2012 CRB Symposium - The Changing Face of ART

"The Changing Face of ART" is the theme of the 16^th Annual College of Reproductive Biology Symposium. This year’s symposium covers a broad spectrum of issues in assisted reproduction, with topics ranging from gamete and embryo storage to andrology, eSET, PGD, omics and time-lapse imaging.

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Following the Semen Analysis Pre-Conference workshops, Douglas T. Carrell, Ph.D., HCLD(ABB), will begin the Symposium with the latest on sperm selection techniques. Our field is fond of acronyms, and Dr. Carrell will discuss these initialisms as they relate to new techniques such as IMSI, MACS and PICSI. In a fitting follow-up to the Semen Analysis workshops, a discussion of new and traditional tests for the diagnosis of male factor infertility will follow. Russell Bierbaum from ReproTech Limited will present examples of gamete and embryo storage challenges and Judy E. Stern, Ph.D., HCLD/ELD(ABB), will shift our attention to assisted reproduction as she describes how the SART database has been used to study IVF in this country and how you, too, can do more with the data.

Clinical aspects of IVF and PGD are topics for the second day of the workshop. Brad Van Voorhis, M.D., after presenting "Ovarian Stimulation for Reproductive Biologists," will team with Amy Sparks, Ph.D., HCLD(ABB), to provide a look at how the ART team at the University of Iowa works together to provide consistently high outcomes. These excellent results are most apparent with their extensive utilization of eSET, and Dr. Sparks will provide the latest on factors important for success with eSET. What’s new with PGD? Clearly the introduction of genomic array testing has revolutionized the way PGD is performed, and Mandy Katz-Jaffe, Ph.D., will provide insight on navigating "PGD in the Era of the Array."

The final day of the conference kicks off with everyone’s favorite attorney, Susan Crockin, J.D., providing the latest on contracts, liability and ART gone awry! This year will mark the inaugural CRB Keynote Address. The Keynote Speaker is Renee Reijo Pera, Ph.D., from Stanford University. Dr. Reijo Pera has been at the forefront of the intersection between basic science and the fertility clinic for the past 20 years. She identified the DAZ gene in male infertility while working in the Page Laboratory at MIT, which was at the forefront of Y-chromosome microdeletion testing. Since moving to Stanford, in addition to her primary interest in stem cells and gametes, her group published a landmark 2010 Nature paper on time-lapse imaging of human embryos. Dr. Reijo Pera’s keynote address will focus on the oocyte and is titled "Stopping Her Biological Clock: Prospects for Preventing Oocyte Aneuploidy."

The Symposium will conclude with two talks focused on embryo selection. The promise of the day when we can use methods other than embryo morphology to choose the best embryo seems right around the corner. Dr. Katz-Jaffe will sort through the current state of "Omics" technology and Dr. Reijo Pera will present her group’s work on non-invasive embryo assessment with time-lapse imaging.

The meeting this year looks to build on the success of past years and the "Changing Face of the CRB" as well. At last year’s Symposium, for the first time CRB had an evening reception that was a Texan-sized success. Thanks to Origio Mid-Atlantic, there will again be a function this year in Las Vegas – you won’t want to miss it!

The CRB Symposium continues to be the clinical reproductive biologist’s premier event to meet, mingle and network with peers. See you in Las Vegas!