Reproductive Science Pioneer Bridges Academic Research with Public Education

Professor Joyce Harper has transformed from clinical embryologist to one of the UK’s leading voices in reproductive health education, challenging long-standing misconceptions and advocating for better public understanding of fertility issues.

After completing her PhD in 1987, Harper began working in one of the UK’s busiest fertility clinics, where she made a startling personal realization. “Despite having two degrees, I was a 25-year-old woman who did not really understand my menstrual cycle or fertility,” she recalls. This gap in her own knowledge inspired her to begin writing a book explaining reproductive health to young women.

That project would take decades to complete. Life’s demands intervened, and Harper’s manuscript remained unfinished until 2015, when she returned to it after establishing Global Women Connected, a website dedicated to debunking fertility myths. The book “Your Fertile Years” was finally published in 2021 – nearly 34 years after she began writing it.

Throughout this period, Harper’s career evolved significantly. After initially managing a fertility clinic, she returned to academia in 1992, joining the Hammersmith Hospital team to work on pre-implantation genetic testing. In 1996, she established her first Master’s course at University College London, where she continues to work today.

About a decade ago, Harper stepped away from laboratory work as pre-implantation genetic testing became increasingly commercialized. This transition allowed her to focus fully on public education in reproductive health. In 2015, she co-founded the British Fertility Education Initiative, followed by an international group in 2019.

“For more than a decade now, my work has focused on educating the public about reproductive health, from puberty through to menopause,” Harper explains. This shift from lab work to public engagement reflects her conviction that reliable information about reproductive health remains scarce for many women.

Harper’s research has revealed concerning knowledge gaps across multiple countries. Working with schools in the UK, Japan, Belgium, and Greece, her team has developed free teaching resources covering reproductive health comprehensively. “Education needs to start at school,” she emphasizes, noting that current curricula often fail to address critical topics like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, miscarriage, and menopause.

The UK curriculum has improved in recent years, particularly after a 2019 update that expanded content on menstruation, endometriosis, and PCOS. However, Harper identifies implementation as a significant challenge: “In many schools, it is taught by form tutors rather than by teachers trained in pastoral education.” This approach can inadvertently reinforce taboos rather than reduce them.

Harper expresses particular concern about the commercialization of fertility treatments and menopause care. “I think we have got into a mess, and I think it is getting worse,” she says, pointing to the proliferation of unproven IVF “add-ons” and supplements marketed to women without scientific evidence. She describes menopause care as the “Wild West,” with women often encouraged to try multiple interventions rather than seek appropriate medical advice.

These trends reflect a broader issue that Harper identifies: “This fuels a narrative that women are inherently unwell, that menstruation and menopause require constant testing, treatment, and intervention.” Instead, she advocates for focusing on “the five pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental health, and relationships.”

Over her decades of teaching, Harper has witnessed significant shifts in students’ attitudes toward reproductive health. Language has evolved to be more inclusive, recognizing that not all people who menstruate identify as women. She also notes growing awareness of how women have been historically underrepresented in medical research.

For early-career researchers interested in combining scientific rigor with public education, Harper suggests finding work that aligns with personal strengths and interests. “I gain energy from teaching, public engagement, and working with people,” she reflects, adding that today’s opportunities in women’s health technology, fertility research, and reproductive health education make it “a far more exciting field to enter than when I began.”

Through her multifaceted career, Harper has helped bridge the gap between cutting-edge reproductive science and accessible public education, demonstrating how academic expertise can be leveraged to address persistent knowledge gaps in women’s health.