Pre-congress course 9
SIG Safety and Quality in ART and SIG Reproductive Genetics
Course co-ordinators
Petra de Sutter (Belgium) and Jan Kremer (The Netherlands)(SIG safety and quality in ART), Stéphane Viville (France) and Karen Sermon (Belgium) (SIG Reproductive Genetics)
Course description
Safety is one of the major concerns in ART practice. The complexity of gametogenesis, fertilisation and early development renders risk assessment difficult, mainly because of the limits of our knowledge. The goal of this course is to update researchers and clinical practitioners on the latest developments in the field. Epigenetics and reproduction are more and more intertwined and recent insights have highlighted the importance of epigenetic phenomena even more. Imprinting and DNA methylation in relation to reproduction have been studied for some time now, so an update as to the importance for our patients is timely. MicroRNAs and non-coding RNAs are a major breakthrough in epigenetics of the last years, and have been found to contribute to almost all biological pathways, including gametogenesis and early development. Here too, an introduction of the recent findings will interest all participants. Another field that has transpired to be important in gametogenesis is the behaviour of retrotransposons, an overview of the major milestones in this research area will be given. Tackling the problem from the clinical side, an update will be brought on known risks in children born after ART, as obtained through epidemiological and clinical studies. Low birth weight, karyotype and congenital abnormalities and long term health implications will all be addressed. This is an advanced course for the interested professional: basic knowledge in genetics and embryology is necessary, but the talks will be mainly informative and educative rather than focusing on latest findings or finer points of basic research and will be of clinical relevance.
Target audience
Reproductive physicians, embryologists and basic scientists in reproduction and development.
Course programme
Epigenetics: basic and clinical data
09.00 - 09.30
Disturbed genetic imprinting and IVF: truth or myth? – Jorn Walter (Germany)
09.30 - 09.45
Discussion
09.45 - 10.15
Retrotransposons: a new player in gametogenesis – Deborah Bourc’his (France)
10.15 - 10.30
10.30 - 11.00
Coffee break
11.00 - 11.30
miRNA: from junk DNA to major regulatory mechanism – Olivier Voinnet (Switzerland)
11.30 - 11.45
11.45 - 12.15
Clinical aspects of epigenetic deregulation in IVF – Aafke van Montfoort (The Netherlands)
12.15 - 12.30
12.30 - 13.30
Lunch
Health risks for children following ART
13.30 - 14.00
Karyotype abnormalities in children born after ART – Maryse Bonduelle (Belgium)
14.00 - 14.15
14.15 - 14.45
Congenital anomalies following ART – Karl Nygren (Sweden)
14.45 - 15.00
15.00 - 15.30
15.30 - 16.00
Low-birth weight after ART – Anja Pinborg (Denmark)
16.00 - 16.15
16.15 - 16.45
Long term health implications of children after IVF and ICSI – Alastair Sutcliffe (United Kingdom)
16.45 - 17.00
Registrations for this course will be limited to 100 participants