Roger Short Lectureship


In the RV Short Medal Lecture, Dr. Francesca E. Duncan will present a decade of groundbreaking research from her lab on the ovarian microenvironment. The Duncan lab discovered that the ovary becomes inflammatory, fibrotic, and stiff with advanced reproductive age, and this has significant biological consequences for ovarian physiology and pathology. These findings shifted the paradigm in the field, putting forth the concept that egg quality is not only intrinsic to the gamete itself but also dependent on the microenvironment in which it grows and develops. The research team is now developing innovative approaches to modulate, measure, and model the ovarian microenvironment by leveraging advanced omics technologies, biomechanical methods, ultrasound-based shear wave elastography, and tissue engineering. Dr. Duncan will discuss how she is moving her work from bench-to-bedside to develop tissue stiffness as a biomarker of ovarian aging and fibrosis as a therapeutic target to extend reproductive longevity and promote healthy aging.

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