Dr Hickman has 18 years of research and clinical embryology experience. She has developed her research skills as a member of scientific teams at numerous academic institutions worldwide (Florida University, Galway University, University of Southampton, Scottish Agricultural College, Roslin Institute, University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Trinidad and Tobago) and now lectures and supervises BSc, MSc and MD projects at the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology at Imperial College London.
Dr Hickman was trained as a clinical embryologist at CARE Fertility, where she obtained certification with the Association of Clinical Embryologists, Association of Clinical Scientists, Health and Care Professions Council, and progressed her career as a Scientific Director at Boston Place Clinic and Trinidad and Tobago IVF and Fertility Centre. Dr Hickman designed and supervised the completion of six innovative new IVF laboratories in the Middle East, the Caribbean and the UK.
Dr Hickman is a consultant advising clinics on implementing new technologies, clinic construction and design, troubleshooting, improving clinical outcomes and improving workflow efficiencies. Dr Hickman is part of the advisory board of several IVF-related companies and is the Scientific Representative of the British Fertility Society.
Dr Hickman designed the first clinic worldwide around the Time-Lapse technology, co-authored the first paper describing a relationship between blastocycst morphokinetics and ploidy, wrote a number of papers and book chapters, and, together with her research partners, is achieving promising results using Artificial Intelligence to enhance embryo selection. Dr Hickman is regularly invited to present her research at ESHRE, Alpha, ASRM, ASPIRE, Fertility and other top conferences in the IVF Field.