Farners Amargant i Riera, PhD:
Dr. Amargant i Riera completed her B.S. in Biochemistry at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. In 2018, she earned her Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Isabelle Vernos (CRG, Barcelona) and Dr. Rita Vassena (Clínica Eugin). Her doctoral research focused on developing new tools to improve gamete selection during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. Following this, she joined Dr. Francesca Duncan’s lab at Northwestern University in Chicago, where she investigated the mechanisms of ovarian aging. In October 2023, Farners established her own lab at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The Amargant i Riera Lab studies the molecular and mechanical control of folliculogenesis, and how these processes are disrupted by aging and diabetes, leading to a decline in oocyte quality.

Raj Kumar, PhD:
Dr. Kumar is a tenured professor and the Edgar L., Patricia M Makowski, and Family Endowed Chair and Associate Vice-Chair of Research in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora. He is the Director of the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Program. He received his MS (Biochemistry), MPhil (Reproductive Physiology), and PhD (Endocrine Biochemistry) from the University of Hyderabad and the University of Delhi, India. He obtained his postdoctoral training at the Vollum Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR, and at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. He became an independent faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine. Then he moved to the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he became a tenured professor and Director, Center for Reproductive Sciences. In 2016, he moved to the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. Raj’s research focus has been on understanding gonadotrope tumors, gonadotropin biosynthesis, trafficking, and secretion and action in gonad development and gonadal and extragonadal physiology using mouse genetic models.

Rebecca Krisher, PhD:
Dr. Krisher is a Reproductive Biologist focusing on oocyte and embryo physiology. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Hanover College, followed by a M.S. in Animal Sciences from North Carolina State University. She then worked at Granada BioSciences research division in College Station, Texas, before completing her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. She worked for several years as an embryologist in human clinical reproduction before conducting post-doctoral research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was Assistant and then Associate Professor at Purdue University and the University of Illinois before accepting a role as Research Director at Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. There, Dr. Krisher’s research program focused on defining physiological processes within mammalian oocytes and embryos that are critical for subsequent embryonic and fetal development. At CCRM, Dr. Krisher translated these basic research findings into clinical application via improved culture media and new clinical treatments and assays to advance human assisted reproduction. Dr. Krisher then became the Senior Global Director of Reproductive Biology and Gene Editing at Genus plc. In this role, her goal was to develop innovative reproductive technologies to pioneer accelerated genetic gain in cattle and swine. Recently, Dr. Krisher returned to academia as Department Head of Animal Science at Penn State University, where she combines her passions for research, agriculture, and leadership.

Stephen Renaud, PhD:
Dr. Renaud is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Western University, and a Scientist at the Children’s Health Research Institute in London, Canada. He completed his PhD from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, and postdoctoral training at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas before joining Western in 2015. Dr. Renaud’s research focuses on placental development and its role in fetal and infant health, using cell and animal models to investigate trophoblast formation and function. His work also examines how environmental stressors linked to deficient placentation alter trophoblast biology and contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes.