Darren Jin Xiang Chow

School of Biomedicine

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Dr Darren JX Chow was awarded his PhD in 2024 for the use of non-invasive light-sheet microscopy for assessing embryo quality.

Dr Darren is now an early-career researcher supported by NHMRC funding, working within the Reproductive Success Group in the Discipline of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the University of Adelaide. His research sits at the interface of developmental biology and advanced imaging, aimed at visualising early life in its most unperturbed state—without the need for fluorescent labels or dyes.

Building on his doctoral work, Darren’s current research seeks to refine light-sheet microscopy techniques to non-invasively assess embryo health, genomic integrity, and developmental potential. By capturing label-free, dynamic snapshots of the earliest stages of life, his work contributes to a deeper understanding of embryo quality and viability, with relevance to both clinical IVF and basic reproductive biology.

Research topic: Non-invasive light-sheet microscopy to assess chromosomal integrity and developmental potential in oocytes and embryos without fluorescent labels.

Research interests: Label-free optical imaging; light-sheet microscopy; chromosomal abnormalities; early embryo development; embryo culture systems.

He is affiliated with the Robinson Research Institute, the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, and the Centre of Light for Life at the University of Adelaide.

Career
Publications
Contact

Appointments

Date Position Institution name

2018 - ongoing Research Technician ART Labs Solution

Date	Position	Institution name
2018 - ongoing	Research Technician	ART Labs Solution

Language Competencies

Language	Competency
Chinese (Cantonese)	Can read, write, speak and understand spoken
Chinese (Mandarin)	Can read, write, speak and understand spoken
English	Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
Malay	Can read, write, speak and understand spoken

Education

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
2019 - 2024	The University of Adelaide	Australia	Doctor in Philosophy (Medicine)
2017 - 2018	The University of Adelaide	Australia	Honours Degree of Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences
2015 - 2017	The University of Adelaide	Australia	Bachelor of Health Sciences

Research Interests

Fertility Reproduction Reproductive Biology Early Origins of Health Fertility and Conception

Journals

Year	Citation
2024	Chow, D. J. X., Schartner, E. P., Corsetti, S., Upadhya, A., Morizet, J., Gunn-Moore, F. J., . . . Dholakia, K. (2024). Quantifying DNA damage following light sheet and confocal imaging of the mammalian embryo. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 20760-1-20760-12. DOI Scopus3 Europe PMC2
2024	Chow, D. J. X., Tan, T. C. Y., Upadhya, A., Lim, M., Dholakia, K., & Dunning, K. R. (2024). Viewing early life without labels: optical approaches for imaging the early embryo†. Biology of Reproduction, 110(6), 1157-1174. DOI Scopus5 Europe PMC2
2023	Morizet, J., Chow, D., Wijesinghe, P., Schartner, E., Dwapanyin, G., Dubost, N., . . . Dholakia, K. (2023). UVA Hyperspectral Light-Sheet Microscopy for Volumetric Metabolic Imaging: Application to Preimplantation Embryo Development. ACS Photonics, 10(12), 4177-4187. DOI Scopus8 Europe PMC5
2023	Dwapanyin, G. O., Chow, D. J. X., Tan, T. C. Y., Dubost, N. S., Morizet, J. M., Dunning, K. R., & Dholakia, K. (2023). Investigation of refractive index dynamics during in vitro embryo development using off-axis digital holographic microscopy. Biomedical Optics Express, 14(7), 3327-3342. DOI Scopus9 Europe PMC7
2022	Tan, C., Mahbub, S., Campbell, J., Habibalahi, A., Campugan, C., Rose, R., . . . Dunning, K. (2022). Non-invasive, label-free optical analysis to detect aneuploidy within the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo. Human Reproduction, 37(1), 14-29. DOI Scopus29 WoS15 Europe PMC18
2022	Campugan, C. A., Lim, M., Chow, D. J. X., Tan, T. C. Y., Li, T., Saini, A. A., . . . Dunning, K. R. (2022). The effect of discrete wavelengths of visible light on the developing murine embryo. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 39(8), 1825-1837. DOI Scopus10 WoS3 Europe PMC5
2022	Yagoub, S. H., Lim, M., Tan, T. C. Y., Chow, D. J. X., Dholakia, K., Gibson, B. C., . . . Dunning, K. R. (2022). Vitrification within a nanoliter volume: oocyte and embryo cryopreservation within a 3D photopolymerized device. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 39(9), 1997-2014. DOI Scopus5 WoS2 Europe PMC4
2022	Yagoub, S. H., Lim, M., Tan, T. C. Y., Chow, D. J. X., Dholakia, K., Gibson, B. C., . . . Dunning, K. R. (2022). Correction to: Vitrification within a nanoliter volume: oocyte and embryo cryopreservation within a 3D photopolymerized device.. J Assist Reprod Genet, 39(10), 2435. DOI
2022	Wijesinghe, P., Corsetti, S., Chow, D. J. X., Sakata, S., Dunning, K. R., & Dholakia, K. (2022). Experimentally unsupervised deconvolution for light-sheet microscopy with propagation-invariant beams.. Light Sci Appl, 11(1), 319. DOI Scopus17 WoS4 Europe PMC9
2021	Santos Monteiro, C. A., Chow, D. J. X., Leal, G. R., Tan, C. Y., Reis Ferreira, A. M., Thompson, J. G., & Dunning, K. R. (2021). Optical imaging of cleavage stage bovine embryos using hyperspectral and confocal approaches reveals metabolic differences between on-time and fast-developing embryos. Theriogenology, 159, 60-68. DOI Scopus21 WoS12 Europe PMC12
2021	Wijesinghe, P., Corsetti, S., Chow, D. J. X., Sakata, S., Dunning, K. R., & Dholakia, K. (2021). Learned deconvolution using physics priors for structured light-sheet microscopy. DOI
2021	Chow, D. J. X., Wijesinghe, P., Dholakia, K., & Dunning, K. R. (2021). Does artificial intelligence have a role in the IVF clinic?. Reproduction and Fertility, 2(3), C29-C34. DOI Scopus30 WoS4 Europe PMC20

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2023	Dwapanyin, G. O., Chow, D. J. X., Tan, T. C. Y., Dubost, N. S., Morizet, J. M., Dunning, K. R., & Dholakia, K. (2023). Digital holographic microscopic assessment of embryo quality. In Frontiers in Optics: Proceedings Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science 2023, FiO, LS 2023 (pp. FM1E.2). Online: Optical Society of America. DOI

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2023	Dunning, K., Campugan, C., Lim, M., Chow, D., Tan, T., Li, T., . . . Dholakia, K. (2023). Does imaging affect embryo health? Comparative analysis of discrete wavelengths of light on the developing embryo. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 39th European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE, 2023) as published in Human Reproduction. Copenhagen, Denmark: Oxford University Press. DOI
2021	Tan, C. Y., Mahbub, S. B., Campugan, C. A., Campbell, J., Habibalahi, A., Chow, D. J. X., . . . Dunning, K. R. (2021). Non-invasive, label-free optical analysis to detect aneuploidy within the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 37th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, as published in Human Reproduction. virtual online: Oxford University Press (OUP). DOI

Year

Citation

2023

Dunning, K., Campugan, C., Lim, M., Chow, D., Tan, T., Li, T., . . . Dholakia, K. (2023). Does imaging affect embryo health? Comparative analysis of discrete wavelengths of light on the developing embryo. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 39th European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE, 2023) as published in Human Reproduction. Copenhagen, Denmark: Oxford University Press.
DOI

2021

Tan, C. Y., Mahbub, S. B., Campugan, C. A., Campbell, J., Habibalahi, A., Chow, D. J. X., . . . Dunning, K. R. (2021). Non-invasive, label-free optical analysis to detect aneuploidy within the inner cell mass of the preimplantation embryo. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 37th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, as published in Human Reproduction. virtual online: Oxford University Press (OUP).
DOI

Preprint

Year	Citation
2023	Dwapanyin, G., Chow, D., Tan, T., Dubost, N., Morizet, J., Dunning, K., & Dholakia, K. (2023). Investigation of refractive index dynamics during embryo development using digital holographic microscopy. DOI
2023	Morizet, J., Chow, D., Wijesinghe, P., Schartner, E., Dwapanyin, G., Dubost, N., . . . Dholakia, K. (2023). UVA hyperspectral light-sheet microscopy for volumetric metabolic imaging: application to pre-implantation embryo development. DOI
2023	Li, T., Li, S., Chow, D. J. X., Rose, R., Tan, T. C. Y., & Dunning, K. (2023). Impact of repeated cryopreservation on embryo health and implantation potential. DOI

Email: darrenjinxiang.chow@adelaide.edu.au

Darren Jin Xiang Chow

Appointments

Language Competencies

Education

Research Interests

Journals

Conference Papers

Conference Items

Preprint

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