Speakers
Charles Bormann
USA
Antonio Capalbo
Italy
Antonio Capalbo
Dr. Capalbo received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology from University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ and his Ph.D. magna cum laude in Human Genetics at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart of Rome in 2011. From 2008 to 2012 Dr. Capalbo has been working as a clinical embryologist, pioneering embryo biopsy approaches and applications. Since then, his research has focused on preimplantation genetic testing and on the development of novel molecular biology techniques to improve pregnancy and take-home baby rates in ART. His basic research has been focused on the mechanisms of aneuploidies in oocytes and preimplantation human embryos. He received several grants for innovative studies on these subjects. From 2012-2017 he was co-founder and Laboratory Director at GENETYX, the largest PGT program in Italy. From 2017 until July 2022, he has been working as Genomics Research Director at Igenomix, and as laboratory director for Igenomix Italy. He is currently coordinator of the ESHRE SIG in Reproductive Genetics, member of the genomics-working group of the Italian society of human genetics, and Chief Genomic Officer at Juno Genetics. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and is currently Reviewer and Associated Editor for many Journals in the field of reproductive biology and genetics (New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Human Genetics, Human Reproduction Update, Human Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, Journal of Medical Genetics, Scientific Reports, PNAS).
Bart Fauser
The Netherlands
Bart Fauser
Bart CJM Fauser, MD, PhD, FRCOG, is a Professor Em. of Reproductive Medicine, Gynaecologist, former Chair of the Department for Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecology and Head of the Division of Woman & Baby at the University of Utrecht and the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
He is also a Fellow ad Eundum of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG), Honorary member of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), scientific director of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), international member of the National Academy of Medicine (US), Past Editor-in-Chief of Reproductive Biomedicine Online (RBMO) and Human Reproduction Update (HRU), Editor of Fertility & Sterility Science, and Night in the order of the Netherlands Lion.
Bart previously acted as a member of the board of the Dutch Medical Research Counsel (ZonMW), chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) steering committee for infertility guidelines, Chair of the ESHRE SIG Reproductive Endocrinology, Fulbright post-doctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego, Professor and Division director at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam (The Netherlands); and acted as visiting professor at Stanford University School of Medicine (California, USA), Free University of Brussels (Belgium), University of Siena (Italy), University of Southampton (UK), and the University of Adelaide (Australia).
His major research interests include the pathophysiology of human ovarian function (especially PCOS, and POI), ovarian stimulation, IVF and women’s health (including contraception, menopause and healthy aging). He has published ~ 500 peer-reviewed papers, edited 5 books, and contributed around 80 chapters to all leading textbooks in Reproductive Medicine. is one of the most cited (Hirsch factor ~120) authors in reproductive medicine worldwide, and his work has been widely covered in the national and international news media.
David Gardner
Australia
David Gardner
Professor David K. Gardner, AM, FAA
David is a Pioneer in human IVF. He is a Distinguished Professor in the School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne and the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF.
He completed his PhD (1987) at the University of York, with Henry Leese. In 1988 he moved to Harvard Medical School to work with John Biggers, after which he moved to Monash, Australia, in 1989 to work with Alan Trounson. In 1997 became the Scientific Director of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Denver, where his work on human embryo culture conditions and blastocyst transfer revolutionised how human IVF is performed today.
His “Gardner Grading system” for the human embryo is used worldwide as the standard selection system in human IVF.
In 2007 he was appointed Professor and Chair of the Zoology Department at the University of Melbourne and promoted to the level of Distinguished Professor, School of BioSciences in 2018.
In 2017 he became the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF.
In 2017 in recognition of his many significant contributions to reproductive sciences he was elected as a Fellow into the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and further was the recipient of the Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.
In June 2022, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) (one of the highest civil honours in Australia) for his significant contributions to reproductive medicine.
He has published over 300 papers and chapters and has edited 16 books on IVF and embryology, culminating in over 33,000 citations.
Luca Gianaroli
Italy
Luca Gianaroli
Dr. Luca Gianaroli is specialist in Reproductive Medicine since the end of the Seventies. He is the Scientific Director of S.I.S.Me.R. (Italian Society for the Study of Reproductive Medicine) and he holds the position of Scientific Director of IIIRM SA in Lugano, Switzerland. He is also advisor of the Italian Ministry of Health for Medically Assisted Reproduction.
Dr. Gianaroli has always been an active member of several national and international scientific societies in which he has covered and currently covers roles of primary importance.
In 2009-2011, he served as Chairman of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).
In 2014 he was appointed as Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
In 2017, he was one of the founders of the Fondazione PMA.Italia (PMA.Italia Foundation), of which he is currently the Vice-President. From 2016 to 2021 he served as coordinator of the Steering Committee of the ESHRE ART Centre Certification Program.
At present, he is the Director of Global Educational Programs of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS).
With reference to academic activities, throughout his professional career Dr. Gianaroli collaborated with several universities in Italy (Università degli Studi di Teramo, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Università di Bologna) and abroad (Leuven University in Belgium, Monash University in Australia and Geneva University in Switzerland). He served as Honorary Professor at the School of Biosciences of the University of Kent between 2014 and May 2022. In 2014 he obtained the Italian Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale (National Scientific License) as Full Professor, which was renewed in 2020.
Dr. Gianaroli is author of more than 290 papers in international scientific journals and publisher or co-publisher of 9 books. As of the date of this biosketch his H-index is 80 (Google Scholar).
Linda Giudice
USA
Craig Niederberger
USA
Craig Niederberger
Dr. Craig Niederberger is Clarence C. Saelhof Professor and Head of the Department of Urology in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and holds a joint appointment as Professor in the Department of Bioengineering in the College of Engineering. He co-founded NexHand as Chief Techology Officer and leads the multidisciplinary UR*Lab in the Innovation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was Co-Editor in Chief of Fertility and Sterility and a prior section editor for the Journal of Urology. He is a primary editor of the fourth and upcoming fifth editions of Infertility in the Male. He served as general program chair for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual meeting in Atlanta in 2009 and has served as president of the Society for the Study of Male Reproduction within the American Urological Association and as president of the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology within the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Helen O’Neill
UK
Kyle Orwig
USA
Kyle Orwig
Dr. Orwig is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Fertility Preservation Program and the Center for Reproduction and Transplantation at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Research in the Orwig laboratory focuses on stem cells, germ lineage development, fertility and infertility. Our progress investigating reproductive function in fertile individuals provides a basis for understanding the mechanisms of infertility caused by disease, medical treatments, genetic defects or aging. Infertility impacts one in seven couples in the United States and can have a devastating impact on relationships, emotional well-being and overall health. The Orwig lab is ideally located in Magee-Womens Research Institute and Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh and is committed to translating lab bench discoveries to the clinic for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infertility.
Fertility Preservation Program in Pittsburgh http://www.fertilitypreservationpittsburgh.org
Orwig Research Group http://www.orwiglab.org
Jacques Ravel
USA
Jacques Ravel
Dr. Ravel received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Maryland College Park in Environmental Molecular Microbiology and Ecology and performed his postdoctoral training as a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research fellow in the Chemistry Department at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD working on the chemistry and bioinformatics natural products. He joined the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2007 as an Associate Professor. Previously, from 2002 to 2007 he was an Assistant Investigator at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville, MD, the pioneering institute where the firsts microbial genome was sequenced.
Dr. Jacques Ravel is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Acting Director at the Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. Over the past 18 years he has developed a research program focused on applying modern genomics technologies and ecological principles to characterize the role and dynamics of the vaginal microbiome in women’s health. He uses clinical genomics and systems biology approaches to develop improved strategy to manage gynecological and obstetrics conditions. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed publications. He is the co-Director (PI) of the NIH funded Collaborative Research Center on Human 3D Biomimetics Cervicovaginal Models for Sexually Transmitted Infections which
aims to develop an innovative biomimetic model of the lower reproductive tract to study aspects of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs), chlamydia and gonorrhea, that are not achievable in humans or with current animal or cell models. The program specifically uses systems biology approaches to examine the triangular relationship between human genetic variation, sexually transmitted infections and infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and the function of the vaginal microbiome. Further, his laboratory studies the role of the vaginal microbiota in bacterial vaginosis, pregnancy and prematurity, as well as the health of neonates. His foundational research is currently being translated by developing novel live microbiome-based live biotherapeutic formulations targeted to restore vaginal health, treat conditions such as bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections. His work earned him to be elected to Fellowship of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) in 2012, and in 2015, he was awarded the Blaise Pascal International Research Chair and spend two years at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of the journal Microbiome (www.microbiomejournal.com), which has achieved an impact factor of 19.9 in the 10 years since its creation, and as a fellow of the AAM, he is an Associate Editor for the journal mBio.
Laura Rienzi
Italy
Laura Rienzi
Prof. Laura Rienzi
Adjunct Professor of Biotechnology in Assisted Reproduction, University of Urbino, Italy
Director of the Scientific Executive Committee of GeneraLife and co-founder of Genera
Senior Clinical Embryologist
With 30 years’ experience in human assisted reproduction technologies, pre-implantation genetic testing and cryopreservation of human oocytes, sperm and embryos, Laura Rienzi is the Director of the Scientific Executive Committee of the GeneraLife network of IVF clinics in Europe.
Laura obtained her degree in Biology magna cum laude at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, University of Rome, a Master degree and a course specialization in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Padua. Since 2016, she is Adjunct Professor of Biotechnology in Assisted Reproduction at the Faculty of Biology, University of Urbino, Italy. She has authored >200 articles (Scopus Index 52), reviews and book chapters, she has also been invited to speak in more than 300 national and international scientific meetings and has won several awards regarding fertility investigation and innovation.
In 2008 she founded together with Dr. Filippo Maria Ubaldi the Genera IVF centers, with 4 different locations in Italy, where she is Laboratory Director. In 2020, she was actively involved in the creation of GeneraLife, a network of >30 clinics in 5 different countries in Europe: the name GeneraLife was inspired by the group she founded 12 years before.
Carmen Rubio
Spain
Carmen Rubio
Trained in Science and Embryology in the University of Valencia, Spain, Dr Carmen Rubio specialized in cytogenetic studies in human reproduction, partly in the University of Barcelona. She completed her PhD in the field of Reproductive Genetics and post-doctoral research included research in male and female meiosis at the laboratory of Drs. Patricia Hunt and Terry Hassold (Washington State University, USA). She has published more than 100 papers in the main peer-reviewed specialist journals in the field, books chapters as well as numerous lectures at conferences worldwide. She is Board member of the PGDIS society, and the PGT Consortium working group, under the auspices of ESHRE. Currently she is the head of the Research & Development department at Igenomix (Vitrolife group). Her main research interests are non-invasive approaches of embryo aneuploidy and understanding the origin of cell-free DNA in the culture medium.
Denny Sakkas
USA
Xavier Santamaria
Spain
Zeev Shoham
Israel
Carlos Simon
Spain
Felipe Vilella
Spain
Felipe Vilella
I was graduated in Biological Sciences (2002) and Biochemistry (2004) at the University of Navarra. In 2006, I obtained my PhD in Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lleida with the highest degree “Cum Laude”. I did the first postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Aragon in the Clinical Science Centre of the Medical Research Council (MRC) in London supported by the Marie Curie program. In 2007, I was awarded the prestigious scholarship from the Ministry of Education and Science (FECYT) for the formation of Spanish doctors abroad. During my years in England (2006-2009), I specialized in the mechanisms of DNA repair and progression in the cell cycle of eukaryotic cells. This knowledge gave me the opportunity to make a second post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Lako in a mixed unit created between the University of Newcastle and the Prince Felipe Research Center in Valencia (CIPF). During this time, I moved my knowledge of cell biology to embryonic stem cells and its application in the field of regenerative medicine. In 2011, I began my career as principal investigator of the Endometrial Receptivity laboratory within the IVI Foundation directed by Professor Simon. My field of work is focused on the study of endometrial receptivity and the cross-talk between the mother and the embryo during implantation. In 2014, I obtained a Miguel Servet position issued by the Institute of Health Carlos III and became part of the Foundation for Research of the Clinical Hospital of Valencia (INCLIVA). In 2022 I obtained my independent position as a consolidate group leader in INCLIVA on the Materno Fetal Crosstalk Laboratory and Vice-President for research at the Carlos Simon Foundation.
I have published 42 papers in peer-reviewed journals with an accumulated impact factor of 399.035. My papers have been cited 2267 times with an average of 56.68 citations/paper. My H-Index is 21, and I publish 12 book chapters in English and Spanishs, and I am a regular contributor and reviewer of international journals. I have directed 6 doctoral theses. I have participated in over 16 international projects so far, being principal investigator in 11 of them. I have participated as invited speaker in over 87 international conferences.
Dagan Wells
UK
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