2026

• Speaker: Stina Wallander, veterinarian and PhD student at the Department of Clinical Sciences; Reproduction, SLU.
• Date: 14 October 2026

Description

We are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals daily, yet the effects of chemical mixtures on female reproductive health remain poorly understood. In this talk, I will present our work investigating the potential effects of human-relevant chemical mixtures on oocyte maturation and early embryonic development. We use a bovine in vitro embryo production model in combination with confocal image analysis. 

• Start date: 12 October 2026
• End date: 16 October 2026

A PhD course arranged by Graduate School for Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences (GS-VMAS) in collaboration with the Centre for Reproductive Biology in Uppsala (CRU).

The course covered the following fields: the concept of sperm quality, what it is and why it is needed in different situations; how it is evaluated from basic field laboratory to advanced research setting; how it is used for different species; pitfalls in sperm quality evaluation; the importance of sperm quality evaluation to both animal production and conservation initiatives (sperm banking), and how it can be improved in the future; the microbiome and fertility. 

• Full title: Developmental chemical exposure alters DNA methylation, learning, and memory – findings from an in vivo model with relevance for human exposures
• Speaker: Caroline Agrillo, PhD student at Department of Organismal Biology; Physiology and Environmental Toxicology, Uppsala University.
• Date: 16 September 2026

Description

We are exposed to a plethora of chemicals in our everyday environment, some of which may affect how our genes are regulated. Exposure during sensitive periods of development could influence brain development and behaviour.

In this talk, I will present our work investigating seven chemicals previously associated with lower IQ in children. Using a rat model, we studied their effects on DNA methylation in the hippocampus, a brain region important for learning and memory, as well as on learning and memory themselves. Our findings provide insights into how different environmental chemicals may affect the developing brain.

• Full title: Having a Baby After Cancer? Cisplatin impairs oocyte maturation, cumulus cell competense, and blastocyst development In Vitro.
• Speakar: Magdalena Hedberg Andréasson, PhD student at the Department of Women's and Children´s Health, Uppsala University.
• Date: 29 April 2026

Full report here: NETA Annual meeting 2026

• Speaker Daniel Bergman, Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
• Date: 1 April 2026.

• Speaker: Elina Immonen, Researcher at Department of Ecology and Genetics; Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University.
• Date: 18 March 2026

• Speaker: Valentina Di Nisio, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Department of Women´s and Children´s Health, Karolinska Institutet.
• Date: 14 January 2026.