Friday, October 27th, 2023
JOIN US IN DOWNTOWN BOSTON
A unique, one-day event bringing together investigators from academia, industry and infertility clinics to meet and form collaborations.
Location: At the Marriott Courtyard Boston Downtown Tremont Street in Boston’s Theater District (near T), and live online.
Email questions to: aes@bedfordresearch.org
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Produced by Bedford Research Foundation in partnership with JARG, Molecular Human Reproduction, and Stem Cells and Development.
SPEAKERS
David Keefe, MD
NYU Ob/Gyn
Professor, Department of Cell Biology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Talk Title: “Retrotransposition and early embryo development”
Dr. Keefe is an internationally recognized clinician scientist whose early work focused on the role of telomeres in mammalian gametes and has more recently been involved in studies of parthenogenesis and retroelement expression.
Oliver Rando, PhD
Professor, UMass Chan Medical School, Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology
Talk title: “Epigenetic contributions of sperm to early development in mammals”
Dr. Rando is an internationally recognized pioneer in the epigenetic influence of sperm on egg fertilization and resulting offspring development in murine models.
David Albertini, PhD
Editor in Chief, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics
Talk title: “Human Egg Research: Past, Present and Future”
Dr. Albertini investigates the acquisition of developmental competence in mammalian embryos as it relates to ovarian physiology and the impact of Assisted Reproductive Technologies.
Eric Bittman, PhD
Professor, Department of BIology
Center for Neuroendocrine Studies
UMass Amherst
Talk title: “Time is of the Essence: Circadian coordination up and down the reproductive axis.”
Dr. Bittman is a circadian rhythm scholar whose recent work has described the complex circadian signals involved in mammalian ovulation.
Tiziana A.L. Brevini, PhD
Unistem-Laboratory of Biomedical Embryology and Tissue Engineering Chair of Anatomy and Histology, Università degli Studi di Milano
Talk title: “Expression profile and mechanosensing related pathways in parthenogenetic cells”
Dr. Brevini’s work contributes broadly to the interface between regenerative medicine and stem cells (ES, iPS) as related to the development of organoids and using mammalian parthenogenesis to derive stem cells.
Björn Heindryckx, PhD
Ghent-Fertility And Stem cell Team (G-FaST) Department for Reproductive Medicine Department of Human Structure and Repair Ghent University Hospital, Belgium
Talk title: “Overcoming dysfunctional oocyte cytoplasm causing failed fertilization or embryo developmental arrest”
Dr. Heindryckx is a leader in the European community investigating genetic instability in human eggs before and after artificial activation (parthenogenesis) or fertilization.
Ann A. Kiessling, PhD
Dr. Kiessling is Director of the Bedford Research Foundation and is retired Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
Talk title: “The Beginning of Reverse Transcription”
Dr. Kiessling’s research has been at the crossroads of infectious disease and reproductive biology for decades and has more recently focused on human parthenogenetic stem cell derivation for clinical uses.
Gianpiero D. Palermo, MD, PhD
Professor of Embryology in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Weill Cornell Medicine
Talk title: “Clinical Aspects of Early Fertilization”
Dr. Palermo, widely recognized for his seminal work on ICSI, is a specialist on male factor determinants, both genetic and epigenetic, that impact clinical outcomes focusing on male gamete cell biology.
Corrado Spadafora, PhD
Italian National Research Council
Visiting Scientist, Bedford Research Foundation
Talk title: “Sperm-Mediated Epigenetic Inheritance, Genesis and Propagation of Extrachromosomal Information”
Dr. Spadafora’s pioneering reports of epigenetic cargo carried into eggs by sperm was initially very controversial and is now a recognized sperm activity.
Dan Wikler, PhD
Professor of Ethics and Population Health
Harvard School of Public Health
Talk title: “A.I.D, A.I.H, A.I.V, A.I.P… and the Turkey Baster Baby”
Dr. Wikler is an internationally recognized expert in human subjects research and has chaired BRF’s Human Subjects Review committee for many years.
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