Upcoming Events

Keynote Address

• Azim Surani, Ph.D. (Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK). Principles of Early Human Development and the Germ Cell Program.

Historical Perspective Lectures

• Asgerally T. Fazleabas, Ph.D. (Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA). Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy: A Brief History of Life’s Earliest Dialogue.

Expanding Horizon Keynote Lectures

• Carlos Simón, M.D., Ph.D. (Universitat de València; IGNEOMIX, València, Spain). Met and Unmet Needs in Human Endometrial Biology and Medicine.
• Andrew Sinclair, Ph.D. (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). Reproductive Research for Medical and Agricultural Benefit.
• Renee Reijo Pera, Ph.D. (Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA). Human Germ Cell Development.

Dr. Kwang Yul Cha 2017 President’s Symposium on Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

• Tracy L. Bale, Ph.D. (Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). Parental Stress and Epigenetic Programming of Offspring Development.
• Mark Hanson, Ph.D. (University of Southampton, Southampton, UK). DOHaD: Looking Back and Moving Forward.

Endocrine Disruptors Lecture

• Barbara Hales, Ph.D. (McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada). The Future of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: From Regrettable Substitutions to Responsible Replacements.

Propelling High-Impact Outcomes in Reproductive Biology: From Bench to Commercialization to Entrepreneur

• Kwang Yul Cha, M.D. (Founder, CHA Health Systems and CHA University, South Korea). Current Status of Stem Cell-Based Therapy in CHA Health Systems.
• Teresa Woodruff, Ph.D. (Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Engineering Reproduction.
• Clifford Librach, M.D. (CReATe Fertility Clinic, Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Development of a High Impact Translational Research Program Within a Reproductive Health Care Program.
• Daniel S. Johnston, Ph.D. (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland, USA). Contraceptive Method Development Within the NIH: An Atypical Product Development Paradigm.

Heritage Luncheon

• Janice M. Bahr, Ph.D. (University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA). Philip J. Dziuk: Founder of SSR, Scientist, Veteran, and Athlete.

Early Development and Pregnancy

• Fertilization: When Sperm Meet the Egg. Co-Chairs: Richard Cardullo, Ph.D. (University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, USA) and Chathura Priyadarshana (University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan).
  • Invited Talk: Peter Sutovsky, Ph.D. (University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA). Sperm Mitophagy during Fertilization.
  • Invited Talk: Haruhiko Miyata, Ph.D. (Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan). Sperm Motility and Its Competency for Mammalian Fertilization.
• Immunobiology of Conception and Pregnancy. Co-hairs: Troy Ott, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA) and John Schjenken, Ph.D. (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Danny J. Schust, M.D. (University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, USA). How Can We Best Study the Immunobiology of Human Implantation?
  • Invited Talk: John Bromfield, Ph.D. (University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA). Uterine Infection and Infertility: How Microbial Infection of the Reproductive Tract Causes Ovarian Dysfunction in the Dairy Cow.
• Implantation and Placentation. Co-Chairs: Hongmei Wang, Ph.D. (Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China) and Fei Zhao, Ph.D. (NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Sudhansu K. Dey, Ph.D. (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA). Molecular Interplay of Uterine Cell Polarity Directing Positioning of the Implantation Chamber.
  • Invited Talk: Mario Binelli, Ph.D. (Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil). Programming Endometrial Receptivity in Cattle.
• CHA Health Systems Symposium on Preimplantation Development. Chair: Zhiming Han, Ph.D.(Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China) and Estela Rose Araujo (University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo, Brazil).
  • Invited Talk: Hannah Brown, Ph.D. (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia). There’s More than Meets the Eye: The Next Generation of Noninvasive Embryo Diagnostics for the IVF Clinic!
  • Invited Talk: Peter J. Hansen, Ph.D. (University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA). Regulation of Preimplantation Developmental by Maternally Derived Embryokines.
• Pregnancy and Parturition. Co-chairs: Lois Salamonsen, Ph.D. (Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia) and Shavahn Loux, Ph.D. (University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Mala Mahendroo, Ph.D. (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA). Progesterone and Estrogen Collaborate to Regulate ECM Dynamics in the Pregnant Cervix.
• Recent Developments in Contraception. Chair: Eva Dimitriadis, Ph.D. (Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia) and Shreya Patel, Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA).
  • Invited Talk: John Amory, M.D. (University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA). Inhibition of Testicular Retinoic Acid Biosynthesis for Male Contraception.
  • Invited Talk: Diane M. Duffy, Ph.D. (Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, USA). Ovulation Inhibition: Opportunities for Novel Contraceptive Development.

Epigenetics, Environment and DOHaD

• Environmental Impact on Reproductive Pathologies. Co-Chair: Kwan Hee Kim, Ph.D.(Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA) and Saniya Rattan (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Gail S. Prins, Ph.D. (University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago). Bisphenol A Reprograms Prostate Stem Cells and Predisposes to Carcinogenesis.
  • Invited Talk: Sheela Sathyanarayana, M.D., M.P.H. (Seattle Children’s Hospital Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle, Washington, USA). Prenatal Phthalate Exposure Impacts on Newborn Reproductive Outcomes.
• Epigenetic Control of Developmental Programming. Chair: Sue Hammoud, Ph.D. (University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) and John Fredrick Odhiambo, Ph.D. (University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Serge McGraw, Ph.D. (Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada). Early Embryonic Alcohol Exposure Leads to Permanent DNA Methylation Alterations in Mouse Brain and Placenta.
  • Invited Talk: Bradley R. Cairns, Ph.D. (Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA). Transcription and Epigenetic Programs That Drive Developmental Decisions in Germline Stem Cells and Early Embryos.
• Epigenetics in the Germline. Co-Chairs: Satoshi Namekawa, Ph.D. (Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) and Kahina Ghanem (Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Hiroyuki Sasaki, M.D., Ph.D. (Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan). Global Landscape and Regulatory Principles of DNA Methylation Reprogramming during Germ Cell Specification In Vitro.
  • Invited Talk: Xin Chen, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA). Breaking Symmetry: Asymmetric Epigenetic Inheritance during Drosophila Germline Stem Cell Asymmetric Division.
• Epigenetics Mediating Transgenerational Impact. Co-Chairs: Wei Yan, Ph.D. (University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA) and Christian Andersen (University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Michael Skinner, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA). Environmentally Induced Epigenetic Inheritance of Sperm Epimutations and Disease: Exposure and Disease Diagnostics in Sperm.
  • Invited Talk: Victor Corces, Ph.D. (Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA). The Complexity of the Sperm Epigenome Explains Transgenerational Inheritance of Obesity.
• Evolutionary Perspectives on Reproductive Ecology. Co-chairs: Deborah Sloboda, Ph.D.(McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) and Emi Tucker (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Gillian R. Bentley, Ph.D. (Durham University, Durham, UK). Effects of Childhood Development on Reproductive Function and Health across the Lifecourse.
  • Invited Talk: George Bentley, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA). GnIH: An Integrator of Environmental Cues for Reproduction.
• Impact of Maternal Nutrition and Stress on the Offspring. Co-Chairs: Jennifer Wood, Ph.D.(University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA) and Pancharatna Katti, Ph.D. (Karnatak University, Dharwad, India).
  • Invited Talk: Laura Schulz, Ph.D. (University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri, USA). Leptin as a Mediator of Maternal Nutritional Influences on Offspring?
  • Invited Talk: Michelle Lane, Ph.D. (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia). The Sperm Legacy: How Does the Sperm Transmit Paternal Health Signals to the Offspring.

Models and Physiology of Reproduction

• Clinical Issues in Reproduction. Co-Chairs: Nabal José Bracero Serrano, M.D. (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Macarena B. Gonzalez (Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Leendert H. Looijenga, Ph.D. (Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands). Human Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: Integrated Analyses and Clinical Implications.
  • Invited Talk: Kelle H. Moley, M.D. (Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA). Zika Virus Infection Damages the Testes in Mice.
• Gamete and Reproductive Conservation. Co-Chairs: Ina Dobrinksi, D.V.M. (University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada) and Taylor Pini (University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Budhan S. Pukazhenthi, Ph.D. (Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA). How Reproductive Science Is Addressing the Highest Priorities in Wildlife Conservation.
  • Invited Talk: Goro Yoshizaki, Ph.D. (Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan). Production of Viable Trout Offspring Derived from Frozen Whole Fish.
• Immunobiology of Male Reproductive Function. Co-Chairs: Jannette Dufour, Ph.D. (Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA) and Bindu Menon (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Monika Fijak, Ph.D. (Justus-Liebig-Universität-Gießen, Gießen, Germany). New Facets of an Old Hormone: Testosterone as an Immunomodulator in the Testis and Beyond.
  • Invited Talk: Maria Christina Werneck de Avellar, Ph.D. (Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil). Beta Defensins and Their Role in Epididymal Morphogenesis.
• Milton KH Leong Symposium on Recent Breakthroughs in Androgen Control of Puberty and Fertility. Co-chairs: Lee Smith, Ph.D. (The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK) and Andrew Pask, Ph.D. (University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Robert Viger, Ph.D. (Centre Hospitalier de l’Université Laval, Québec, Canada). LH Signaling and Androgen Production in Males: New Pieces to the Puzzle.
  • Invited Talk: William Walker, Ph.D. (Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). Regulation of Spermatogenesis by Classical and Nonclassical Testosterone Signaling.
• Reproductive Neuroendocrinology—Supported by the Virendra B. Mahesh Neuroendocrine Program Fund. Co-Chairs: Daniel Bernard, Ph.D. (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and William T. Farmer, Ph.D. (US Environmental Protection Agency, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Suzanne Moenter, Ph.D. (University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA). Prepubertal Development of the Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neuronal Network.
  • Invited Talk: Amy Navratil, Ph.D. (University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA). Citrullination: Post-Translational Regulation of Gonadotropin Synthesis and Secretion.
• Technologies for Reproductive Biology Research. Co-Chairs: Masahito Ikawa, Ph.D. (Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan) and Stacia Prosser (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Martin M. Matzuk, M.D., Ph.D. (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA). Chemical Biology and CRISPR/Cas9 Approaches in Reproductive Medicine.
  • Invited Talk: Joerg Bewersdorf, Ph.D. (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA). 3D Microscopy: Whole-Cell 4Pi Single-Molecule Switching Nanoscopy.

Ovary and Female Tract

• Control of Ovarian Development. Co-Chairs: Gerrit J. Bouma, Ph.D. (Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA). and Jeremy Egebert, Ph.D. (UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Lane K. Christenson, Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Lawrence, Kansas, USA). Extracellular Vesicles in Ovarian Folliculogenesis.
  • Invited Talk: Cecily V. Bishop, Ph.D. (Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA). Mechanisms Contributing to Formation and Function of the Luteal Capillary Bed within the Primate Corpus Luteum.
• Female Reproductive Pathologies. Co-Chairs: Joe Arosh, Ph.D. (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA) and Nicole Kelp (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Peter C.K. Leung, Ph.D. (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). Novel Role of GDF8 (Myostatin) in Ovarian Function and Disease.
  • Invited Talk: Yan-Ling Wang, Ph.D. (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, PR China). The Steroid Hormone-Mediated Pregnancy Adaptation of Maternal Coagulation System.
• Meiosis and DNA Damage. Co-Chairs: Mary Ann Handel, Ph.D. (Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA) and Rachel West (Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Maria M. Viveiros, Ph.D. (University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia, USA). Regulation of Meiotic Spindle Assembly and Stability in Oocytes.
  • Invited Talk: Atilla Tóth, Ph.D. (Technische Univesität Dresden, Dresden, Germany). Controlling DNA Breaks in Mammalian Meiosis.
• Oocyte Metabolism and Health. Co-Chairs: Claude Robert, Ph.D. (Université Laval, Montréal, Québec, Canada) and Yasmin Schuermann (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada).
  • Invited Talk: Andrea Jurisicova, Ph.D. (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Mitochondrial Dysfunction during Oocyte Aging: A Role for CoQ10.
  • Invited Talk: Justin St. John, Ph.D. (Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia). The Role of Mitochondrial DNA in Oocyte Competence and Embryo Development.
• Regulation of Oogenesis. Co-Chairs: Eileen McLaughlin, Ph.D. (University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand) and Malavika Adur, Ph.D. (Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Evelyn E. Telfer, Ph.D. (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK). Making and Growing Human Oocytes In Vitro.
  • Invited Talk: Katsuhiko Hayashi, Ph.D. (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan). In Vitro Reconstitution as a Tool for a Better Understanding of Germ Cell Development.
• The Follicle Niche in Ovarian Function—The William Hansel Symposium on Ovarian Function. Co-Chairs: Stephanie A. Pangas, Ph.D. (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA) and Hong Zhou (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Joan S. Jorgensen, D.V.M., Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA). Building the Communication Infrastructure Between Granulosa Cells and the Oocyte in Follicles: The Roles of Iroquois Homeobox Genes.
  • Invited Talk: José Buratini, Jr., Ph.D. (UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil). Fibroblast Growth Factors in Follicle Development in Cattle: Good Guys or Bad Guys?

Testis and Male Tract

• Male Reproductive Tract. Co-Chairs: Joël Drevet, Ph.D. (Genetique Reproduction and Developpement Research Center, Clermont-Ferrand, France) and Naomi Bernecic (University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Paul S. Cooke, Ph.D. (University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainsville, Florida, USA). Role of Membrane Estrogen Receptor 1 in Male and Female Reproductive Tract Development and Function.
  • Invited Talk: Bruce D. Schultz, Ph.D. (Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA). COaXing Sperm to Get Ready.
• Regulation of Spermatogenesis. Chair: Shosei Yoshida, Ph.D. (National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan) and Karl C. Kerns (University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Terry Magnuson, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA). Chromatin Remodelers and Spermatogenesis.
  • Invited Talk: Jun Ueda, Ph.D. (Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan). Testis-Specific Histone Variant H3t Gene Is Essential for Entry into Spermatogenesis.
• Sex Determination and Fetal Gonad. Co-Chairs: Humphrey H. C. Yao (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA) and Catherine Sterling (University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Serge Nef, Ph.D. (University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland). Testis Determination at the Single-Cell Level.
  • Invited Talk: Andy Greenfield, Ph.D. (MRC Harwell, Oxfordshire, UK). Elaborating Molecular Genetic Pathways in Mouse Testis Determination.
• Somatic Cells for Testicular Health. Co-Chairs: Tony J. De Falco, Ph.D. (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) and Lena Glashauser (Ludwig-Maximillian University Munich, Munich, Germany).
  • Invited Talk: Artur Mayerhofer, Ph.D. (Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität München, Munich, Germany). Human Testicular Peritubular Cells: More than Meets the Eye.
  • Invited Talk: Lee Smith, Ph.D. (The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK). Manipulating Testicular Androgen Production to Promote Lifelong Health.
• Spermatogonial Stem Cell Regulation. Co-Chairs: Kyle Orwig, Ph.D. (Magee-Womens Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) and Tessa Lord, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA).
  • Invited Talk: Cathryn A. Hogarth, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA). Modifying Retinoic Acid Concentrations as a Means of Investigating Spermatogonial Biology.
  • Invited Talk: Robert E. Braun, Ph.D. (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA). Identification of Slow-Cycling Long-Term Spermatogonial Stem Cells and Their Regulation by PLZF.
• Translational Aspects of Male Reproductive Dysfunction. Co-Chairs: Stefan Schlatt, Ph.D.(Universität Münster, Münster, Germany) and Maciej Szarek (Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia).
  • Invited Talk: Mark Baker, Ph.D. (University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia). Splicing Up Your Sex Life: Why Men Are Failing to Perform in the Bedroom.
  • SRF New Investigator Lecture: Rod Mitchell, Ph.D. (University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK). Fertility Preservation in Prepubertal and Adolescent Males.