Commercial

The IVF company

Darren is a partner in this Dubai-based company, providing short courses (both online and “hands on”) in IVF and genetics. A new facility recently acquired in the “La Mer” region will ensure students from the Middle East and Africa get a thorough grounding in these areas.

CytoScreen Solutions

CytoScreen Solutions is an enterprise activity run from GriffinLab

The purpose of CytoScreen Solutions is to translate research and educational efforts of GriffinLab and collaborators within and outside Kent into service-based, research driven enterprise activity.

Objectives of CytoScreen Solutions:

To ensure maximum impact from research innovations
To retain dedicated, high quality University staff in gainful employment, either continually or as a “bridge” between grant funding
To support PhD students, both financially and with thesis data
To maintain productive contact with a vast range of industrial and commercial partners
To provide ethically-based genetic screening services that ensure more efficient, environmentally friendly food production
To support the REF with an impact case
To generate high quality publications with a strong applied element
To increase the chances of grant funding through industrial interaction
To prime new research ideas in the areas of food production, genomics, reproduction, and conservation
To disseminate the good name of the University of Kent

CytoScreen Solutions provides non-human cytogenetic and sperm DNA damage services to the agricultural industry

Lab Resources and 'Hotel'

GriffinLab welcomes talented scientists from all around the world to make use of its extensive facilities in molecular cytogenetics.

The two most recent guests to 'GriffinLab Hotel' were Rafael Kreschmer, from Brazil, and Worrapong Singchat, from Thailand. They had a very productive time with us.

Collaborating Companies

Darren has a range of collaborations with various companies, most prominent are the following:

PIC (Pig improvement company), JSR Genetics, DanBred, Topigs Norsvin, HKScan, Oxford Gene Technology - which are all pig breeding companies from Spain, UK, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark. GriffinLab provides a service to these industries - a screening test for fertility in breeding boars.
Genetic Visions, Genus (cattle breeding companies) and Equine Reproductive Services UK – GriffinLab provides similar tests for cattle and horse samples
JSR Genetics, Topigs Norsvin, Paragon, ActIVFET (UK), Semex/Boviteq (Canada) – partner with GriffinLab on the development of cattle and pig IVF (with genetic diagnosis)
CryoArks (Cardiff and National History Museum), Misamis University (Ozamiz City Philippines), Kasetsart University (Bangkok, Thailand), University of Canberra (Australia) – collaborate on the genome reconstruction and conservation of endangered species
CCCU (Colorado), Zouves Institute, Laurel Fertility Care (Both San Fransisco), Igenomix (UK, USA, Turkey, Spain), Cooper Genomics (UK and USA), London Women’s Clinic, CARE fertility (both UK), FatemiFertility (Dubai) – provide externally supervised PhD programmes including research into advanced diagnostics in human embryos
Logixx Fertility and Andrology Solutions (both UK-based companies) collaborate with GriffinLab on DNA fragmentation tests in sperm