahmed Elhakeem Minna Karjalainen Anu Pasanen Georgios Kalantzis Mette Nyegaard David van Heel Triin Laisk Cecilia Lindgren

Great to see our co-founder Lily Elsner talking #startups and healthcare for #healthtech founders and employees! 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 Healthtech Pigeon & SomX check out the amazing graphics on the article below, a familiar face! 🐦

🎉 We’ve been shortlisted for the South East UK StartUp Awards 2025: Medtech & Healthtech Startup of the Year! Great to be recognised alongside two other brilliant #healthtech startups: Epicase and fellow Innovate UK Young Innovator Award 22/23 grantee Clens Cosmetics! Congrats to all! #UKSUA

𝗙𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲. But you wouldn’t always know it from the way the conversation is framed. Infertility affects men and women almost equally - about 33% of cases are linked to male factors, another 33% to female factors, and the rest involves both partners or is unexplained. Yet when we talk about fertility treatments, solutions, and innovations, the focus often leans heavily toward women. Around 17.5% of adults worldwide experience issues surrounding infertility. Recently, I was speaking with a Founder who challenged my claim that I partner with a lot of fertility companies in the FemTech space. And they had a very valid point, often overlooked - fertility isn’t strictly a women’s health issue. So why does it largely sit under the FemTech umbrella? 〰️ Women bear the physical burden of treatment. Whether it's hormone injections, egg retrieval, or embryo transfers, the interventions tend to be more invasive for women - even when male-factor infertility is the reason for treatment. 〰️ Because the healthcare system historically places fertility in OB/GYN’s domain. The medical specialism most associated with reproductive health is gynecology, even though male fertility is equally important. As a result, many fertility innovations get grouped with “women’s health.” 〰️ Because funding follows the dominant narrative. Investors recognize FemTech as a growing market, and fertility is one of its biggest sectors. Meanwhile, “male fertility tech” is a much smaller niche - despite the need. That doesn’t mean we should accept the status quo. We need more inclusive conversations around fertility, recognizing that it’s a human issue, not just a women’s issue. We need more investment in male reproductive health - in diagnostics, treatments, and education. And we need to push beyond traditional categories to ensure innovation meets the needs of all. Here are some innovative companies in the fertility space that recognize fertility is not just a “women’s health issue”: ✴️ Proov ✴️ BAIBYS™ Fertility ✴️ Malebox Health Ltd ✴️ Jack Fertility ✴️ AIVF ✴️ Legacy 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆. #femtech #fertilitytech #metricbio

A few weeks ago while attending Nicola McConville and Idina Glyn’s fabulous Mishcon de Reya LLP “Making an Exit" event at Reuben College, University of Oxford I heard Founders Pledge trustees Rob Chapman and Chris Willis Pickup share FP's incredible mission. A great chat with the wonderful Lara Raven impressed me further about the extraordinary community who believe entrepreneurs are uniquely placed to transform the world, today and in the future, by using their skills, networks, and resources to tackle huge, seemingly insurmountable problems. It was thus an easy decision to make my pledge! Founders Pledge exists to support those who want to give back, but often lack the time, tools, or knowledge to direct their charitable giving where it will do the most good, and thus advise on, facilitate, and maximize the impact of their giving. ⛑️ I was particularly moved by their Rapid Response Fund with The Life You Can Save, already filling critical time-sensitive funding gaps created by the US’ suspension of foreign aid (you can donate now, link below!) Jack Fertility may be at an early stage, but it’s critical to me to lock in and make public my intention to give back from the very beginning. That’s what the Founders Pledge community is all about - creating a movement of entrepreneurs committed to making the world a better place. I’m delighted to be among them. Fellow founders, I recommend checking out Founders Pledge further by reaching out to the team ( Emily Hoble and Edward Mason who kindly onboarded me!) if you’re interested in learning more.  Already 2,000+ founders have pledged over USD$10 billion. Join us! (obligatory 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 )  #impact #socialimpact #GivingBack #TechForGood #Entrepreneurship

Our first Venture Space workshop was a hit! We held a dragon's den-style event led by Aunnie Patton Power, The Beam Network’s Academic Director and renowned academic, author, angel investor and entrepreneur. Aunnie guided our members through the early-stage investment process with three fantastic entrepreneur guest speakers to learn about assessing an early-stage deals while providing a safe, educational space for our members to upskill themselves as early-stage investors. With only 2% of VC funding going to women-led businesses, women investors will need to drive this transformation. Driving change through women's investor education is something we're very proud of at The Beam. This was a significant moment in The Beam's offering for our members, creating an opportunity to take virtual class learnings into a real-life simulated environment, illustrating our 3 E's - education, engagement, and empowerment. Swipe to see the three entrepreneurs who joined us for the workshop. Key learnings included: ⚡️ How vital a connection or 'X-factor' is to an entrepreneur at the early stage. ⚡️ To not over-rely on company valuation at the early stage. ⚡️ The bias women entrepreneurs experience when pitching such as being asked 'prevention' instead of 'promotion' questions. It was empowering to hear our members reflect that early-stage investing was not as intimidating as they once thought. Thank you to our brilliant speakers: Lily Elsner, CEO and Co-Founder of Jack Fertility Ayesha Ofori, Founder & CEO of Propelle Erika Brodnock MBE, MBE CEO of Kinhub Lisa van Eck Alba R. Anna Karin Levin Michelle Yue Ana Morales Bertha Morales Ria Kalsi #femaleempowerment #womeninfinance #empoweredwomen #financialempowerment #femalecommunity #womensupportingwomen #valuebasedinvesting #dragonsden #investorworkshop

Mark your calendars, and get your tickets 🎟 The Glastonbury of #HealthTech is coming to Oxfordshire! Join me at 💊THE FIX festival this fall 🍂 👩🔧 The festival takes place on September 18, 2025. Led by the founding Editor-in-chief of WIRED UK, David Rowan, and his fabulous team, this will be a convening the VOYAGERS.io Healthtech community and the UK ecosystem. Legendary! 🎪 Forget dull panels, THE FIX is an outdoor festival with music, tents, and creative content. #Femtech, #Longevity, #Psychedelics, #AI, #mentalhealth and a host of other hot topics will be covered at the festival. 🤓 If you look closely on the jam-packed agenda of movers and shakers, you’ll spot me and Nick Shipley doing a workshop on how to build hype with waitlists (you’ll recall Anisah Osman Britton MBE ‘s awesome piece in Sifted on ours at Jack Fertility!)  🚀 The venue is Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, home to the UK Space Agency, National Quantum Computing Centre, and 7,500+ scientists, engineers and innovators. While you know we’re Wood Centre For Innovation folks, we are excited to check out another scientific community in the greater OX. It has been so much fun introducing the awesome organizing team of Joe Rowan, Hugo Paquin, and my fabulous FemTech Lab investor Karina Vazirova to the (very tolerant of random emails) Oxford community 💙 🐦 Early Bird ticket prices end TOMORROW, Tuesday, February 25th. Get yours now - see you there! 

This week on Dream Teams, Lorne Magill and Nora Beqaj sit down with the incredible Lily Elsner, CEO & Co-Founder of Jack Fertility. Jack Fertility is breaking barriers in men’s reproductive health in the UK with its at-home, postable sperm testing kit—making fertility testing more accessible than ever. Lily’s Dream Team is full of powerhouse women who inspire, mentor, and support her: 💖 Michelle Obama – Need we say more? Her podcast and book are constant sources of wisdom for Lily. 💚 Sara Blakely – Founder of Spanx and Lily’s ultimate entrepreneurial role model. 💖 Danae Maragouthakis – Founder of Yoxly, a force in the same space with boundless energy and generosity. 💚 Nicola McConville – A master negotiator, mentor, and connector in the Oxford ecosystem. 💖 Pinky Lilani CBE DL – A champion of kindness in leadership and an amazing mentor to Lily. (And fun fact: this is her second Dream Teams nomination— and stay tuned for her 3rd appearance in her own episode episode!) And, of course, Lily’s Wellesley College women are forever on her Dream Team 🙌 Thanks for joining us, Lily—we loved this conversation!

🚀 The signage is officially up at the #WoodCentreforInnovation, marking a major milestone in The Oxford Trust’s journey! ✨ This year, we celebrate 40 incredible years of championing science, innovation, and entrepreneurship. 🧪💡 Stay tuned for #OxfordTrust40 celebrations and activities throughout 2025 — there’s much more to come! 🎈🎈🎈 A huge thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey. Here's to the next 40 years of encouraging the pursuit of science 🙌 #Innovation #Science #Entrepreneurship #Oxford #Celebration #Milestone #40years

The new issue of Nature Reviews Urology is out now, with our Comment on 'The interplay between #male #fertility, #mental #health and #sexual #function' inspiring the cover: https://lnkd.in/d-25JfqD Co-authored with Melinda Mills, MBE at Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, University of Oxford