Scientific Sessions
- Keynote Address
- State-of-the-Art Lectures
- President's Symposium
- Trainee Forum
- Minority Affairs Symposium
- Minisymposia
Keynote Address
- Evan Simpson, Ph.D. (Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Center, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), Sex, Fat, and Breast Cancer.
State-of-the-Art Lectures
- Kevin Eggan, Ph.D. (Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts), Nuclear Reprogramming in the Oocyte and Early Embryo: Applications in the Study of Human Disease.
- Janet Rossant, Ph.D. (Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Stem Cells from the Mammalian Blastocyst—Not All Stem Cells Are Alike.
President’s Symposium: In Honor of the Research Career of Ryuzo Yanagimachi
- Ryuzo Yanagimachi, Ph.D. (University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii), Historical Perspective: Germ Cell Research—A Personal Perspective.
- Takashi Shinohara, M.D., Ph.D. (Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan), Germline Modification in Spermatogonial Stem Cells.
- Richard M. Schultz, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), From Egg to Embryo: A Peripatetic Journey.
Trainee Forum
Beyond the Bench: Exploring Career Opportunities and Striving for Success.
- John J. Eppig, Ph.D., and Mary Ann Handel, Ph.D., Editors-in-Chief, Biology of Reproduction (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine), Submission and Reviewing: Flip Sides of the Publishing Coin.
Minority Affairs Symposium
Patricia Martin-DeLeon, Ph.D. (University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware), Securing Our Place on the Map: Reprogramming the GPS in an Evolving Scientific Landscape.
Minisymposia
- A New Frontier in Ovarian Cellular Physiology: Ion Channels of Endocrine Ovarian Cells and Their Regulators
- Cell Fate Decisions in the Early Mammalian Embryo: Random or Biased?
- Spermatogonial Renewal and Differentiation: Comparative Aspects
- Monitoring Cell-Cell Conversations in the Epididymis
- Novel Contraceptives for the 21st Century
- When Does Implantation Begin?
- DNA Damage in Sperm and Effects on Offspring
- Role of PTGS2 (COX2) and Arachidonic Acid/Prostaglandins in the Testis
- Noncoding RNAs and Reproduction
- Epigenetic Reprogramming of the Embryo
- Lymphocyte-Promoted Endometrial Angiogenesis and Its Relation to Pregnancy Success
- Factors Affecting Oocyte Quality: A Large Animal Model
- Effects and Mechanisms of Action of Environmental Endocrine Disruptors on Reproduction
- Novel Insights into Gonadotropin Regulation
- Transcription Factors/Cell-Signaling Essential to Maintain the Niche in the Mammalian Testis
A New Frontier in Ovarian Cellular Physiology: Ion Channels of Endocrine Ovarian Cells and Their Regulators
Chair: Artur Mayerhofer, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Munich, Munich, Germany).
- Lisa C. Freeman, D.V.M., Ph.D. (Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas), The Cacna1e (Cav2.3) Calcium Channel and Growth Factor Signaling in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.
- Rogelio O. Arellano, Ph.D. (Instituto de Neurobiología UNAM, Queretaro, Mexico), Paracrine Purinergic Signaling Between Ovarian Cells.
- Artur Mayerhofer, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Munich, Munich, Germany), Ion Channels of Human Ovarian Cells: Identification, Regulation, and Insights into Their Function.
Cell Fate Decisions in the Early Mammalian Embryo: Random or Biased?
Chair: Richard M. Schultz, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
- Lynne Selwood, Ph.D. (University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia), Maternal Determinants and the Polarized Marsupial Oocyte.
- Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Ph.D. (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England), Cell Fate, Plasticity, and Pluripotency in the Early Mouse Embryo.
- Takashi Hiiragi, M.D., Ph.D. (Max Planck Institute, Muenster, Germany), Unique Principles in Early Mammalian Development.
Spermatogonial Renewal and Differentiation: Comparative Aspects
Chair: Tony M. Plant, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
- Erika Matunis, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland), The Ins and Outs of Spermatogonial Stem Cell Renewal in the Drosophilia Testis.
- Goro Yoshizaki, Ph.D. (Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology, Tokyo, Japan), Developmental and Sexual Plasticity of Spermatogonia in Fish.
- Kyle Orwig, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Recent Progress Studying Spermatogonial Stem Cells in Primates.
Monitoring Cell-Cell Conversations in the Epididymis
Chair: Sylvie Breton, Ph.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts).
- Robert Sullivan, Ph.D. (Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada), Principal Cells’ Apocrine Secretion of Epididymosomes and Its Function in Sperm Maturation.
- Patricia Martin-DeLeon, Ph.D. (University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware), Mechanisms of Sperm Acquisition of Glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked Epididymal Proteins.
- Barry T. Hinton, Ph.D. (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia), Conversations Between the Testis and the Epididymis: The Testis Does All the Talking.
Novel Contraceptives for the 21st Century
Chair: Mary B. Zelinski, Ph.D. (Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon).
- Mary B. Zelinski, Ph.D. (Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon), On the Horizon: Nonsteroidal Contraceptive Targets in the Female Ovary and Reproductive Tract.
- Joseph S. Tash, Ph.D. (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas), Gamendazole: A Potent Antispermatogenic Contraceptive Agent with Novel Targets HSP90β and eEF1A.
- William J. Bremner, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Washington, Seattle, Washington), Prospects for New Male Contraceptives.
When Does Implantation Begin?
Chair: Bibhash C. Paria, Ph.D. (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee).
- Thomas E. Spencer, Ph.D. (Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas), Genes and Pathways Regulating Implantation: Comparative Insights from the Sheep.
- John D. Aplin, Ph.D. (University of Manchester, Manchester, England), Glycoproteomics of Implantation.
- Lois A. Salamonsen, Ph.D. (Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), Implantation in Women: Is It Unique?
DNA Damage in Sperm and Effects on Offspring
Chair: Marvin L. Meistrich, Ph.D. (M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas).
- Robert John Aitken, Ph.D., Sc.D. (University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia), Causes and Clinical Significance of DNA Damage in the Male Germ Line.
- Bernard Robaire, Ph.D. (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Drug-Induced Genetic and Epigenetic Marks in Sperm Affect Zygotic Development.
- W. Steven Ward, Ph.D. (University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii), Paternal DNA Degradation and Its Relationship to DNA Synthesis in the One-Cell Embryo.
Role of PTGS2 (COX2) and Arachidonic Acid/Prostaglandins in the Testis
Chair: Dale Buck Hales, Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois).
- Barry R. Zirkin, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland), Testosterone and Leydig Cell Function Through the Life Cycle.
- Monica B. Frungieri, Ph.D. (Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina), Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) and Prostaglandins: Emerging Roles in the Testis.
- Ernesto J. Podesta, Ph.D. (University of Buenos Aires Medical School, Buenos Aires, Argentina), Intramitochondrial Arachidonic Acid as a Key Regulator of Leydig Cell Function.
Noncoding RNAs and Reproduction
Chair: Norman Hecht, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
- Wei Yan, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Nevada, School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada), Potential Functions of Testis-Expressed Small Noncoding RNAs: Hints From Cloning and Expression Profiling Analyses.
- Michelle Carmell, Ph.D. (Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts), PIWI Proteins Are Essential for Spermatogenesis and Repression of Transposons in the Mouse Male Germline.
- Satoshi Namekawa, Ph.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts), Role of Noncoding RNA in X-Inactivation from Gamete to Embryo.
Epigenetic Reprogramming of the Embryo
Chair: Mellissa Mann, Ph.D. (University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada).
- Wendy Dean, Ph.D. (Babraham Institute, Cambridge, England), Epigenetic Signatures—A Gateway to Lineage Determination.
- Alexei Evsikov, Ph.D. (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine), Friend or Foe: LTR Retrotransposons in Embryonic Genome Reprogramming.
- Emma Whitelaw, Ph.D. (Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Herston, Queensland, Australia), Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance in Mammals.
Lymphocyte-Promoted Endometrial Angiogenesis and Its Relation to Pregnancy Success
Chair: Judith N. Bulmer, M.B. Ch.B., Ph.D. (University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England).
- Peter A.W. Rogers, Ph.D. (Monash Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia), Endometrial Angiogenesis and Lymphangiogenesis.
- Judith N. Bulmer, M.B. Ch.B., Ph.D. (University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England), Role of Uterine Natural Killer Cells in Endometrial Vascular Development.
- Chandrakant Tayade, D.V.M., M.V.Sc., Ph.D. (University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada), Regulation of Angiogenesis at the Maternal-Fetal Interface: Insights from Porcine Pregnancy Success or Failure.
Factors Affecting Oocyte Quality: A Large Animal Model
Chair: Anna T. Grazul-Bilska, Ph.D. (North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota).
- Marc-Andre Sirard, D.V.M., Ph.D. (University of Laval, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada), The Follicle Defines the Oocyte Quality.
- Rebecca L. Krisher, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois), Components of Oocyte Quality in the Pig.
- Robert B. Gilchrist, Ph.D. (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia), Oocyte-Cumulus Cell-Signaling Systems Regulating Oocyte Quality.
Effects and Mechanisms of Action of Environmental Endocrine Disruptors on Reproduction
Chair: Mehmet Uzumcu, D.V.M., Ph.D. (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey).
- Patricia A. Hunt, Ph.D. (Washington State University, Pullman, Washington), Cleanliness and Infertility: New Concerns about Reproductive Effects of Quaternary Ammonium Disinfectants.
- Hugh Taylor, M.D. (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut), Endocrine Disruptors Alter HOX Gene Expression in the Reproductive Tract.
- Gail S. Prins, Ph.D. (University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois), Developmental Exposures to Estrogenic Compounds: Epigenetic Basis for Increased Prostate Cancer Susceptibility.
Novel Insights into Gonadotropin Regulation
Chair: Daniel J. Bernard, Ph.D. (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada).
- Nicholas J.G. Webster, Ph.D. (University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California), Gonadotroph Responses to Pulsatile GnRH.
- Philippa Melamed, Ph.D. (National University of Singapore, Singapore), GnRH Signaling Downstream of Calmodlin.
- Colin M. Clay, Ph.D. (Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado), The Pituitary Receptor for GnRH: At the Interface of the Brain and Reproductive Function.
Transcription Factors/Cell-Signaling Essential to Maintain the Niche in the Mammalian Testis
Chair: Ina Dobrinski, D.V.M., Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennet Square, Pennsylvania).
- Richard N. Freiman, Ph.D. (Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island), TAF4b in the Regulation of Spermatogenic Maintenance.
- Robert E. Braun, Ph.D. (The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine), Transcriptional Control of Germline Stem Cell Self-Renewal.
- Marie-Claude Hofmann, Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois), Signal Integration Within the Spermatogonial Stem Cell Niche.