Members of the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Wayne State University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto conducted their second annual joint scientific retreat this month, attracting more than 350 physicians, scientists and trainees.

This year's "Collaboration Day" took place May 12-13 at the University of Toronto. WSU hosted the first event in 2015. The purpose of the joint symposium was to share new data in the field and spark future collaborations between the two institutions.

"The current research environment requires a team research approach to answer the big questions that extend beyond our national borders," said Sascha Drewlo, Ph.D., assistant professor of WSU Obstetrics and Gynecology. "It's very clear that the University of Toronto and WSU are big players in the reproductive biology field based on productivity and quality of research. These kinds of collaborations are critical for many reasons. Firstly, they enable trainees to thrive and compete on an international level. Secondly, principal investigators have the chance to meet, establish and maintain collaborations to synergistically promote projects, publications and funding. We were able to achieve all of the above over the two days in Toronto."

This year's keynote speaker, Emmanuel Bujold, M.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the Laval University School of Medicine in Quebec presented "Prediction and prevention of uterine scar defect: 20 years of research."

Participants submitted 121 abstracts 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.

Two WSU students won for best oral presentation and best poster presentation:

* Best Oral Presentation, Wayne State University, doctoral candidate Yu Yang (supervisor Daniel Rappolee, Ph.D., associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology), for "Hypoxic Stress Forces Large, Irreversible Mouse Trophoblast Stem Cell Differentiation."

* Best Poster Presentation, Wayne State University, doctoral candidate Diana Diaz (supervisor Sorin Draghici, Ph.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology), for "Pathway Analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression data."

"Research was presented exclusively by trainees," Dr. Drewlo said. "The quality of any academic institution is reflected by the quality of trainees. During the two days it was very obvious that the quality of research presented was on the same level as other international conferences, and it was wonderful to see all trainees presenting and discussing their work.

"These events are important in an environment where research funding is short, since it allows all of us to extend the submission of grants across the borders to ensure funding for our missions. The conference was supported by the March of Dimes with a $5,000 conference grant, which will be shared between WSU and U of T. We plan to build on our experience and will work on generating an even bigger impact in our fields by including other universities on the Canadian and U.S. sides of the border," he added.