Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at Imperial College and St Mary's Hospital London

Stephen Franks trained in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology. He is Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology at Imperial College Faculty of Medicine (University of London) and Consultant Endocrinologist at St Mary's and Hammersmith Hospitals, London. He has recently completed a term as Chairman of the Society for Endocrinology (UK). He has both clinic and laboratory based programmes of research in the field of normal and disordered follicular development, predominantly in the human ovary. He has a major interest in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is not only the commonest cause of anovulatory infertility, but is also a major risk factor for development of type 2 diabetes. His research includes investigation of the mechanism(s) of anovulation, and of the characteristic metabolic abnormalities; it focuses particularly on the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in the aetiology of the syndrome.