About Me
Photo of Dr Laura Pastorelli

Dr Laura Pastorelli

HCPC, PhD, BSc

Laura qualified with a degree in Human Science at University College London in 2003 before working as a research assistant at the former National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in North London. In 2009 she achieved a PhD in developmental genetics from Oxford University and it was during her research project that she was first exposed to IVF looking into the genetics of reproductive tract development in mice. 

In 2011 she moved from academic research into a clinical setting to start her embryology training at the Royal infirmary of Edinburgh. After completing her Certificate in Embryology and achieving her HCPC professional registration, she moved to CARE Fertility to gain valuable experience in the private sector. She moved back to the NHS to work as an embryologist at Guy’s Hospital where she worked for 4 years, gaining experience at a large central London hospital and took a special interest in the donor programme and assisting with movement of patient samples.  She joined the team at St Helier as an embryologist in 2020. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she turned her focus to quality management, supporting the unit to develop their new Quality Management system and Laura became the unit’s Quality manager later that year.  She is now working towards completing a Diploma in Quality Management (ISO 9001:2015) to further her knowledge and identify opportunities to develop the service. Laura is still active in the lab and continues her embryology work alongside her Quality Manager role.

‘‘Having worked in Embryology for 12 years with experience in research, quality management, and public engagement with science:  I enjoy the multi-disciplinary aspect of my work, being able to use my experience and work closely with staff from the clinical, admin and laboratory team to identify areas of improvement and ensuring the unit continues to deliver high quality care to patients.’