FRMC CONFERENCE CHAIRS
Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, MA, USA
Former Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Professor of Medical Science, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), The Association of American Physicians and the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2018 recipient of the ASRM Lifetime Achievement Award. Recipient of the 2025 Walsh McDermott Medal from the National Academy of Medicine
David F. Albertini, PhD, USA
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics (JARG), Senior Visiting Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction-New York, New York, N Y , USA; Visiting Researcher, Stem Cell Biology and Molecular Embryology Laboratory, The Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y., USA
Ali H. Brivanlou, PhD, USA
Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Professor, Director The Brivanlou Laboratory of Synthetic Embryology, Rockefeller University New York, N Y , USA
Eve Feinberg, MD
Editorial Editor, Fertility and Sterility and co-host of the Fertility and Sterility On-Air podcast , and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Reproductive Endo and Infertility) at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Norbert Gleicher, MD, USA
Medical Director and Chief-Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction- New York, N Y , USA; Visiting Researcher, The Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y., USA; Professor (Adj.), Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria; President, The Foundation for Reproductive Medicine, New York, N Y , USA
Raoul Orvieto, MD, Israel
Prof Raoul Orvieto is the director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, at the Sheba (Tel-Hashomer) Medical Center, Israel. Prof. Orvieto is a fullprofessor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and incumbent of the TarnesbyTarnowski Chair for Family Planning and Fertility Regulation, at the Faculty of Medical and Health Science, Tel-Aviv University, Israel Prof Orvieto is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology
Pasquale Patrizio, MD, USA
Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA; Visiting Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, N Y , USA
Zev. Williams, MD, PhD, USA
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
FRMC CONFERENCE FACULTY
Eli Y Adashi, MD, MS, MA, Former Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Professor of Medical Science, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA; Member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), The Association of American Physicians and the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2018 recipient of the ASRM Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient of the 2025 Walsh McDermott Medal from the National Academy of Medicine
David F. Albertini, PhD, Professor, Bedford Research Foundation, Bedford, MA, USA; Visiting Senior Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction – New York, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics (JARG) and a Visiting Researcher at Rockefeller University, New York, USA
Christine S Allen, PhD, is a globally recognized expert in embryology and IVF laboratory operations and is a board member of several technology companies in the IVF field She for the last eight years has served as Education Chair of the American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB) and is a current member of the ASRM Technology Committee
Samuel F Bakhoum, MD, PhD, is a world renown physician scientist in human oncology and pathogenesis and co-founder of the pharma start-up, Volastra Therapeutics, where he is Scientific Director and serves on the company ’ s board of directors He is the recipient of several international research awards and has extensively published on chromosomal instability in malignant tumors
David H Barad, MD, MS, FACOG, Director of Clinical ART and Senior Scientist, The Center for Human Reproduction, New York, New York, N Y , USA
Angeline Beltsos, MD, is a reproductive endocrinologist who built from a single clinic a dominant network of IVF clinics in the Midwest, which she merged with a bigger national company where she for several years held senior clinical and administrative positions in the combined entity
Ali H Brivanlou, PhD, Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Professor, Director The Brivanlou Laboratory of Synthetic Embryology Biology, Rockefeller University New York, N Y , USA
Amander T Clark, PhD, is Professor of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology at UCLA and the Founding Director of the UCLA Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education She currently also serves on the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine Health Sciences Policy Board and is a Key Member of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, Member of the Cell and Developmental Biology Home Area, Member of the Gene Regulation Epigenomics and Transcriptomics Home Area, Member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Program Area, Director of the Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education
Ricardo Di Santis, PhD is the Scientific Lead of the Ovanova corporation, the Director of the Stem Cell Resource Center at the Rockefeller University in NYC and postdoc in the Brivanlou Laboratory at Rockefeller University in N Y , USA
Alison Freeman J D is the lead attorney in the class action suits filled against PGT-A laboratories She is located in Tampa, FL , USA
Sonia Gayete-Lafuente, MD, PhD, is a Junior Attending and Junior Scientist at The Center for Human Reproduction and a Foundation for Reproductive Medicine Fellow, all in NY , 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 Laboratory for Stem Cell and Molecular 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
Eriona Hysolli, PhD, is a co-founder and the scientific lead in the “Manhattan Project,” a new start-up in NYC, the Manhattan Laboratory, with the goal of building a future without inherited diseases Before that, after being a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of George Church, PhD, she was head of Biological Sciences at Colossal, the start-up financed by hundreds of million of dollars with the goal of recreating the mammoth
Chaim Jalas, PhD, is the CEO and Director of Technology Development at Juno Genetics U S in Brooklyn, N Y , USA
Robert J Kiltz, MD, is a reproductive endocrinologist in private practice in Buffalo, NY, USA, who has built a very successful network of IVF clinics in several states based on lowcost cycles and special attention to healthy living
Antonio La Marca, MD, PhD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of the Residency Program in Ob&Gyn, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Editor-in-Chief of Minerva Obstetrics and Gynecology, Modena, Italy
Milton K H, Leong, MDCM, DSc (McGill), FACOG, FROG, FHKCOG, FHKAM, FRCS(C), Clinic Director of the Women’s Clinic in Hong Kong and Professor, Mc Gill University, Montreal, Canada
Sebastiaan Mastenbroek, PhD, is Assistant Professor, clinical embryologist at the center for Reproductive Medicine at Amsterdam UMC and, since 2023, Co-director of the research institute, Amsterdam Reproduction & Development and has contributed several groundbreaking studies to the clinical practice of IVF
Shoukhrat Mitalipov, PhD, Director of the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences , Professor, Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at the OHSU School of Medicine
Cari Nicholas, PhD, is a Senior Embryologist and Junior Scientist at The center for Human reproduction in NYC, USA
Raoul Orvieto, MD, Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, at the Sheba (Tel-Hashomer) Medical Center, Israel Prof Orvieto is a full professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and incumbent of the Tarnesby-Tarnowski Chair for Family Planning and Fertility Regulation, at the Faculty of Medical and Health Science, Tel-Aviv University, Israel Prof Orvieto is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology
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, 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 Senior Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School Previously, she was a Full Professor at the Bioethics Program, School of Public Health, University of Montreal She is Past-President of the International Association of Bioethics, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and of The Hastings Center for bioethics Ravitsky is a Principal Investigator on two Bridge2AI research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health that expand the use of AI in biomedical and behavioral research She served on the steering committee of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) to develop an Artificial Intelligence Code of Conduct (AICC)
Nicolas Rivron, PhD, Nicolas Rivron is a group leader at the Institute for Molecular Biotechnologies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna, Austria) He led the development of the first complete embryo model It reflects the blastocyst in mice (2018, Nature) and humans (2021, Nature) and is named blastoid Blastoids are unique in two respects: they are complete and they represent the pre-implantation stage thereby enabling implantation in utero Using blastoids, the Rivron lab explores the conserved principles of embryonic self-organization, especially the coordination and pacing of molecular and mechanical signalings in the context of human heterochronies, and the human genetic traits that have led to our low fecundity compared to other primates (50% of fertilized oocytes never develop) This fundamental research aims to uncover the constraints and vulnerabilities of human embryogenesis, knowledge of which is necessary for the development of novel therapeutic approaches to global health challenges such as family planning, fertility decline and prenatal preventive medicine
Jaime A Roura Monllor, MD, MS, is a Fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Zeev Shoham, MD, Director Emeritus Reproductive Endocrinology Unit, Kaplan Hospital, Rehovot and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hadassah School of Medicine of Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Mitchell Stern, Managing Director and Head of the Healthcare Group at Dresner partners is considered one of the leading investment bankers in the fertility (IVF) sector and has been involved in several major IVF clinic sales
Mark W Surrey, MD, is a reproductive endocrinologist and reproductive endoscopic surgeon in private practice in Los Angeles, CA and Medical Director of SCRC
Min Yang, PhD, is a former joint postdoc of the Brivanlou Laboratory at Rockefeller University and The Center for Human Reproduction, both in NYC She now is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she leads her own research laboratory She was also the recipient of the 2025 ASRM Young Investigator Award
Andrea Weghofer, MD, PhD, MBA is a reproductive endocrinologist and Associate Professor at the Vienna University School of Medicine in Vienna, Austria and a Visiting Scientist at the CHR in NYC
Zev Williams, MD, PhD., 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
TIME
8:30 AM - 8:40 AM WELCOME
8:40 AM - 8:50 AM THE YOUNG INVESTIGATOR BEST POSTER AWARD
8:50 AM - 9:00 AM
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
THE FOUNDATION FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE PATIENT AWARD
SESSION 1: BREAKING ETHICAL, CLINICAL, AND LEGAL ISSUES
CHAIR: NORBERT GLEICHER, MD
THE OPENING LECTURE: POLYGENIC RISK SCORING IN REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE, CURRENT STATUS AND POTENTIAL FOR EMBRYO SELECTION
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
SPEAKER
NORBERT GLEICHER, MD
DAVID F. ALBERTINI, PHD
NORBERT GLEICHER, MD
JAIME A ROURA MONLLOR, MD, MS
THE DO-NO-HARM IN IVF GROUP LECTURE: FIXING INSTEAD OF DISCARDING EMBRYOS THROUGH GENOMIC EDITING TO PREVENT GENETICALLY INHERITED DISEASES ETHICS AND PRACTICABILITY ERIONA HYSOLLI, PHD
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM THE ETHICS
FACTUALLY INCORRECT PUBLICATIONS REGARDING PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC TESTING FOR ANEUPLOIDY ARE CONTINUING TO AFFECT CLINICAL IVF PRACTICE: THE CLAIM THAT PGT-A IN OLDER WOMEN IMPROVES IVF OUTCOMES, AS AN EXAMPLE
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM WHY WE DECIDED TO SUE THE PGT-A INDUSTRY ALLISON FREEMAN, JD
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM COFFEE BREAK SESSION 2: IMPORTANT NEW POTENTIAL CLINICAL DEVELOPMENTS
CHAIR: EVE FEINBERG, MD
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
THE FOUNDATION FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE LECTURE: TRANSLATING IMPORTANT BASIC BIOLOGY RESEARCH INTO CLINICAL IVF PROGRESS NICOLAS RIVRON, PHD
ADVANCING THE ACCURACY OF OVULATION TRIGGER TIMING FOR HIGHLY INDIVIDUALIZED OOCYTE RETRIEVAL (HIER) WITH A SONOGRAPHIC PHENOTYPE DENOTING FOLLICLE MATURITY AT ALL FOLLICLE SIZES
GLEICHER, MD
DAVID H. BARAD, MD, MS
1:20 PM - 2:00 PM
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
5:30 PM - 5:30 PM
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM
1:00 PM - 1:20 PM GET YOUR BOXED LUNCH
SYMPOSIUM: DO EMBRYOS REALLY SELF-CORRECT AND, IF SO, HOW?
CHAIR: DAVID H BARAD, MD, MS
SESSION 3: ABOUT THE CLINICAL FUTURE OF IVF
CHAIR: PASQUALE PATRIZIO, MD
PANELISTS
CHAIM JALAS, PHD
RAOUL ORVIETO, MD
MIN YANG, PHD
PASQUALE PATRIZIO, MD
DAVID F. ALBERTINI, PHD
6:00 PM - 6:15 PM
CAN WE DELAY OVARIAN AGING: THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY RAPAMYCIN TRIAL TO DELAY MENOPAUSE ZEV WILLIAMS, MD, PHD
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF PRACTICE CHANGES IN FET CYCLES ON NATIONAL PREGNANCY AND LIVE BIRTH RATES
SONIA GAYETE-LAFUENTE, MD, PHD
INDIVIDUALIZED IN VITRO MATURATION OF OOCYTES TO MAXIMIZE EMBRYO YIELD AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENT AGE CARI NICHOLAS, PHD
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM COFFEE BREAK
SESSION 4: ABOUT THE FUTURE OF REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AND INFERTILITY CHAIR: ZEEV SHOHAM, MD
BUILDING THE PRIMATE OVARY FROM SCRATCH –INSIGHTS INTO HUMAN FERTILITY AMANDER CLARK, PHD
WHERE ELON MUSK COULD GET US TO, IF ONLY HE WERE INTERESTED IN REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE ELI Y ADASHI, MD, MS, MA
WHY HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY PRECLUDES THE NOTION OF EMBRYO SELECTION
DAVID F. ALBERTINI, PHD
WHOSE CHILD IS SHE/HE? THE GENETIC-GESTATION DIVIDE VARDIT RAVITSKY, PHD
SESSION 5: DRIVING TOWARDS PREVISION MEDICINE IN REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY AND FERTILITY – PART I CHAIR: DAVID F. ALBERTINI, PHD
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
A DIAPAUSE-LIKE RESPONSE IN HUMAN BLASTOCYSTS FOLLOWING MTOR INHIBITION AND ITS POSSIBLE CLINICAL RELEVANCE FOR IVF NICOLAS RIVRON, PHD
ARE THERE STILL INFERTILITY PATIENTS IN WHOM PGT-A MAY BE INDICATED?
WHY CURRENT IVF PRACTICE FAVORS IVF CLINIC INTERESTS AT THE COST OF PATIENT INTERESTS: THE NEED FOR PRECISION MEDICINE IN PLACE OF ROUTINE PROTOCOLS
SEBASTIAAN MASTENBROEK, PHD
DAVID H BARAD, MD
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
WHY THE INDIVIDUALIZED OVULATION TRIGGER IS OF SUCH IMPORTANCE RAOUL ORVIETO, MD
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM COFFEE BREAK
SESSION 6: DRIVING TOWARDS PREVISION MEDICINE IN REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY AND FERTILITY – PART II CHAIR: NICOLAS RIVRON, PHD
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM THE CENTER FOR HUMAN REPRODUCTION LECTURE: ON THE WAY TO IN VITRO GAMETOGENESIS
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
PREPARING OVARIES FOR MAXIMAL EFFICIENCY: WHY ARE ANDROGEN AND GROWTH HORMONE SUPPLEMENTATIONS IN SELECTED PATIENTS STILL CONTROVERSIAL?
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM CAN WE OPTIMIZE EMBRYO CULTURE MEDIA?
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM GET YOUR BOXED LUNCH
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
SYMPOSIUM: THE SCIENTIFIC AND ECONOMIC FUTURE OF THE FERTILITY FIELD CHAIR: NORBERT GLEICHER, MD
,
NORBERT GLEICHER, MD
SEBASTIAAN MASTENBROEK, PHD
PANELISTS
ELI Y. ADASHI, MD, MS, MA ANDREA WEGHOFER, MD, PHD, MBA
ROBERT J. KILTZ, MD
MILTON LEONG, MD
PASQUALE PATRIZIO, MD
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
2:00 PM - 2:20 PM
2:20 PM - 2:40 PM
2:40 PM - 3:00 PM
SESSION 7: THE FUTURE OF THE BUSINESS OF INFERTILITY CHAIR: MILTON LEONG, MD
THE IMPACT OF WORLDWIDE QUICKLY DECLINING NONPHYSICIAN OWNERSHIP OF IVF CLINICS ON CLINICAL PRACTICE PASQUALE PATRIZIO, MD
HAVING MERGED A LOCAL CLINIC NETWORK INTO A LARGER NATIONAL NETWORK, WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
BELTSOS, MD
HAVING SOLD MY PRACTICE TO A PRIVATE EQUITYOWNED CLINIC NETWORK, WHAT HAS MY EXPERIENCE BEEN? MARK SURREY, MD
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SELLING YOUR IVF CLINIC TO A NETWORK MITCHELL STERN 3:
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
SESSION 8: INTERESTING NEWS IN THE RESEARCH ARENA CHAIR: ELI Y. ADASHI, MD, MS, MA
THE POOL OF RECRUITABLE ANTRAL FOLLICLES IS MODIFIABLE, AND I CAN TELL YOU HOW
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM IS IT TIME TO RETHINK OVARIAN AGING?
ANTONIO LA MARCA, MD, PHD
DAVID F. ALBERTINI, PHD
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM A YEAR LATER WITH AI: WHERE WE ARE, AND HOW TO DO NO HARM WITH IT? CHRISTINE S. ALLEN, PHD
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM
HOW THE CHR BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024 IMPROVED ONGOING CLINICAL PREGNANCY RATES FROM 8% TO 12% IN POOREST-PROGNOSIS PATIENTS (MEDIAN AGE 44-45) WITH AT LEAST ONE TRANSFERRABLE CLEAVAGE-STAGE EMBRYO: RELYING ON TESTED OUT “MINI-STEPS!”
SONIA GAYETE-LAFUENTE, MD, PHD
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM THE DAILY SUMMARY – A Q&A WITH THE DAY’S FACULTY FACULTY
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM FACULTY DINNER @ RUSSIAN SAMOVAR SPONSORED BY
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7
SESSION 9: WHAT WE MAY WANT TO RECONSIDER IN CLINICAL IVF PRACTICE
CHAIR: SONIA GAYETE-LAFUENTE, MD, PHD
THE OOCYTE REVOLUTION: WHERE WILL THEY COME FROM NEXT?
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM ARE WE SUFFERING FROM “FREEZING MANIA”?
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
THE PCOS PATIENT EVERYBODY OVERLOOKS, AND THEREFORE, UNDERESTIMATES IN PREVALENCE
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM COFFEE BREAK
SESSION 10: THE LATEST NEWS AT THE LATEST HOUR CHAIR: NORBERT GLEICHER, MD
RESILIENT BY DESIGN: WHY AND HOW THE PLACENTA SURVIVES GENOMIC CHAOS
IMPLICATIONS OF CHROMOSOMAL INSTABILITY AND MICRONUCLEI FOR PLACENTATION AND EMBRYOGENESIS
THE MECHANICAL ORGANIZER: HUMAN EMBRYO MODELS AS AUTOMATONS
FROM ENGINEERING TO AI CLASSIFICATION: HARNESSING HUMAN STEM CELLS TO DECODE ANEUPLOIDY
NICHOLAS, PHD
, MD, PHD
BAKHOUM, MD, PHD
DE SANTIS, PHD
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
THE CLOSING LECTURE: WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT STEADILY DECLINING CLINICAL PREGNANCY AND LIVE BIRTH RATES IN US AUTOLOGOUS IVF CYCLES SINCE 2010?
GLEICHER, MD THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!