Hilary Critchley is Professor of Reproductive Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on uterine biology, focussing on abnormal uterine bleeding and the need for improved methods of endometrial contraception. She has characterized novel injury-repair mechanisms in the human endometrium thereby generating a working menstruation-induction hypothesis. Other notable achievements include demonstration of a role for hypoxia-inducible factor in menstruation and the demonstration that aberrant intracrine glucocorticoid metabolism contributes to excessive menstruation. Besides her scientific contributions she is a highly visible female mentor and role model for clinician scientists training in surgical specialities.