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Cambridge Reproduction Forum


Friday 14 February 2020, 2-5pm
Hughes Hall
The SRI networking events have been re-branded as the Cambridge Reproduction Forum! The next Forum will take place at Hughes Hall, and will include:
  • Flash talks from Professor Allan Herbison (PDN), Dr Jenny Bangham (HPS), Ms Jodie Rawles (Psychiatry) and Professor Cara Delay (History/College of Charleston).
  • An introduction to the SRI's new research theme in maternal mortality
  • Another interdisciplinary dialogue on a topic in reproduction research
  • A presentation about social media for researchers
The final programme will be available on the SRI website soon. The presentations will be followed by a drinks reception. All welcome!

Ways of working: the archive of Professor Sir Robert Edwards (IVF pioneer) at Churchill Archives Centre


Monday 16 March 2020
Churchill College

This afternoon symposium will focus on ways of working with the newly opened archive of Bob Edwards (IVF pioneer), and ways of working evidenced in the archive. The symposium will take the form of a series of conversations, a talk by one of Bob Edwards’ daughters and a book launch of ‘Let there be life: an intimate portrait of Robert Edwards and his IVF revolution’ by Roger Gosden.

There will also be a chance to see a related art exhibition by Gina Glover, Art in ART: Symbolic Reproduction, and a display of material from the archive.

Bookings are available via Eventbrite from 10 Feb.  Email Madelin Evans for more information.

For more information about the event, please see: https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/events/professor-sir-robert-edwards/

Synthetic gametes and germline development for science and society


Tuesday 17 March 2020
Christ's College

The second Anne McLaren Symposium will be held in Christ's College, Cambridge on Tuesday 17 March 2020. It follows a successful meeting held last December at the Wellcome Trust and adopts the same format in that each 15-minute talk will be followed by 15 minutes of general discussion. The theme for this second meeting again emphasises translational bioscience in its widest sense, this time with a focus on synthetic gametes, and once again drawing on a wide range of disciplinary perspectives.

To attend the conference, please complete the online registration form. There is a small charge of £10 per delegate to cover catering costs. We are able to waive this cost for a small number of delegates in cases of hardship. Please contact Christina Rozeik (srirepro@hermes.cam.ac.uk) for more information about this.

For more information about the conference, including the programme of talks, please see: https://www.repro.cam.ac.uk/anne-mclaren-2020

Maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa


Wednesday 18 March 2020
Newnham College

We are holding this workshop about maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of discovering what expertise is already contained within the University, and where we need to build capacity. This workshop will bring together 30-40 researchers and graduate students with an interest in any aspect of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

The external speakers are:

  • Estelle Monique Sidze, Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Nairobi, Kenya
  • Oliver Norah Nabacwa, Midwife, Mulago Specialised Women & Neonatal Hospital, Kampala, Uganda
  • Shane Doyle, Professor of African History, University of Leeds, UK
  • Anne Løkke, Professor of European and Cultural Social History, Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Anna Mortensen, recent postgraduate student at the Saxo Intitute, Denmark
For more information about the workshop, please see: https://www.repro.cam.ac.uk/mmia-2020

Registration

If you would like to attend the conference, please register online here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/maternal-mortality-in-sub-saharan-africa-workshop-for-ecrs-tickets-90820020125. Although we welcome external reigstrations, priority is given to researchers from the University of Cambridge, and early career researchers are particularly encouraged to attend.

REPRODUCTION: an exhibition on pre-conception, pregnancy, birth and childcare

 

21 January - 2 February 2020
11am-5pm daily (until 4.30pm Fridays)
Late night opening until 9pm on 29 January
The Council Chamber, The Guildhall, Cambridge



W.A.W. is a new artwork by Emma Smith based on the history and future of women at work.

The exhibition is inspired by 'Maternity', a collection of stories brought together by the women's Co-operative Guild in 1915 and published with the help of Virginia Woolf, that revealed the previously unmentionable hardships of maternity for working women as part of an ongoing campaign to improve the almost non-existent care at the time. In this exhibition, the artist brings together stories from residents across Cambridge today to raise awareness of the issues that still need addressing in 2020.

More information: www.womenatworkcambridge.com

Graham Burton, Jorge Lopez-Tello and Kate Williams win 2019 SRF awards

Three members of the Cambridge Reproduction SRI were recognised for the excellence of their research at the 2019 Society for Reproduction & Fertility (SRF) awards. The awards were presented at Fertility 2020, the largest UK educational forum focusing on fertility and reproductive medicine. This year's conference was organised jointly by the SRF, the Association of Clinical Embryologists (ACE), and the British Fertility Society (BFS), and took place in Edinburgh on 9-11 January 2020.

Professor Graham Burton, Chair of the Reproduction SRI, was presented with the SRF Distinguished Scientist Anne McLaren Award, which acknowledges "the work of premier scientists that have made major scientific contributions to the field of reproductive biology". As this year's Distinguished Scientist, Professor Burton delivered the Anne McLaren Memorial Lecture at the opening plenary session of the Fertility 2020 conference, on the topic "Placentation: The platform for life-long health".

Also recognised at the SRF awards were Dr Jorge Lopez-Tello and Kate Williams, both members of the SRI. Dr Lopez-Tello won the 2019 SRF Postdoctoral Prize, which is aimed at postdoctoral scientists who are within five years of having obtained their PhD. Dr Lopez-Tello's prize as awarded for his presentation "Aberrant Igf2-H19 expression in the placental endocrine zone increases the susceptibility of the mother to poor metabolic health". As the prizewinner, Dr Lopez-Tello has been invited to present his talk at the Society for Reproductive Biology Congress in Australia / New Zealand.

Kate Williams, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Cambridge, won the 2019 SRF Stewart Rhind Science Writing Prize for her essay "Ethicolegal Aspects of Reproductive Science: Adapting the 14-day rule for embryo research to encompass evolving technologies". Ms Williams was presented with a certificate and 1 year’s free membership of the SRF at Fertility 2020.


POPS2 begins recruitment

 

Recruitment for the second Pregnancy Outcome Prediction study (POPS2) began at the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge on 13 January. The main aim of the study is to identify women at high risk of pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR).

This study follows up the Pregnancy Outcome Prediction Study (POPS), a study of 4,512 women having first singleton pregnancies, recruited between 2008 and 2012. Women were serially scanned through the pregnancy and had blood obtained at recruitment, 20, 28 and 36 weeks gestational age. DNA samples and height/weight measurements of the partners were also collected. After delivery, biopsies of the placenta, placental membranes, umbilical cord, and cord blood were collected. The study generated a simple screening test, which is strongly predictive for preeclampsia and FGR at term.

POPS2 will collect similar data and samples from about 4,500 nulliparous women, with the following aims:

  • To assess whether the test generated by POPS really works, and to see if pregnancy outcomes can be improved for women who screen as high risk by early induction of labour;
  • To collect more blood samples in order to evaluate new biomarkers that might enhance prediction of complicated pregnancies.
POPS2 is funded by the Wellcome Trust and is led by Professor Gordon Smith at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. There is more information about POPS on the departmental website: https://www.obgyn.cam.ac.uk/research/pops-2/

New network members


We were delighted to welcome the following new members to our SRI network in November and December 2019:

Dr Biswanath Ghosh Dastidar (CUH)
Dr Emma Johnson (PHG Foundation)
Miss Rebecca O'Leary (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)
Dr Caroline Rusterholz (History)
Rachell Sanchez-Rivera (Sociology)
Dr Keti Zeka (Genetics)

Events about medical innovation


You are warmly invited to the following events organised by the Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences (CATS):
 

Meet…Medicines Discovery Catapult

Thursday February 2020, 10.15am-4pm
CRUK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0RE
 
This event will include talks and a networking lunch, followed by opportunities to arrange a 1:1 meeting with representatives from the Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC). The MDC enables academics and SMEs involved in translational biomedical research to develop their therapeutic discovery projects and associated technologies. Their capabilities include:
  • Discovery Science and Technology- Laboratory technology and expertise focused around complex cell models, target validation, biomarkers, drug delivery and pre-clinical imaging.
  • Informatics- In silico methods and expertise in screening, repurposing and chemical space searching, including AI and machine learning tools.
  • Virtual R&D- Industrially rigorous advice in drug discovery and the delivery of projects.
  • Syndicates- New collaborative models for drug discovery centred around medical research charities and patient needs.
  • Samples and Data- Brokering access to patient-consented tissue and data.
 
MDC works with academics and SMEs in a variety of ways, including collaborating on and supporting grant applications. Please register for the talk and 1:1 meetings here
 
 
Meet with… Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Tuesday 25 February, 10am-5.30pm
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RP
Deadline for applications: 26 January
 
Are you working on a novel technology/solution that can positively impact human health? On 25 February, the Johnson & Johnson Innovation team will be in Cambridge to present their model of innovation through collaboration and meet 1-on-1 with early-stage companies and researchers interested in presenting their solutions and discussing collaboration opportunities. Companies/researchers interested in participating in the meeting need to apply before 26 January by submitting this form with non-confidential. For further information and to apply please follow this link.

Informing policy and creating impact: how to ensure your evidence is heard where and when it counts


Tuesday 4 February 2020, 5pm
McGrath Centre, St Catharine's College, Cambridge

Join Professor Eric Meslin (President, Council of Canadian Academies) and Professor Dame Sally Davies (UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance and former Chief Medical Officer for England) as they share perspectives from their distinguished careers in providing expert advice to governments and international bodies.
 
Listen, discuss, enjoy an evening of conversation and networking with us on Tuesday 4 February.
 
17:00 Arrivals
17:30 Conversation
19:00 Drinks
 
This event is free to attend, but ADVANCE BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL. More information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-policy-impact-international-lessons-from-science-and-health-tickets-80218996177

East of England Global Health Conference: Research, Practice, Education


Thursday 19 March 2020
Hughes Hall, Cambridge

An interdisciplinary conference on the research, practice and education of global health.

An all-day event, the East of England Global Health Conference aims to connect global health professionals across disciplines, counties and countries. The conference will also consider the future of global health activity across the region. Bringing together a high calibre panel of guest speakers, the day will conclude with a keynote address by Professor Dame Sally Davies.

Lectures, workshops and poster presentations will be divided into four sessions exploring global health: Primary Care and Public Health, Research, Practice and Education.

More information and bookings: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/east-of-england-global-health-conference-research-practice-education-tickets-80439303121?


Funding opportunities

 

C2D3 interdisciplinary events funding

Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery (C2D3) welcomes funding applications from University of Cambridge researchers for interdisciplinary events, relevant to C2D3. Events may include seminars, workshops, conferences, training courses, or any other activity that supports interdisciplinary data science research and/or teaching.

Full details and application process can be found on the C2D3 website.

Application closing date Monday 10 February 2020.


 


The Lisa Jardine Grant Scheme

The Lisa Jardine Grant Scheme is named in memory of the eminent British historian Professor Lisa Jardine CBE FRS. The scheme encourages junior researchers in the humanities and arts to seek to expand their interests in history of science and related interdisciplinary studies by travelling in order to use archival resources and to build relationships with the Royal Society and other institutions.

Grants are intended to encourage the free movement of researchers across disciplines and countries and to stimulate academics studying intellectual history to consider science in their research. Applicants are encouraged to look at the Royal Society’s strategic objectives, in order to be able to demonstrate how their research might further these general goals, but applications will be judged on the strength of their academic content in intellectual history, history of science and related disciplines. Special consideration will be given to topics that were of interest to Professor Jardine, notably in 17th century studies.

This scheme is currently open to applications and will close at 3pm on Thursday 26 March 2020. A second round will run in 2020, and will be open to applications from 3 June 2020 - 3pm on 30 September 2020.

More information and applications: https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/lisa-jardine/

Recent publications


Please send details of recent publications relating to any aspect of reproduction to the SRI Coordinator, for inclusion in our newsletter.

Ricard Argelaguet, Stephen J. Clark, Hisham Mohammed, L. Carine Stapel, Christel Krueger, Chantriolnt-Andreas Kapourani, Ivan Imaz-Rosshandler, Tim Lohoff, Yunlong Xiang, Courtney W. Hanna, Sebastien Smallwood, Ximena Ibarra-Soria, Florian Buettner, Guido Sanguinetti, Wei Xie, Felix Krueger, Berthold Göttgens, Peter J. Rugg-Gunn, Gavin Kelsey, Wendy Dean, Jennifer Nichols, Oliver Stegle, John C. Marioni and Wolf Reik, ‘Multi-omics profiling of mouse gastrulation at single-cell resolution’, Nature 576: 487–491 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1825-8

Jorge Lopez‐Tello, Maria Arias‐Alvarez, Antonio Gonzalez‐Bulnes and Amanda N. Sferuzzi‐Perri, ‘Models of Intrauterine growth restriction and fetal programming in rabbits’, Molecular Reproduction and Development 86(12): 1781-1809 (December 2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/mrd.23271

Katerina Menelaou, Malwina Prater, Simon J. Tunster, Georgina E. T. Blake, Colleen Geary Joo, James C. Cross, Russell S. Hamilton and Erica D. Watson, ‘Blastocyst transfer in mice alters the placental transcriptome and growth’, Reproduction 159(2): 115–132 (February 2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1530/REP-19-0293

Lisa M. Nicholas, Mototsugu Nagao, Laura C. Kusinski, Denise S. Fernandez-Twinn, Lena Eliasson and Susan E. Ozanne, ‘Exposure to maternal obesity programs sex differences in pancreatic islets of the offspring in mice’, Diabetologia 63(2) (February 2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-019-05037-y

Valdas Noreika, Stanimira Georgieva, Sam Wass, and Victoria Leong, ‘14 challenges and their solutions for conducting social neuroscience and longitudinal EEG research with infants’, PsyArXiv, 21 October 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/7jwrz

Clive J. Petry, Ken K. Ong, Ieuan A. Hughes, Carlo L. Acerini and David B. Dunger, ‘Temporal trends in maternal food intake frequencies and associations with gestational diabetes: the Cambridge Baby Growth Study’, Nutrients 11(11): 2822. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112822

Romina Plitman Mayo, Yassen Abbas, D. Stephen Charnock-Jones, Graham J. Burton and Gil Marom, ‘Three-dimensional morphological analysis of placental terminal villi’, Interface Focus 9(5): 20190037 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2019.0037

Leonor Sánchez-Busó, Daniel Golparian, Jukka Corander, Yonatan H. Grad, Makoto Ohnishi, Rebecca Flemming, Julian Parkhill, Stephen D. Bentley, Magnus Unemo and Simon R. Harris, ‘The impact of antimicrobials on gonococcal evolution’, Nature Microbiology 4: 1941–1950 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0501-y

Norman Shreeve, James Traherne, Ulla Sovio, Delia Hawkes, Oisin Huhn, Jyothi Jayaraman, Amir Horowitz, Hormas Ghadially, Ashley Moffett, John Sled, Andrew M. Sharkey and Francesco Colucci, ‘NKG2A educates uterine NK cells to optimise pregnancy in humans and mice’ (October 30 2019). Immunity-D-19-01109. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3477575

Forthcoming events

Please send details of any forthcoming events to the SRI Coordinator, for inclusion on our website and in our newsletter.

Mixture in our DNA: the body as racial script in Latin America
11 February 2020, 5pm
S1, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge

A good match: gender and the physiology of love in 18th-century Spain
11 February 2020, 5pm
Seminar Room 1, Dept of HPS, Free School Lane, Cambridge
These seminars, funded by Wellcome, are on Tuesdays from 5.00 to 6.30pm in Seminar Room 1, Dept of HPS, Free School Lane, Cambridge, CB2 3RH. Tea and biscuits are available from 4.40pm. All welcome! For more information, see https://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/news-events/seminars-reading-groups/medicine

The maternal imprint: gender, heredity and the biosocial body
13 February 2020, 4pm
Seminar Room 2, Dept of HPS, Free School Lane, Cambridge 
Fifteenth Cambridge Wellcome Lecture in the History of Medicine, delivered by Professor Sarah Richardson (Harvard University). More information: https://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/medicine/events/fifteenth-wellcome-lecture

Cambridge Reproduction Forum
14 February 2020
Hughes Hall

Ways of working: the archive of Professor Sir Robert Edwards (IVF pioneer) at Churchill Archives Centre
16 March 2020
Churchill Archives Centre
More information: https://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/events/professor-sir-robert-edwards/

Synthetic gametes and germline development for science and society
17 March 2020
Christ's College
More information and registrations: https://www.repro.cam.ac.uk/anne-mclaren-2020

Maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa
18 March 2020
Newnham College
More information and registrations: https://www.repro.cam.ac.uk/mmia-2020
 

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Cambridge Reproduction · Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience · Downing Street · Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 3EL · United Kingdom

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