Progress 07/15/05 to 07/14/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The 38th annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction was held July 24-27, 2005, at the Quebec City Convention Centre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and was hosted by the University of Laval, Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada. The meeting and Call for Abstracts were publicized widely via email, regular mail, and web postings. A total of 784 abstracts representing current, unpublished, and unpresented research were received and reviewed by the SSR's Program Committee. The program included a techniques workshop on "Methods of Whole Animal and Whole Cell Imaging"; a forum on "Writing Winning Grants"; a Minority Affairs Symposium entitled "Mentee to Colleague: Paths to a Research Career"; the premier of a film documentary: "SSR - Generation of a Legacy"; Keynote Address on "The Aftermath from Fetal-Maternal Cell Traffic of Pregnancy"; President's Symposium on reproductive immunology; Plenary Lectures on protein folding and reproductive diseases, X-chromosome inactivation, and the controversy surrounding the presence of female gamete stem cells; Trans-Atlantic Exchange Lectures featuring presentations by award-winning new investigators from SSR and its sister organization, the Society for Reproduction and Fertility; and 15 minisymposia (total of 45 speakers) focused on subjects of current interest to scientists in animal science, biomedical, clinical, wildlife, and environmental sectors [Threats to Reproductive Success in a Modern World; Non-Genomic Effects of Steroids on Reproductive Tissues; Determinants of Preimplantation Embryonic Development; Biology of Male Germ Line Stem Cells; Metabolic Interactions: Reproductive Signals from Nontraditional Sources; Breast Cancer and Biology and Physiology of the Breast; Androgen Actions in the Developing Female Brain; Epigenetics and Imprinting; Molecular Mechanisms of Sperm Function; Endogenous Retroviruses and Reproduction; New insights Through Modern Approaches into Gamete Biology and Acquisition of Fertilization Competence; Fertility in the 21st Century: New Approaches to Monitoring and Assessing Human Reproductive Health; Regulation of Reproduction by Molecular Clocks; Meeting the Demands of the Fetus: a Maternal-Fetal Partnership; Transcriptional Regulation of Gene Expression in the Ovary]. One hundred sixty-eight abstracts were presented in twenty-one platform sessions, and 616 abstracts were presented as posters in three poster sessions. Lectures focusing on domestic animal models were incorporated into many minisymposia and platform presentation sessions, rather than set aside in a separate minisymposium on domestic animals. This facilitated the most widespread exposure of the current reproductive science in domestic animals to the broadest audience, and it was preferable to organize sessions around scientific topics rather than around species. Scheduled social events, free time, casual food functions, and informal seating arrangements encouraged maximum interaction among all attending the meeting. PARTICIPANTS: Principal Investigator: Joy L. Pate, Ph.D., President of the Society for the Study of Reproduction and Organizer of the 2005 meeting. Dr. Pate is Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at The Ohio State University. She has served on a number of SSR committees; chaired the Nominating Committee; served as Program Chair, and was elected as Director, Secretary and President-Elect. Dr. Pate has served on NIH and USDA Study Sections, and editorial boards for Biology of Reproduction, Reproduction, and Domestic Animal Endocrinology. Her research is devoted to understanding regulatory mechanisms in the corpus luteum of cows, with a particular focus on interactions between luteal cells and immune cells. Co-Principal Investigator: William W. Thatcher, Ph.D., President-Elect of the Society for the Study of Reproduction and Organizer of the 2006 meeting Dr. Thatcher is Graduate Research Professor Emeritus in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. An active SSR member since 1972, he has served on the Public Affairs Committee (1984), Program Committee (1989), Nominating Committee (1986, 2000, 2001, 2002), as Director (1995-1998), and as Associate Editor of BOR (1989-1993). He served on the editorial boards of Animal Science, Dairy Science, Theriogenology, Animal Reproduction Science, and Reproduction-Nutrition-Development. He served as a panel manager of the Reproductive Biology of Animals Panel of the USDA/CSRS NRI Competitive Grants Program (1992) and as Panel Chair within the USDA-ISRAEL BARD program. His research program in cattle has been associated with ovarian follicular development, maternal-embryo interactions, and developmental approaches for regulating reproductive function to enhance production and health. Program Committee: Alan Johnson, Ph.D., Chair. The scientific program of the annual meeting of the SSR is the responsibility of the Program Committee and the President of the Society. Dr. Johnson, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, studies the regulation of follicle development and differentiation and follicular atresia in the hen ovarian model system. He has served as a Reproductive Biology Section panel member for the USDA NRI grants program on six occasions, and is a regular reviewer of manuscripts for Endocrinology and Biology of Reproduction. Program Committee for 2006: Dr. Thomas R. Hansen, Professor of Reproductive Biology, University of Wyoming. Dr. Hansen's current research focuses on 1) Structure and function of a pregnancy-associated ubiquitin homolog in the uterus (NIH-funded), 2) Blood and uterine genomic and proteomic markers for early embryo viability (Industry funded; USDA-Hatch funded), 3) Fetal genomic response to maternal undernutrition during pregnancy (NIH funded), and 4) Fetal and maternal genomic response to infection by bovine viral diarrhea virus (USDA-NRI funded). Dr. Hansen has provided extensive service to the SSR having served on the Editorial Board (1995-1999) and as an ad hoc reviewer (1995-present) for Biology of Reproduction, has been on the Society for the Study of Reproduction Program Committee (2003-present). TARGET AUDIENCES: Funds were requested for partial support of the annual meetings of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) in Quebec City in 2005, and in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2006. Specifically, funds were used for registration and travel expenses for invited speakers who presented research targeting agriculturally important species in plenary lectures or minisymposia, as well as Travel Merit Awards for ten qualified trainees each year who presented abstracts relevant to the goals of the USDA NRI and who were not supported by an NRSA. Both meetings were designed to have broad appeal and application to a wide range of scientists in the reproductive sciences, including those focused on agriculturally important animals. Fifteen Minisymposia (total of 45 speakers) were held on subjects of current interest to scientists in animal science, biomedical, clinical, wildlife, and environmental sectors. Approximately 50% of attendees at the annual meetings were trainees, and a large percentage of those trainees were from animal science departments and agricultural backgrounds. Each year, ten Trainees were selected for NRI Trainee Merit Awards by the SSR Awards Committee based upon the scientific merit of their submitted abstracts and the relevance of their project to the goals of the USDA. Although lecture topics were different in 2006, the focus on trainees and domestic animal research was a strong component of the SSR annual meeting. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The 38th annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction was held July 24-27, 2005, at the Quebec City Convention Centre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and was hosted by the University of Laval, Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada. A total of 1300 people registered for the meeting, of which 707 were current or former PIs and 609 were Trainees. The ethnic diversity as indicated by each attendee was as follows: White (720), Black (32), Hispanic (66), Asian/Pacific Islander (338), Native American or Alaskan Native (2), or not identified (142). Registrants represented 39 countries: 730 from the USA, 261 from Canada, 160 from Pacific Rim countries, 72 from Europe, 30 from Central and South America, 30 from Australia and New Zealand, and 17 from the Near East and India. The attendees included 677 males, 542 females, and 81 who did not reveal gender when registering. The diversity of topics attracted a broad spectrum of basic, applied, and clinical scientists. The Techniques Workshop on "Methods of Whole Animal and Whole Cell Imaging" attracted 138 people (62 PIs and 76 Trainees). Approximately 48% of attendees at the annual meeting were trainees, and a large percentage of these trainees were from animal science departments and agricultural backgrounds. Trainees served as co-chairs of platform sessions, organized the forum on "Writing Winning Grants," the Placement Service, and Trainee-Mentor Luncheon. Ten Trainees were selected for USDA CSREES NRI Trainee Merit Awards by the SSR Awards Committee based upon the scientific merit of their submitted abstracts and the relevance of their project to the goals of the USDA. This meeting served as a major outlet for presentation of new research data in reproductive biology of domestic animals; scientists who work with domestic animals interacted with those working with primates and rodents, thus allowing for optimal access to new ideas and concepts. Lectures focusing on domestic animal models were incorporated into many minisymposia and platform presentation sessions, rather than set aside in a separate minisymposium on domestic animals. This facilitated the most widespread exposure of the current reproductive science in domestic animals to the broadest audience, and it was preferable to organize sessions around scientific topics rather than around species. Thus, more reproductive biologists who may not have been familiar with the excellent work being done in domestic animals were enlightened. The meeting included a diversity of scientific topics, including minisymposia on environmental effects on reproduction, neuroendocrinology, clock genes, epigenetics, sperm biology, embryo development, metabolism, retroviruses and germline stem cells, reproductive immunology, reproductive diseases, X-chromosome inactivation, and controversial topics such as that surrounding the presence of female gamete stem cells.
Publications
- Biology of Reproduction 2005; vol 32 (special issue): Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction. (Contains the full program including abstracts of all talks and all presentations.)
|