The Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto conducted a joint scientific retreat in Detroit that attracted more than 135 attendees.
"Integrative and Global Approaches in Reproductive Sciences" took place April 28-29 at the Atheneum Suite Hotel and Conference Center in Detroit. The purpose of the joint symposium was to share new data in the field and spark future collaborations between the two institutions.
"Senior and junior scientists from two of the three reproductive sciences research centers on the continent met here in Detroit," said Robert Sokol, M.D., the John M. Malone Jr., M.D., Endowed Chair and director of the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development and distinguished professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the Wayne State University School of Medicine. "A little competition probably contributed to some spectacular presentations by scientists from the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute of the University of Toronto and from here at Wayne. We are hoping that international collaborations will blossom from this spring meeting, which we plan to make an annual event."
Key speakers included John Kingdom, M.D., the Gordon C. Leitch Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the University of Toronto, who presented "Is Screening for 'Placental Health' a Realistic Goal in Obstetrics?;" Roberto Romero, M.D., chief of the Perinatology Research Branch and program head for Perinatal Research and Obstetrics, who spoke on "Maternal Anti-Fetal Rejection as a Mechanism of Disease;" and Clifford Librach, M.D., director of the CReATe Fertility Centre and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology for the University of Toronto, who presented "Investigating the Role of Microvesicles in Human Reproduction."
Nearly 80 abstracts were submitted for oral and poster presentations on reproductive science topics running the spectrum of human development and care from the perspective of the mother and father as a couple, starting at pre-conception and extending to the birth of a healthy child, highlighting the pathway to state-of-the-art personalized care. Faculty and trainees presented a combined 73 posters. The winners included:
The Kamran S. Moghissi, M.D., Best Oral Presentation - Lubna Nadeem, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, University of Toronto.
The John M. Malone Jr. Best Clinical Science Poster - Mili Thakur, M.D., Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellow, Wayne State University.
The Charlotte Bush Failing Best Basic Science Poster - Pranshanth Anamthatamakula, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, Wayne State University/Perinatal Initiative.
"This was a natural given that both senior and junior faculty had trained at the University of Toronto and developed collaborative cutting-edge, cross-border research programs," said Stephen Krawetz, Ph.D., associate director of the C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development and the Charlotte B. Failing Professor of Fetal Therapy and Diagnosis, and WSU professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. "We fully expect to build upon the momentum of this very successful inaugural meeting."