First

World Congress on Reproductive Biology

Program

World Congress on Reproductive Biology
May 24-25, 2008
Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
 Meeting Program

Friday, May 23

15:00-18:00 Registration Lobby

Saturday, May 24

7:00-8:30 Continental Breakfast and Registration

8:45-10:00 Opening Ceremony and Plenary Lecture I

Malcom Parker, Imperial College, UK
“Ups and Downs of Nuclear Receptor Action in the Ovary”

10:00-10:30 Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Concurrent Sessions 1-4

  1. Epigenetics in the Gamete and Embryo – Helen Picton, Chair

    • Scott Coonrod, Epigenetic Reprogramming in the Murine Egg and Early Embryo
    • Tomohiro Kono, Generation of viable bimaternal mice lacking a paternal genome
    • Yukiko Yamazaki, Autonomous regulation of sex differentiation in mouse fetal germ cells

  2. Embryo-Maternal Interactions: Novel Insights and Critical Events for Pregnancy Success – Tom Spencer, Chair

    • Eckhard Wolf, Embryo-maternal interactions in bovine – lessons from holistic transcriptome and proteome studies
    • Henry Jabbour, Prokineticins: are they novel regulators of human implantation and placental functions?
    • Euan Wallace, Activin in pregnancy: conversations between mother and baby from conception to birth

  3. Broadening and Rethinking Contraceptive Options for an Overpopulated World – Jock Findlay, Chair

    • Michael Harper, Contraceptive Options for the 21st Century,
    • Deborah O’Brien, Novel sperm glycolytic enzymes as contraceptive targets
    • Lois Salamonsen, New approaches to female contraception

  4. Immunological Mediators in Reproductive Systems – Mark Hedger, Chair

    • Andreas Meinhardt, Mechanism by which uropathogenic bacteria escape the testicular immune response
    • Joy Pate, Signals that may regulate function of resident lymphocytes in the ovary
    • Sarah Robertson, Role of immune cells in implantation and early pregnancy success

12:00-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:00 Concurrent Sessions 5-8

  1. Novel Aspects of Placental Development and Function - John Aplin, Chair

    • Jay Cross, Comparative aspects of control of placental development
    • Graham Burton, Placental stress, protein synthesis inhibition and growth restriction
    • Guiying Nie, The critical role of a novel protease in normal and abnormal placentation

  2. Angiogenesis and Vascular Regulation of Reproductive Function – Eimei Sato, Chair
    • Akio Miyamoto, Bovine corpus luteum as a heterogeneous endocrine organ: Vascular structure regulates site-dependent response to PGF2a
    • Ray Rodgers, Fine control of follicle development and atresia regulated by angiogenesis and angiolysis
    • Robert Koos, HIF-1’s role in estrogen-induced VEGF expression in the uterus

  3. Sperm-Oocyte Interactions during Fertilization – Eduardo Roldan, Chair
    • Roy Jones, Molecular diffusion in sperm plasma membranes; rafts, fences and filters.
    • Tadashi Baba, Current concept of sperm/egg fusion in mouse: From Fertilin to Izumo1
    • Rafael Fissore, Phospholipase C zeta, Ca++ responses and fertility

  4. Environmental Effects on Reproduction – Bill Thatcher, Chair
    • Paolo Mocarelli, Dioxin and effects on human reproductive system: data from Seveso accident
    • Peter Hansen, Survival vs death pathways in the thermally-stressed preimplantation embryo
    • Charles Tyler, Estrogenic effects in fish after exposure to effluents from waste water treatment works

15:00-15:30 Afternoon Tea

15:30-16:30 Plenary Lecture II
Atsuo Ogura, RIKEN Tsukuba Institute, JP
“ Microinsemination and nuclear transfer using male germ cells”

16:30-19:00 PM Free Time

19:00-22:00 PM Poster Session with Pupu Reception

Sunday, May 25

7:00-8:30 Continental Breakfast

8:45-10:00 Plenary Lecture III
Teresa Woodruff, Northwestern University, US
“Regulation of Follicle Development in vitro and in vivo”

10:00-10:30 Coffee Break

10:30-12:00 Concurrent Sessions 9-12

  1. Stem Cells, Reproductive Tissue and Regeneration – Hugh Taylor, Chair

    • Caroline Gargett, Endometrial stem/progenitor cells: How can they be identified?
    • Tetsuo Maruyama, Regeneration potential of stem cell systems in the human female reproductive tract
    • Jon Oatley, Transcriptional profiling of mammalian spermatogonial stem cells: insights into mechanisms regulating their self-renewal
  2. Signals Regulating Gonadal Function, John Davis, Chair
    • Peter Koopman, Sex-determining cascades in gonadal development
    • Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, LH-Dependent MAP2D Dephosphorylation in Ovarian Granulosa Cells Regulates Binding of MAP2D to Vimentin Intermediate Filaments
    • Douglas Stocco, The Role of A-Kinase Anchoring Protein 121 (AKAP121) in Steroidogenesis and Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein (StAR) Expression
  3. Maximizing Oocyte Developmental Potential – Darryl Russell, Chair
    • George Smith, Novel oocyte and cumulus cell-derived markers of egg quality: Potential diagnostic and therapeutic implications
    • Robert Gilchrist, Actions of oocyte-secreted TGFb superfamily ligands
    • Takashi Miyano, Ex-vivo growth and maturation of oocytes in farm animals
  4. New Players in the GnRH System –Masugi Nishihara, Chair
    • Hiroko Tsukamura, Metastin/kisspeptin-GPR54 system regulating reproductive functions in mammals
    • George Bentley, Gonadotropin Inhibitory Hormone: Fact not fiction
    • Alan Herbison, Kisspeptin; a key player in the control of GnRH neurons and ovulation

12:00-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Concurrent Sessions 13-16

  1. Novel Aspects of Transcript Regulation and Function – Mitch Eddy, Chair

    • Shinichiro Chuma, Protein and RNA assembly of germinal granule/nuage in the germline
    • Haifan Lin, PIWI proteins and piRNAs in germline stem cell self-renewal
    • Norman Hecht, The RNA-binding proteins, MSY2 and polypyrimidine-tract binding protein 2 (PTBP2) stabilize germ cell mRNAs

  2. Structural and Genomic Aspects of Sperm Function- Steve Ward, Chair
    • Moira O’Bryan, The identification of critical male meiosis genes in mice and men
    • Stephen Krawetz, Mediation of Spermatogenesis by Chromatin Architecture
    • Makato Okuno, Local inhibition of flagellar activity that regulates sperm flagellar movement

  3. Diverse Patterns of Animal Reproduction – Martin Luck, Chair
    • Cassandra Extavour, Evolution of the Metazoan germline: a unifying hypothesis
    • Frank Grutzner, Evolution and organization of monotreme sex chromosomes
    • Pierre Comizzoli, Diversity of endangered species reproduction as studied worldwide

  4. New and Emerging Reproductive Technologies
    • Stuart Meyers – The use of vacuum-dried sperm to generate ICSI-derived rhesus monkey embryos
    • Goro Yoshizaki – Inter-species spermatogonia transplantation in fish: Can salmon make trout?

15:00-15:30 Afternoon Tea

15:30-16:30 Plenary Lecture II

Marilyn Renfree, University of Melbourne, AU
“Reproduction Upside Down: The Marsupial Alternative”

16:30 Closing Remarks

19:00 Optional Social Event