Upcoming Events

Keynote Address

• John D. Gearhart, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), The Intersection Between Stem Cell Biology and Reproduction.

President’s Symposium: Genomics, Genetics, and Reproductive Biology

Chair: John H. Nilson (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington), President, Society for the Study of Reproduction.

• Huntington Willard, Ph.D. (Duke University, Durham, North Carolina), ‘’Omics Gone Wild: The Genome Sciences and Sexual Reproduction.
• David H. Ledbetter, Ph.D. (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia), Advances in Genomic and Genetic Technology That Enhance Detection of Fetal Abnormalities.
• Robert E. Braun, Ph.D. (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine), Stem Cells and Germ Cell Differentiation.

Health Disparities Lecture

Organized by the SSR Minority Affairs Committee; financial support provided by the FASEB MARC Program through a grant from the Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health. T36-GM08637. Chair: Winston E. Thompson, Ph.D. (Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia)

• Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. (Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia), Reducing Health Disparities by Increasing Diversity in the Health Professions.

Historical Perspectives Symposium: A Tribute to Anita Payne

Chair: Sally A. Camper, Ph.D. (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan)

• Dale “Buck” Hales, Ph.D. (Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois), Anita Payne: The Inner Voice That Guides My Science.
• Phyllis M. Wise, Ph.D. (University of Washington, Seattle, Washington), Anita Payne: Scientist, Teacher, Mentor, Advisor, Friend, and So Much More.
• Marco Conti, M.D. (University of California, San Francisco, California), Title to be announced.

State-of-the-Art Lectures

Co-Chairs: Leslie L. Heckert, Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas); Ruth Ann Keri, Ph.D. (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio)

• Myles Brown, M.D. (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts), Cistromes Approach to Hormones Action.
• Ruth H. Lehmann, M.D. (Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York, New York), Germ Cells Are Forever: Programming of the Germ Line Genome.
• James (Jay) C. Cross, Ph.D. (University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Developmental Potential and Plasticity of Stem Cells in the Placenta.

Exchange Lectures

• SSR New Investigator: Ryan Cabot, Ph.D. (Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana), Chromatin Remodeling and Embryo Development.
• ASRM Distinguished Research Scientist: Bruce R. Carr, M.D. (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas), Regulation and Expression of CYP 17 in the Human Placenta.
• SRF New Investigator Scientist: Suzannah Williams, Ph.D. (University of Oxford, Oxford, Great Britain), The Regulation of Ovulation Rate and Ovarian Function by Oocyte-glycoproteins.

I. Genomic and Nongenomic Actions of Steroids in the HPG Axis (Supported by the Mahesh Neuroendocrine Program Fund)

Chair: Jon E. Levine, Ph.D. (Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois)

• Jon E. Levine, Ph.D. (Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois), Fertility and Fatness: Roles of Nonclassical ERalpha Signaling in Brain.
• Iain J. Clarke, Ph.D. (Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), The Nexus Between Metabolic and Reproductive Circuits in the Hypothalamus.
• Suzanne Moenter, Ph.D. (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia), The Minuses and Pluses of Estradiol Feedback to GnRH Neurons.

II. Signaling Pathways Controlling Follicular Development

Chair: Diane M. Duffy, Ph.D. (Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia)

• Diego H. Castrillon, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas), PI3K Signaling via Foxo3 in Primordial Follicle Activation.
• Melissa E. Pepling, Ph.D. (Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York), Estrogen Signaling and Regulation of Primordial Follicle Formation.
• Alan Schneyer, Ph.D. (Pioneer Valley Life Science Institute, Springfield, Massachusetts), Defects in Follicle Development and Fertility in FST288-only Mice.

III. Sex-Specific Differences in Gene Regulation

Chair: Joan S. Jorgensen, D.V.M., Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin)

• Diane M. Robins, Ph.D. (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan), Sex-Specific Regulation by the Rsl1 KRAB Zinc Finger Proteins Impacts Reproduction, Metabolism, and Evolution.
• Ariane Paoloni-Giacobino, M.D. (University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland), Imprinting and Sex-Specific Modulations in Gene Expression.
• Alexander S. Kauffman, Ph.D. (University of California, La Jolla, California), Sex and Kisses: Development and Functions of Sex Differences in Kiss1 Neurons.

IV. Germ Cell Microenvironment

Chair: Kathleen Molyneaux, Ph.D. (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio)

• Kathleen Molyneaux, Ph.D. (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio), BMP Signaling Creates a Permissive Microenvironment for Germ Cells Within the Nascent Genital Ridges.
• Shosei Yoshida, M.D., Ph.D. (National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan), Spatiotemporal Control of the Spermatogenic Stem Cells in the Mouse Testis – Toward the Understanding of the Stem Cell Niche.
• Teresa Woodruff, Ph.D. (Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois), Ovarian Rigidity Regulates Follicle Function and Egg Quality.

V. Evolution and Development of the Placenta

Chair: Fuller W. Bazer, Ph.D. (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas)

• Derek E. Wildman, Ph.D. (Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan), Deciphering the Evolution of Placentation by Integrating Comparative Genomic and Anatomical Approaches.
• Michael J. Soares, Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas), The Prolactin Family: Evolution, Placentation, and Insights about Function.
• John D. Aplin, Ph.D. (University of Manchester, Manchester, England), Placental Evolution and the Glycocode.

VI. Genomics of Domesticated Species

Chair: Douglas F. Antczak, V.M.D., Ph.D. (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York)

• Douglas F. Antczak, V.M.D., Ph.D. (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York), Genomic Imprinting in Invasive Trophoblast in Mammalian Interspecies Hybrids.
• Thomas E. Spencer, Ph.D. (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas), Endogenous Retroviruses: From Infectious Elements to Essential Genes.
• Xiuchun (Cindy) Tian, Ph.D. (University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut), Functional Genomics and Epigenetics in Pig Cloning Research.

VII. Hormone-Responsive Malignancies (Sponsored by the Society for Gynecological Investigation)

Chair: Robert N. Taylor, M.D., Ph.D. (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia)

• Kunle Odunsi, M.D., Ph.D. (Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York), The Race Between Ovarian Cancer and Immunity: How Hormones and Inhibitory Molecules Set the Pace.
• Kimberly Leslie, M.D. (University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa), Endometrial Cancer: A Hormone-Responsive Malignancy.
• Serdar Bulun, M.D. (Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois), Aromatase and Breast Cancer: From Bench to Bedside.

VIII. Cell Adhesion Dynamics in Reproduction

Chair: Gustavo Blanco, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas)

• C. Yan Cheng, Ph.D. (The Population Council, New York, New York), Cell Adhesion Junctions in the Testis: Are They a Target for Contraception?
• Rex A. Hess, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois), Claudin 5, Germ Cells, and the Blood-Testis Barrier.
• A.M.M. van Pelt, Ph.D. (University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Adhesion Properties in Spermatogonial Stem Cells.

IX. Implantation and the Maternal-Fetal Interface

Chair: Brent Bany, Ph.D. (Southern Illinois University of Medicine, Carbondale, Illinois)

• Kathleen Caron, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina), Adrenomedullin Dosage at the Maternal-Fetal Interface.
• Thaddeus Golos, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin), Placental MHC and the Maternal-Fetal Immune Dialog in Primates.
• Sandra Blois, Ph.D. (Charite–University of Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany), Dendritic Cells in Implantation: New Players During Angiogenesis Process.

X. Mitochondria and Mitochondrial DNA in Oocytes, Embryos, and Disease

Chair: Richard J. Tasca, Ph.D. (NIH, NICHD, Rockville, Maryland)

• Weiwei Fan, Ph.D. (Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California), Mitochondrial DNA Mutations in Reproductive Medicine.
• Timothy Wai, Ph.D. (University of Cologne, Koln, Germany), Germline Transmission of Mitochondrial DNA in the Mouse.
• Shoukhrat M. Mitalipov, Ph.D. (Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon), Nonhuman Primate Model for Mitochondrial Gene Therapies.

XI. Energy Balance and Fertility

Chair: Carol F. Elias, Ph.D. (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas)

• Judith Y. Altarejos, Ph.D. (Salk Institute, La Jolla, California), The CREB Coactivator CRTC1 Is Required for Energy Balance and Fertility.
• Manuel Tena-Sempere, M.D. (University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain), Metabolic Regulation of Reproduction: Roles of the Hypothalamic Kiss1 System.
• Carol F. Elias, Ph.D. (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas), Hypothalamic Sites of Leptin Action on Reproductive Neuroendocrine Axis.

XII. HIF1 and Hypoxia-Regulated Gene Expression in Reproduction

Chair: Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington)

• Robert D. Koos, Ph.D. (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland), HIF-1’s Role in Estrogen-induced VEGF Expression: Implications for Both Normal and Pathological Cell Proliferation.
• Elke Winterhager, Ph.D. (Universitatsklinikum Essen, Essen, Germany), Hypoxic Regulation of Different Placental Molecules as an Adaptive Response to the Environment.
• Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington), Translational Regulation of HIF1α Expression in Granulosa Cells (GCs) by FSH: Unique Gene Targets for this Ubiquitous Transcriptional Regulator.

XIII. Embryonic Stem Cells & Induced Embryonic Stem Cells from Domesticated Species

Chair: Jorge A. Piedrahita, Ph.D. (North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina)

• Paul Verma, Ph.D. (Monash Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), Developments in Generating Pluripotent Cell Lines from Cattle.
• Margaret Hough, Ph.D. (University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Derivation and Characterization of Canine Embryonic Stem Cell Lines With In Vitro and In Vivo Differentiation Potential.
• R. Michael Roberts, Ph.D. (University of Missouri – Columbia, Columbia, Missouri), LIF-Dependent and FGF-Dependent Porcine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

XIV. Common Steroidogenic Primordia in Gonadal and Adrenal Morphogenesis

Chair: T. Rajendra Kumar, Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas)

• Gary Hammer, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan), Adrenocortical Stem and Progenitor Cells: Implications for Adrenal Diseases.
• Ken-ichirou Morohashi, Ph.D. (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan), Development of Fetal Steroidogenic Cells.
• Humphrey H.-C. Yao, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois), Diverse Roles of the Hedgehog Signaling in the Establishment of Steroidogenic Cell Lineages in Fetal Adrenal Glands and Gonads.

XV. Effects of Environmental Contaminants on Female Fertility & Ovarian Function

Chair: Kwan Hee Kim, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington)

• Retha Newbold, Ph.D. (NIEHS/NIH, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), Developmental Effects of Environmental Estrogens on Subsequent Fertility and Ovarian Function.
• Brian K. Petroff, Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas), Chronic Effects of Dioxins on the Female Reproductive System in Rats.
• Jodi Anne Flaws, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois), Effect of Methoxychlor on the Mammalian Ovary.

John D. Gearhart, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania),The Intersection Between Stem Cell Biology and Reproduction.

Huntington Willard, Ph.D. (Duke University, Durham, North Carolina), ‘’Omics Gone Wild: The Genome Sciences and Sexual Reproduction.

David H. Ledbetter, Ph.D.(Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia), Advances in Genomic and Genetic Technology That Enhance Detection of Fetal Abnormalities.

Robert E. Braun, Ph.D. (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine), Stem Cells and Germ Cell Differentiation.

Lori T. Raetzman, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA). Development of the Pituitary, Gatekeeper of Gonadotropins.

Sarah K. England, Ph.D. (Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA). The Timing of Labor; a Scientist’s Perspective.

Devon Payne-Sturges, Dr.P.H. (Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA). Humanizing Science: Making Research Relevant for Achieving Heath Equity.

Myles Brown, M.D. (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts), Cistromes Approach to Hormones Action.

Ruth H. Lehmann, M.D. (Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York, New York), Germ Cells Are Forever: Programming of the Germ Line Genome.

James (Jay) C. Cross, Ph.D. (University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Developmental Potential and Plasticity of Stem Cells in the Placenta.

ASRM Distinguished Research Scientist: Bruce R. Carr, M.D.(University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas), Regulation and Expression of CYP 17 in the Human Placenta.

SSR New Investigator: Ryan Cabot, Ph.D.(Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana),Chromatin Remodeling and Embryo Development.

SRF New Investigator Scientist: Suzannah Williams, Ph.D. (University of Oxford, Oxford, Great Britain), The Regulation of Ovulation Rate and Ovarian Function by Oocyte-glycoproteins.