Catherine Mills is a Professor of Bioethics at Monash University, Australia. Her research addresses ethical, social and regulatory issues that arise around biomedical and technology innovation in human reproduction. She works collaboratively with industry partners such as Illumina and Monash IVF, as well as community and professional stakeholders to develop solutions to improve patient and consumer experiences. Her current projects include ethical and social research on prenatal testing, epigenetics, sperm and egg donation and mitochondrial donation, for which she has received funding from major national and international funders. She leads the engagement and implementation stream of mitoHOPE, the clinical trial of mitochondrial donation in Australia.

With a background in science and legal practice, Associate Professor Karinne Ludlow’s research primarily focuses on regulation of, and legal challenges to, innovative technologies, particularly biotechnology. That research addresses biotechnology across all species and in applications including health, agriculture and food. Karinne Ludlow has particular expertise in the regulation of reproductive technologies and her most recent book is on international responses to mitochondrial donation published by Oxford University Press. Current projects include the MitoHOPE project intended to clinically trial mitochondrial donation in Australia, and funded through a $15 million Medical Research Future Fund grant.