C O N F E R E N C E F A C U L T Y
Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, MA, The former (5th) Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences at Brown University, Dr Adashi, an academic physician-executive, is a graduate of Tel Aviv University School of Medicine (MD, 1973) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health program in Health Care Management (MS, 2005). A former president of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinologists (SRE), the Society for Gynecologic Investigation (SGI), and the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS), Dr. Adashi also served as Examiner and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) Presently, Dr Adashi is serving as a tenured Professor with the Department of Medical Science of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, R I , USA
Paula Amato, MD, is Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at Oregon Health & Science University She received her medical degree from the University of Toronto in Canada, where she also completed her Residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology, followed by a Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility at the University of California, San Diego Dr Amato is Immediate Past-President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Her research focuses on innovative assisted reproductive technologies for the treatment of age-related infertility and ovarian aging, Portland, O.R., USA
David F. Albertini, PhD, received his Ph D from Harvard University working on the cell biology of the mammalian ovary After postdoctoral work at the University of Connecticut Health Center, he returned to Harvard Medical School as an Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology until 1984. He served as Professor at Tufts University Schools of Medicine up to 2004, was Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology (1996-2000), Director of the Center for Reproduction (1999-2003) and Director of the Confocal Microscopy core (1988-1999). From 2004-2014, he was the Hall Professor of Molecular Medicine (Endowed Chair) at the Kansas University Medical Center where he continued his career long interests in the link between oocyte and embryo quality, especially as it pertains to the practice of human Assisted Reproduction Technologies From 2014-2019 he was Director of Laboratories and Senior Scientist at The Center for Human Reproduction in New York City and continues to hold Visiting Scientist appointments at the CHR and The Rockefeller University. Since 2009, he has served as Editor-inChief of the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, an official journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine In 2020 he joined the Bedford Research Foundation where he is continuing his work on stem cells and ovarian physiology He is the recipient of many awards including a Basil O’Connor fellowship from the March of Dimes, the Hammond Medal from the Society for Reproduction and Fertility (UK), and Founder’s Lectureship for the Australian Society of Reproductive Biology and is a Fellow of The International Society for In Vitro Fertilization Professor Albertini has delivered more than 200 lectures worldwide and has served on scientific advisory boards or grant review councils for Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Scotland, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and the USA Boston, M A , USA
David H. Barad, MD, MS, FACOG, Director of Clinical ART and Senior Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, N Y , USA
Kurt T Barnhart MD, MSCE, is the Vice Chair for Research and the Director of the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center in the Perelman School of Medicine Dr Barnhart received his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and he performed his residency and fellowship training as well as M.S.C.E. degree (Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics) at the University of Pennsylvania Dr Barnhart has had continuous NIH funding for his research since 1996, focusing on clinical and epidemiologic aspects of reproduction including ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, and infertility. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has served as the president for the Society of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as well as leadership positions in the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and currently serves and the Editor in chief for Fertility and Sterility, Philadelphia, P A , USA
Samuel F. Bakhoum, MD, PhD, is a physician scientist, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Volastra Therapeutics Until recently he held the position of group leader in the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program and an attending physician in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N Y , USA He is the recipient of several international research awards and has extensively published on chromosomal instability in malignant tumors, New York, N Y , USA
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, PhD. During life’s early stages cells display high levels of plasticity, regeneration and resilience against stress, dysfunction and injury, which are key features of human health. Dr. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, previously the Roger Guillemin Chair and Professor at the Salk Institute, has contributed towards understanding the molecular basis underlying embryogenesis and early postnatal life, as well as gained insights into how to program and rejuvenate adult and diseased cells He is developing technologies to program cells to states similar to those observed in the early, healthy stages of life, with the objective of developing universal health therapeutics to overcome human disease and aging, San Diego, C.A., USA.
Ali H. Brivanlou, PhD, Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Professor, Director the Brivanlou Laboratory of Synthetic Embryology, Rockefeller University, New York, N Y , USA
Jorge E. Chavaro, MD, ScD, is Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School He completed his medical training at the National University of Colombia and subsequently completed graduate studies in Nutrition and Epidemiology at Harvard, where he also completed a post-doctoral research fellowship before joining its faculty Dr Chavarro’s research focuses on understanding how nutritional, lifestyle and metabolic factors impact human reproduction and reproductive milestones throughout the life course, and how these events, in turn, impact other aspects of health, Boston, M A , USA
Ricardo De Santis, PhD, obtained his B S and M S in Genetics and Molecular Biology from La Sapienza University of Rome in 2014. He then pursued a Ph.D. at the same institution in the lab of Dr. Alessandro Rosa, where he used human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), genome editing, and transcriptomics to study altered pathways in human motor neurons with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis mutations. In 2018, he moved to Rockefeller University as an EMBO Long-Term Fellow in Dr Ali Brivanlou's lab, focusing on deciphering the cellular and molecular logic behind embryonic organizer signaling centers during development To precisely dissect the relationship between morphogenetic signals and tissue mechanics, he developed an optogenetics strategy to spatially control gene expression programs in hPSCs, specifying positional information and morphogen gradients in human organoids In 2021, Riccardo became the Director of the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Resource Center at Rockefeller University. His recent efforts involve investigating the consequences of chromosome-specific aneuploidy using human embryo models, aiming to understand the impact of genomic instability during early human development, New York, N Y , USA
Andrea Dunaif, M.D., is System Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease for the Mount Sinai Health System and the Lillian and Henry M Stratton Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY Dr Dunaif is an internationally recognized expert in endocrinology and women ’ s health She demonstrated that PCOS is a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus Dr Dunaif has identified genetic causes for PCOS and discovered biologically-relevant PCOS subtypes She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Endocrine Society’s Clinical Investigator Award. Dr. Dunaif has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians She is a past president of the Endocrine Society and a former associate editor of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and of Obesity, New York, N Y , USA
Eve Feinberg, MD, is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and serves as the REI Fellowship Program Director and the Medical Director for Northwestern Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine. She formerly served as the President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and is an Editorial Editor for Fertility and Sterility and the creator and co-host of Fertility and Sterility OnAir podcast She currently serves on the Executive Board of American Society for Reproductive Medicine as a Director-At-Large Dr Feinberg is the founder and president of the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, a not for profit that awards grants for fertility treatment and adoption, Chicago, Illinois, I L , USA
Sònia Gayete Lafuente, MD, PhD, is an MD, PhD, OBGYN, and REI (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) specialist based in New York, originally from Barcelona, Spain, with many years of experience as a Gynecologist, Fertility Specialist, and as Clinical Researcher, with a robust background From March 2021 to December 2023, she completed her Clinical Research Fellowship at Yale University's OBGYN Department, focusing on Fertility Preservation in young patients with cancer and conditions predisposing to ovarian insufficiency such as Turner Syndrome, completing her PhD and publishing several papers in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility during this time Since January 2024, she has been a Clinical Research Fellow at the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine (FRM) at the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York Here, she is engaged in both basic research studies on Reproductive Immunology and Embryology and clinical trials on advanced fertility treatments for complex infertile populations, aiming to develop evidence-based therapies in the field of Reproductive Medicine, New York, N Y , USA
Norbert Gleicher, MD, FACOG, FACS, Medical Director and Chief Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction – New York, President, The Foundation for Reproductive Medicine; Visiting Researcher in the Brivanlou Laboratory of Synthetic Embryology, The Rockefeller University; Prof (Adj ), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vienna University School of Medicine, Vienna, Austria; Founding Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics (JARG) and American Journal for Reproductive Immunology (AJRI), New York, N Y , USA
Katsuhiko Hayashi, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Genome Biology at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan Nature magazine in 2023 anointed one of his lab’s publications among one in 10 “that shaped science” in the year, Osaka, Japan
Alok Javali, PhD, is a stem cell and developmental biologist turned entrepreneur. He earned his PhD in the lab of Dr Ramkumar Sambasivan at the Institute of Stem cell Biology and Regenerative medicine (InStem), Bangalore, India. Following this, Alok moved to the lab of Dr. Nicolas Rivron at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Science (IMBA), at Vienna Biocenter Here, he co-invented human blastoids, a faithful and predictive model of human blastocyst development Alok co-founded dawn-bio, a startup, leveraging blastoids and in vitro implantation models to develop innovations tackling the biggest bottlenecks to IVF success. dawn-bio has already identified crucial regulators of human embryo development as candidates to improve IVF outcomes and targeting to start clinical trials in 2025, Vienna, Austria.
Victoria S. Jiang, MD, is a board-certified OB/GYN and board-eligible REI practicing at Shady Grove Fertility in Atlanta Georgia She first developed a strong passion for the use of artificial intelligence in reproductive medicine while completing her RE fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital She has authored multiple articles on the clinical utility of AI in REI, particularly in the optimization of the embryology lab and clinical processes. at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, M A , USA
Ashley Laughney, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics, the Institute for Computational Biomedicine, and the Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine Initially trained as a biomedical engineer, she developed functional spectroscopy (PhD, Dartmouth College) and single cell imaging and genomic methods (postdoc, Harvard Medical School and MSKCC) for applications in cancer biology Her lab now integrates single cell sequencing with innovative computational and synthetic biology tools to tackle the genotype-to-phenotype problem in evolving, multi-cellular processes like cancer progression Ashley is the recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Prize, and her lab is supported by multiple NCI grants, New York, N.Y., USA.
Bruce A. Lessey, MD, PhD, Bruce A. Lessey, MD, PhD, is a distinguished physician-scientist specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility He is currently a professor at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC Dr Lessey’s research focuses on endometrial function, particularly in relation to endometriosis and infertility He earned his PhD in Zoology from Colorado State University and his MD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine Dr Lessey has contributed significantly to understanding endometrial receptivity and has developed biomarkers for diagnosing endometriosis, Winston-Salem, N.C., USA
Cari Nicholas, PhD' s, doctoral and postdoctoral research studies were dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility focusing on various aspects of infertility Her main career goal is to contribute to the improvement of fertility diagnostics and therapeutics Currently, Dr Nicholas-Farrell is the IVF Laboratory Supervisor for the Endocrinology, Andrology and Embryology departments at the CHR. In addition to her role as Supervisor, Dr Nicholas-Farrell is a Senior Clinical Embryologist and a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Scientist. Her long-term career goal to be an IVF Laboratory Director that collaborates with scientists and clinicians to conduct translational research using a bench to bedside approach to understand the underlying issues that contribute to reproductive disorders and find innovative ways to alleviate infertility, New York, N Y , USA.
Raoul Orvieto, MD, Professor and Head of Infertility and IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, The Tarnesby-Tarnowski Chair for Family Planning and Fertility Regulation, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel; Co-Editor-in-Chief, Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, Tel Aviv, Israel
Pasquale Patrizio, MD, MBE, HCLD FACOG, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive sciences, Director, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA; Visiting Senior Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, N Y , USA
Vardit Ravitsky, PhD, is President and CEO of the Hastings Center, an independent, nonpartisan bioethics research institute that is among the most prestigious bioethics and health policy institutes in the world She is a Full Professor at the Bioethics Program, School of Public Health, University of Montreal and Senior Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School She is immediate Past-President of the International Association of Bioethics and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Ravitsky’s research focuses on the ethics of genomics and reproduction, as well as the use of AI in biomedical research, and is funded by Canada’s leading funding agencies and the NIH She published 200+ articles and commentaries on bioethical issues, and has given 300+ talks world-wide and 400+ media interviews, Ottawa, O.N., Canada.
Nanette F. Santoro, MD, completed her medical training in the 6 year BS-MD program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College, followed by residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she remained on faculty for 3 years prior to joining the faculty at New Jersey Medical School in 1988. She moved to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine from 1998-2009, and then to the University of Colorado School of Medicine to assume the position of Chair Dr Santoro has had continuous NIH funding since 1989, with serial R01, R21, U10, U54 and R25 grant awards focused on reproductive endocrinology, menopause and the effects of obesity on reproduction in women She is President of the American Gynecologic Club She is past Vice-President for Clinical Research for the Endocrine Society. She has been recognized by the Endocrine Society (Mentor Laureate Award 2016), the North American Menopause Society (Award for Research in Perimenopause 2004, prize paper and Tom Clarkson Research Award 2021), the International Menopause Society (Henry Burger Research Award in Perimenopause 2020), and the ASRM (Distinguished Researcher Award 2020) In 2018, Dr Santoro was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, Aurora, C O , USA
Emre Seli, MD, is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine and the Medical Director of the Yale Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Division He also serves as the Research Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates and the Chief Scientific Advisor of March of Dimes Dr Seli received his medical degree from the University of Istanbul and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, as well as a research fellowship in molecular biology, both at Yale University His laboratory has characterized the mechanisms regulating the translational activation of gene expression in oocytes Dr Seli and his colleagues have also made seminal contributions to our understanding of oocyte and embryo senescence and competence. He currently serves on the boards of several international journals and professional societies, New Haven, C T , USA
Shun Shibata, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University in Japan, specializing in developmental research and tissue engineering using stem cells His work focuses on the exploration and application of stem cell technologies to understand developmental processes and innovate in the field of regenerative medicine, Sendai, Japan
Zeev Shoham, MD, is a full professor at the Hadassah Medical School and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem Israel He is prominent figure in reproductive medicine and infertility He serves as the Director of the Fertility and IVF Unit at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, Israel With a career spanning decades, Professor Shoham has authored over 160 research papers in reproductive medicine, including work on double ovarian stimulation, a groundbreaking IVF approach tailored for poor ovarian responders. He is also known for co-editing the widely used textbook Assisted Reproductive Techniques, which serves as a key resource in the field In addition to his academic and clinical achievements, Professor Shoham is a co-founder of IVF-Worldwide, the largest global platform for IVF clinics and professionals This network fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange, offering access to cuttingedge research, educational materials, and global surveys on ART practices Through this initiative, he has played a pivotal role in uniting the IVF community and promoting evidence-based fertility care, Ramat-Hasharon, Israel.
Rohan S. Soman, MD, PhD, is a resident in Pediatric Neurology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore, MD, USA, and a former graduate student in the Brivanlou Laboratory of Synthetic Embryology at Rockefeller University in New York, N Y , USA
Devika Umashankar, MD, is a System Medical Director for Obesity Medicine and Associate Professor for Internal Medicine at the Frank Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University at Hartford Healthcare, C.T., USA.
S. Zev Williams, MD, PhD, is the Wendy D Havens Associate Professor of Women’s Health and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, N.Y., USA.
Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, PhD, gained her Ph.D. at the University of Warsaw, Poland, under the supervision of Andrzej Tarkowski She moved to Cambridge in 1995 to join the Martin Evans group with the long-term aim of studying the mechanisms of regulative nature of development and spatial patterning in the mouse embry0 In 1997 she was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship from the Lister Institute to start her independent group at the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute of Cambridge In 2001 she became a Wellcome Senior Research Fellow. In 2010, she became a Professor of Mammalian Development and Stem Cell Biology and in 2013 she became a Fellow of the British Academy of Medical Science Magdalena opened her lab at Caltech in 2019 where she holds the position of Bren Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering, Pasadena, C A , USA
DAY 1: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2024
08:30–08:35 Welcome
Norbert Gleicher, MD
08:35-08:45
08:45-09:30
The Young Investigator Award
David F. Albertini, PhD
Norbert Gleicher, MD
THE OPENING LECTURE
WHO ARE WE? A medical subspecialty or part of a new industrial complex?
Paula Amato, MD
SESSION 1: IMPORTANT NEW CONCEPTS: PART I
Chair: Norbert Gleicher, MD
This session is dedicated to new ideas and/or already existing ideas that call for modifications or new applications or have not found the recognition they deserve.
09:30-10:00
The almost limitless opportunity of making gametes and embryos
Katsuhiko Hayashi, PhD
10:00-10:30
The evolution of embryo models
Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, PhD
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
Yes, there may be immunologic treatments in infertility that work
S Zev Williams, MD, PhD
Tackling the genotype to phenotype problem
Ashley M Laughney, PhD
11:30-12:00 COFFEE BREAK/POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Session 2: IMPORTANT NEW CLINICAL CONCEPTS IN IVF ON THE BRINK OF COMMERCIALIZATION
Chair: Raoul Orvieto, MD
A principal goal of the FRMC is to establish new links between basic scientists and clinicians in efforts to achieve translational breakthroughs that will advance fertilityrelated treatments. An important step in achieving this goal for the program of every FRMC, therefore, has always been to identify research projects in laboratory setting with so-far not well-recognized translational clinical benefits. For this year’s program, the conference, however, decided to go even one step further by featuring research projects already recognized for their potential clinical applications but still in need of additional funding to achieve commercial breakthroughs. After reviewing several such ongoing projects, the Organization Committee of the FRMC selected the two projects it felt may have potential important impact on the practice of IVF: An Austrian laboratory identified several substances secreted by embryos with important functions for embryo development. As an outgrowth of this lab, a start-up is, based on preliminary results suggesting improvements in embryo quality, planning clinical trials for 2025, hypothesizing that these substances may be able to improve IVF outcomes. A project at Rockefeller University in NYC has the potential of saving the PGT-A procedure – only recently found by the ASRM to so far not offer clinical outcome benefits for IVF. By non-invasively allowing differentiation between meiotic and mitotic aneuploidies in preimplantation-stage embryos, this discovery may allow only the selective withholding of meiotic aneuploidies from transfers which, in contrast to mitotic aneuploidies do not self-correct in the embryonic cell lineage.
A new dawn for IVF: A first approach toward the embryo’s needs
12:00-12:30
Alok Javali, PhD
12:30-13:00
Decoding the Consequences of Chromosome-Specific Aneuploidy Using Human Embryo Models
Ricardo di Santis, PhD
13:00-13:30 LUNCH
13:30-14:00
SYMPOSIUM: According to the ASRM, extended embryo culture to blastocyst stage in IVF represents standard of care, but is this correct or does it harm patients?
Chair: David H Barad, MD, MS
Panelist: Eve Feinberg, MD
Panelist: Raoul Orvieto, MD
Panelist: Pasquale Patrizio, MD
Session 3: PENETRATING THE BLACK BOX OF IMPLANTATION
Chair: Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, MAB
14:00-14:30
14:30-15:00
First ultrasound documentation of implantation in non-human primate (marmoset) model
Rohan S. Soman, PhD
The impact of systemic inflammation on implantation and what to do about it
Bruce A. Lessey, MD, PhD
15:00-15:30
Modeling the interphase between embryo and endometrium to understand embryo implantation in humans
Shun Shibata, PhD
15:30-16:00 COFFEE BREAK AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Session 4: IMPROVING DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENTS IN INFERTILITY
Chair: Pasquale Patrizio, MD
Like constantly improving therapeutics, so are steady improvements in diagnostics an essential part of progress in medicine Improvements on both fronts have, however, in recent years too frequently been disappointing Often tagged under the by now somewhat derogatory term “add-ons” to IVF, this section attempts to highlight a few areas of diagnostic progress over the last year that may somewhat surprise
16:00-16:20 Trying to achieve a non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis
Eve C. Feinberg, MD
16:20-16:40
16:40-17:00
Why are U.S. donor-egg-cycle outcomes now worse than in 2014?
Sònia Gayete-Lafuente, MD, PhD
And here we go again: inappropriate patient selection leads to the false conclusion that PGT-A improves IVF outcomes in older women
David H. Barad, MD, MS
17:00-17:20 Somewhat surprising news on endometrial scratching
Zeev Shoham, MD
17:20-17:40
What to expect from A.I. and machine learning in reproductive medicine
Victoria S. Jiang MD
17:40-18:00 THE DAILY SUMMARY: Q&A with the day’s faculty
18:00-20:00 WELCOME RECEPTION
DAY 2: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024
SESSION 5: ENTERING A PERIOD OF INCREASINGLY CONTROVERSIAL RESEARCH AND TREATMENTS
Chair: David F. Albertini, PhD
Reproductive medicine is increasingly facing complex and often controversial treatment considerations. Two among those, however, stand out: (i) Production and clinical use of functional gametes and, ultimately, embryos from stem cells; and (ii) germline interventions in humans to cure disease and in embryos to prevent diseases. This session explores the current status of these efforts.
08:30-09:00
09:00-09:30
THE FOUNDATION FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE LECTURE: Ethics at the very core of fertility research and clinical practice
Vardit Ravitsky, PhD
09:30-10:00
How controversial treatments like germline editing and production of gametes as well as embryos will affect research and clinical practice in reproductive medicine
Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, MA
The tedious trajectory of PGS/PGT-A
Raoul Orvieto, MD
10:00-10:30
Going from PGT-A to even more controversial PGT-P (polygenic risk scoring) of embryos
David H Barad, MD, MS
10:30-11:00 COFFEE BREAK AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Session 6: PRECISION MEDICINE IN INFERTILITY
Chair: Zeev Shoham, MD
The term precision medicine found its application in medicine originally in oncology practice, where it was meant to denote highly individualized anti-cancer treatments geared at specific genetic markers in tumors. Since then, the term has found much wider application, basically representing a return from protocol-driven treatment algorithms for everybody toward highly individualized care of patients based on their specific characteristics. This session addresses this concept for the various stages of an IVF cycle
Defining precision medicine in fertility practice
11:00-11:30
11:30-12:00
12:00-12:30
Norbert Gleicher, MD
12:30-13:00
Rethinking ovarian stimulation through the lens of the connectome: an opportunity to improve oocyte quality
David F. Albertini, PhD
Precision medicine in preparing ovaries: androgens, human growth hormone, PRP, etc.
David H Barad, MD, MS
Precision medicine through individualized ovulation trigger Raoul Orvieto, MD
13:00-13:30 LUNCH
13:30-14:00
SYMPOSIUM: How to integrate “add-ons” into precision medicine?
Increasing consensus exists that a majority of “add-ons” to IVF have in recent year often entered routine practice without proper prior validation and, therefore, in many (if not most) cases have failed to improve IVF outcomes They, indeed, quite often – at least in selected sub-population – have adversely affected IVF outcomes and, likely, have been the main reason for stagnating and declining live birth rates in IVF. To reverse this negative outcome trend, the use of many currently widely utilized “add-ons” must be curtailed, while new “addons ” must be encouraged, though only after appropriate prior validation studies. How this can be best achieved will be the subject of this symposium
Chair: David H Barad, MD, MS
Panelist: Zeev Shoham, MD
Panelist: Raoul Orvieto, MD
Panelist: Pasquale Patrizio, MD
Panelist: Vardit Ravitsky, PhD
Panelist: Nanette Santoro, MD
SESSION 7: THE “NEW” INFERTILITY DIAGNOSIS OF OBESITY
CHAIR: ZEEV SHOHAM, MD
Severe obesity has for decades been suspected to adversely affect spontaneous fertility in women and men and to adversely affects outcomes of fertility treatments
Data on the effects of weight loss, have however, not contributed much to the treatment of infertility because weight loss in infertility patients is difficult to achieve within reasonable time periods New anti-obesity drugs (glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists and soon also antagonists) that have recently come to market, however, allow, for significant weight loss within 3-6 months They, therefore, for the first time, permit the establishment of effective short-term programs before initiation of fertility treatments and, thereby, creating in practical terms a “ new, ” treatable infertility diagnosis Treatment with these drugs during conception and in early pregnancy is currently still considered contraindicated since preliminary mouse data suggested potential teratogenic effects on pregnancies Mostly looking at spontaneous unplanned pregnancies on these drugs, clinical safety studies are underway, with at least one very large such study so-far demonstrating no adverse effects on the prevalence of congenital abnormalities after first trimester exposure. While currently still restricted to treatments pre-pregnancy, these new weight loss drugs can already now be integrated into precision infertility treatment programs and, should they be confirmed as safe in early pregnancy, can be expected to become an integral part of infertility treatments in significant portions of women and men in infertility treatments
14:00-14:30 The interdependence of food, nutrition, and fertility/infertility
Jorge E Chavarro, MD, Sc D
14:30-15:00
15:00-15:30
What is the effect of weight loss on female and male fertility?
Nanette Santoro, MD
An introduction to the new anti-obesity drugs for potential pretreatments in female as well as male infertility patients
Devika Umashanker, MD
15:30-16:00 COFFEE BREAK AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Session 8: BREAKING NEWS IN RESEARCH
Chair: Nanette Santoro, MD
16:00–16:30 The first ex-corpus ovarian perfusion model
Pasquale Patrizio, MD
16:30–17:00
17:00-17:30
Extending individual organ health spans to extend total body health span
Juan Carlos Ipsizua Belmonte, PhD
THE CENTER FOR HUMAN REPRODUCTION LECTURE: Chromosome instability beyond cancer
Samuel F. Bakhoum, MD, PhD
17:30-18:00 THE DAILY SUMMARY: Q&A with the day’s faculty
DAY 3: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2024
Session 9: THINK DIFFERENTLY TO CHANGE CURRENT ROUTINE INFERTILITY PRACTICE
CHAIR: MILTON LEONG, MD
This session attempts to make the main argument that no medical treatment ever is “appropriate” for every patient and this principle also applies to “standard” treatments, even when defined as such by authoritative bodies, like the ASRM. To illustrate this point, we are presenting a few examples, though many more widely utilized treatments in association with IVF could be cited.
08:30-08:50
08:50-09:10
From the beginning to the end, thinking differently about oocyte IVM
David F. Albertini, PhD
Don’t discard immature oocytes; rescue them
Cari Nicholas, PhD
09:10-09:30
Genomic insights into PCOS - casual mechanisms and classifications
Andrea Dunaif, MD
09:30-09:50 The ascent of same sex reproduction
Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, MA
09:50-10:10 Does “implantation failure” really exist?
Emre Seli, MD
10:10-10:30 Q&A FOR SESSION 9, COFFEE SERVED
Session 10: REGAINING TRUST
Chairs: David H. Barad, MD, MS
Norbert Gleicher, MD
Once a very prestigious endeavor, science - for several reasons - finds itself now widely criticized and scrutinized by society, driven by several factors: Logarithmic increases in journals and paper submissions often overwhelming the editorial staff, thereby compromising peer review Scandals involving leading academicians (including presidents of prominent universities as Harvard) accused of plagiarism, falsification of images, and even data manipulations also did not help. Medicine, and science in general, therefore, must regain society’s trust We in this section of the Conference intend to offer some thoughts on the subject pertinent to reproduction.
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:30
How the flagship journals of infertility practice, Fertility and Sterility and the other ASRM journals, address the declining trust in medical publishing?
Kurt T. Barnhart, MD, MSCE
Precarious and precious beginnings: The new biology of human fertilization and early development
David F. Albertini, PhD
11:30-12:00
12:00-12:30
PGT-A as an example for recognizing the limits of “evidencebased medicine” and understanding the importance of “real-life data.”
Norbert Gleicher, MD
12:30–13:00
Reorganizing peer review: More resources and access to original data sets and laboratory books?
David H Barad, MD, MS
13:00
THE CLOSING LECTURE: Sculpting cell fates with light
Ali H Brivalnou, PhD
CLOSING
Viewing pregnancy under new light: as an immune rather than endocrine condition, immunologically protected by the placenta, a permanently mosaic and ultimately discardable organ.
Norbert Gleicher, MD
