Dr. Seang Lin Tan

Starting a family is one of life's most rewarding experiences, yet one in eight Canadian couples suffer from some form of infertility. Dr. Seang Lin Tan—Director of the McGill Reproductive Centre at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) in Montreal—is working diligently to change this statistic and bring hope to couples around the world. Dr. Tan heads an incredibly active research program at the McGill Reproductive Centre—one of the world's first infertility centers, and today regarded as a world leader in fertility research.

Dr. Tan and his research team produced the world's first air transport in-vitro fertilization and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection pregnancies. Dr. Tan is also a pioneer in the use of in-vitro maturation and vitrification—a new method of rapid freezing that he helped to develop. Last year Dr. Tan and his research team announced the first successful Canadian birth from frozen eggs in Canada using this new technique. Conventional methods of egg freezing can result in the formation of ice crystals, which can damage the egg. Dr. Tan's innovative team, which includes Dr. Ri-Cheng Chian, developed the McGill Cryoleaf, which protects the egg as it undergoes super-rapid cooling at a rate of more than 20,000ºC per minute; the cryoleaf increases egg survival to approximately 90%. The Cryoleaf has helped preserve the fertility of many young women undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which can cause premature menopause and infertility. Egg freezing also allows young women who wish to delay childbearing to do so safely, and eliminates the need to match the menstrual cycle of egg recipients—a drawback of conventional egg donor programs.

Dr. Tan is the James Edmund Dodds Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McGill University and Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief of the MUHC. He earned his Medical Doctorate (MD) at the University of Singapore. Among numerous other qualifications Dr. Tan has an MBA degree with distinction from the New York University/London School of Economics/HEC Grande Ecole Paris TRIUM Executive MBA Program in 2003. Dr. Tan has published seven books, over 265 original scientific papers and review articles, and has made over 200 research presentations. Dr. Tan is a member of the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology Expert Advisory Panels on Reproductive Medicine and Ultrasound; a fellow of the International Academy on Human Reproduction; and the recipient of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society - European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Exchange Speaker Award. He has been on the editorial board of nine medical journals and is regularly invited to speak at national and international scientific meetings. He received the 1999 Resolve Award from the National Infertility Association of the United States for outstanding contribution in the field of ultrasound; was awarded the Howard Eddey Gold Medal by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; the MRCOG Gold Medal by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the United Kingdom; and the 2003 Quebec Arts and Trade Medal for work in medicine, commitment to community building and improving intercultural relations.

For further information, please contact Dr. Seang Lin Tan using the Email contact form