2024

• Date: 2024-02-05.
• Speaker: Feria Hikmet Noraddin, IGP/UU (PhD student)

Description

Feria is a PhD student at Uppsala University with a background in biomedical laboratory science and a master’s degree in molecular medicine. After working as a research engineer in the Human Protein Atlas program, Feria commenced his PhD studies in the group led by Cecilia Lindskog in mid-2019 and is expected to complete them in late 2024. The group’s research aims to map the human proteome using qualitative and quantitative methods, generating high-resolution spatial maps of the human body at the single-cell type level.

In this talk, Feria will focus on the use of tissue and single-cell RNA sequencing, combined with spatial histochemical stains, to map proteins in adult human spermatogenesis. The generated data are annually deposited in one of the largest publicly available biological databases: www.proteinatlas.org.

• Full title: From Gametes to (Epi)Genomics: The Symphony of Reproduction
• Date: 2024-02-15–16

More information: CRU Conference: From Gametes to (Epi)Genomics – The Symphony of Reproduction

• Date: 2024-02-23

• Date: 2024-03-20
• Speaker: Dr Francesca Gaccioli, University of Cambridge (senior researcher). 

Description

Bio of the speaker: Francesca obtained her Master’s degree in Biology and PhD in Molecular Biology and Pathology from the University of Parma (Italy). She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland) and the University of Texas Health Science Center (San Antonio). She is currently a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Cambridge.

Using the data and samples collected during the Pregnancy Outcome Prediction (POP) study and the POP study 2, including ~8,000 first pregnancies, her research aims at understanding how altered placental function contributes to pregnancy complications such as fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia, and at identifying clinically useful circulating biomarkers for these pregnancy diseases.

More recently, she has been involved in the Detecting intrauterine group B Streptococcus (DIGS) study, which focuses on understanding how placental infection with Group B Streptococcus (Streptococcus agalactiae) leads to poor neonatal outcome.

• Date: 2024-04-03
• Alice Zacanaro, KBH/UU (PhD student)

Alice is a PhD student within the project Human Herpes Virus 6 infection as an underlying cause of preeclampsia. She did her candidate degree in biology at University of Torino and her master’s degree in Forensic science at Uppsala University.

• Date: 2024-04-11

Programme

• 14.00 Welcome, short introduction
• 14.05 Increased focus on animal welfare, does this influence fertility of the NRF cow? Irma Oskam, PhD, Professor, Norwegian University of Life Science, Norway
• 14.35-15.00 Coffee break
• 15.00 Fertility traits based on physical activity. Peter Løvendahl, PhD, Senior researcher, Aarhus University, Dept. of Genetics and Genomics, Foulum, Denmark
• 15.30 Selection for reduced environmental impact that includes fertility. Mike Coffey, PhD, Professor, Scotland’s Rural College, UK
• 16.00 Final words

• Date: 2024-05-20

• Date: 2024-05-29
• Speaker: Ziyad Al-Kass, SLU/KV (postdoc)

Ziyad received his veterinary degree at College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Mosul, Iraq. He did his PhD education at the Department of Clinical Sciences, division of Reproduction, at SLU in 2019. He is currently back again at SLU as a post-doctoral fellow.

• Date: 2024-06-03

• Date: 2024-09-03:
• Symposium in association with half-time seminar of Violeta De Anca Prado 

• Date: 2024-09-22

• Full title: Exposure to PFOS and PFBS induces multigenerational effects on behavior correlating with transcriptomic and DNA methylation changes in neuro-related genes in zebrafish
• Date: 2024-09-25
• Speaker: Michela Di Criscio, EBC/UU (PhD student)

• Dates: 2024-10-14–18

Syllabus and schedue: PhD course: Comparative reproductive biotechnologies

Report

The meeting was given at Humanities Theatre on 17 th of October 2024 and included 59 registered participants.

It started with two keynote presentations. The first one was given by William Ritchie, Roslin Institute, Edinburg, UK, renowned for conducting the first cloning of an animal (Dolly the sheep), and the second by Pierre Comizzoli, who works in the field of conservation biology of endangered species at the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Washington DC, USA.

Ulf Magnusson (SLU), who was the first director of CRU, gave us some history of CRU. Carlos Guerrero Bosagna (UU) presented an overview of Epigenetic effects of reproductive biotechnologies.

This was followed by eight shorter talks by present and former CRU members: Bodil Ström Holst, SLU; Thomas Brodin, Carl von Linné clinic; Ida Hallberg, SLU; Monica Lind, UU; Joëlle Rüegg, UU; Amir Fallahshahroudi, UU; Alkistis Skalkidou, UU; and Göran Andersson, SLU.

There was also a poster exhibition with seven posters. Four posters, presented by PhD students, participated in a competition and were interviewed during the break by the judges Cecilia Ekéus (UU) and Göran Andersson (SLU). The 1st prize was awarded to Magdalena Hedberg-Andréasson, UU. 

The symposium ended by a summary and retrospective of CRU's activities during its 25 years as a networking platform for reproductive biology in Uppsala given by the previous CRU’s board member Björn Brunström, UU.

Most of the meeting participants joined the meeting dinner at Heart and Bones where a Mediterranean buffet was served. Finally, some people continued to network at the Taps pub.

Program

Set up posters

Morning session (Moderator: Ylva Sjunnesson)

• Welcome by Ulf Magnusson who was the first director of CRU
• William Ritchie, Roslin Institute, UK. Transgenesis and cloning
• Coffee break and poster mingling
• Pierre Comizzoli, Smithsonian Institute, USA. How assisted reproduction
  techniques can contribute to conservation breeding programs of endangered
  species.
• Break (leg stretching)
• Pierre Comizzoli continues
• Networking lunch + poster mingling

Afternoon session (Moderator: Ulf Magnusson)

• Carlos Guerrero Bosagna, UU. Epigenetic effects of reproductive biotechnologies
• Break (leg stretching)

Presentations by present and former CRU members

• Bodil Ström Holst, SLU. Endocrine and inflammatory changes during canine
  pregnancy
• Thomas Brodin, Carl von Linné clinic. Human IVF - decades of improvements
• Ida Hallberg, SLU. From Follicles to Embryos: The Influence of Chemicals on Reproductive Health
• Monica Lind, UU. Effects of Low-dose developmental exposure to bisphenolA
• Coffee break
• Joëlle Rüegg, UU. Epigenetic effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals: from
   mechanistic insights to human biomarkers
• Amir Fallahshahroudi, UU. Generating gene-modified birds: Agricultural,
  medical, and research uses
• Alkistis Skalkidou, UU. Biological correlates of perinatal depression
• Göran Andersson, SLU. Epigenomic studies of bovine endometritis

Poster award – 1st prize was awarded to Magdalena Hedberg-Andréasson, UU

Conclusion by Björn Brunström, UU who is previous member of CRU’s board

Aperitif followed by dinner at Heart and Bones

After dinner Pub at Taps

• Date: 2024-10-30
• Speaker: Loreen Mear, IGP/UU (postdoc)

• Full title: The role of smallholder dairy farmers in preventing zoonotic diseases and child malnutrition in Africa
• Date: 2024-11-27
• Speaker: Jean Pierre M. Mpatswenumugabo, KV/SLU (PhD student)

• Date: 2024-11-28
• Symposium in association with dissertation of Nadja Visser

Reproduction is dependent on hormones. These hormones include the sex hormones (estrogens and androgens) as well as hormones secreted by the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can interfere with the normal function of hormonal systems. Such interference may be through preventing connections between hormones and their receptors. EDCs may also mimic hormonal activity, thereby triggering hormone receptor activation.

Several research studies have linked EDCs to negative impacts on fertility in both men and women. In this symposium the latest research on EDCs and fertility will be discussed.

• Speakers
• Assistant professor Patrick Hannon (University of Kentucky, USA)
• Assistant professor Pauliina Damdimopoulou (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden)
• Assistant professor Carlos Guerrero Bosagna (Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden)
• Professor Carl-Gustaf Bornehag (Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden).

• Date: 2024-11-29

Date: 2024-12-11