Marc Arbyn has diplomas of MD, MSc and Dr in tropical medicine.
After a career in Africa with Médecins Sans Frontières, he got involved in cancer research in Europe. MA coordinated the evaluation of new screening methods in the framework of the EU Network of Cervical Cancer Screening and is editor- of the European Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening and associated Supplements on HPV screening. His main activity deals with systematic reviews, Cochrane reviews and meta-analyses regarding cervical cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment of screen detected cervical cancer precursors and HPV vaccination. MA is steering group member or coordinator of several international networks involved in biobank-based cancer research that addresses etiological questions and possible application of biomarkers in screening, diagnosis and prognosis prediction and offers epidemiological support to health authorities of about twenty countries regarding implementation of cervical cancer prevention.
MA is author of ~200 papers, published in peer-reviewed journals. He has published in the following high-impact journals: Lancet, Lancet Oncol, JAMA, Nature, BMJ, J Natl Cancer Inst. He is first author of three Cochrane reviews (one completed on triage of women with minor abnormal cervical lesions and two on-going regarding prophylactic HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening in developing countries). He is also co-author of two other Cochrane reviews on adverse effects associated with treatment of cervical precancer and on primary HPV-based versus cytology-based cervical screening. He is currently conducting an individual patient data meta-analysis on the correlation between the extension of excisional treatment of cervical precancer and the risk of preterm delivery in women who subsequently become pregnant.
MA is also specialised in trend analysis and age-cohort-period modelling.
MA is coordinator of the Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, which is part of the Belgian Cancer Centre at the Scientific Institute of Public Health in Brussels.
A restricted list of publications of the last five years is included in annex.

Dr. Kamal Ahuja
Since 1986, Dr Kamal Ahuja has been involved as a consultant embryologist in London. Recognised as a pioneer of egg sharing in the UK, Kamal manages a large multi-centred IVF programme in London.
The ethics of IVF and the cost effectiveness of assisted reproduction technology form an integral part of his research interests and have been evident throughout his career. More recently he has been particularly interested in studying patient behaviour when clients seek fertility treatment at locations outside of their places of residence.

Prof. Aris Antsaklis is the Chairman of the 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Athens, “Alexandra” Maternity Hospital. He has spent his entire career working in Athens University. He trained in Perinatal Medicine Prenatal Diagnosis and in Obstetrics and Gynecology Ultrasound, at University College Hospital in London and at Yale University. At the national level he is a founder member, an executive board member and President of several bodies in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perinatal Medicine, Ultrasounds and Fetal Maternal Medicine. He is member of the Editorial Board of several Greek Medical Journals. At the International level he is Vice President and member of the Scientific Committee of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine, member of the Board of the International Society “The fetus as a patient”, member of the “Fetoscopy Working Group” since 1981, he served as President elect and president of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine (2002-2004). He is permanent member of the International Academy of Perinatal Medicine and Director of the Greek Branch of Ian Donald School for Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vice President of the Mediterranean Society of Ultrasound in Ob/Gyn and President of the South East Europe Society of Perinatal Medicine. Prof. Antsaklis is the author and co-author of 400 publications in several International and Hellenic peer reviewed journals in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology and specifically on Prenatal Diagnosis, Perinatal Medicine, Fetal Diagnosis and treatment and ultrasound and has written 30 chapters in International and Greek Medical books.

Diego Aryes de Campos, MD, PhD is Associate Professor at the Medical School – University of Porto and Senior Consultant at the S. Joao Hospital in Porto, Portugal. Co-inventor of the “Omniview-SisPorto®” system for computer analysis of fetal monitoring signals (Speculum, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006), was the medical consultant for the development of the “Lucina®” obstetric simulator (CAE Healthcare, Montreal, Canada, 2014). Principal investigator for the FM-Alert randomised controlled trial. Published 97 papers in international Medline-indexed journals, edited 4 books, authored 59 book chapters, and has given 105 invited lectures at international scientific meetings. Editor-in-chief of the “Acta Obstetrica e Ginecologica Portuguesa” in 2006-2010, Associate Editor of “ISRN Obstetrics and Gynecology” in 2012-2014, and since 2015 of “RBGO – Gynecology and Obstetrics”. He has chaired the scientific committee of the 1st and of the 2nd European Congress of Intrapartum Care (ECIC). Secretary-General of the “Federation of Portuguese Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology – FSPOG”, co-ordinator for obstetric simulation for the “Portuguese College of Obstetrics and Gynecology”, and presided over the “National Commission for Reduction of Cesarean Section rates”, nominated by the Portuguese Ministery of Health, that led to a 10% decrease in overall national cesarean section rates between 2009 and 2014. Council Member of the “European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynecology – EBCOG”, and co-ordinator of EBCOG Part 2 Exam – Evaluation of clinical skill. Executive Board member of the “European Association of Perinatal Medicine – EAPM” and is a member of its study group on intrapartum monitoring. Since 2010 he integrates the “Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health committee” at the “International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology – FIGO”, where he co-ordinated the 2015 revision of the “FIGO guidelines on intrapartum fetal monitoring”. Participated in the World Health Organisation consensus panels for “Recommendations on antenatal care” and “Intrapartum care and reduction of unnecessary caesarean section” in 2016.

Baris ATA, M.D., M.Sc, graduated from the Istanbul School of Medicine in 1998. He completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2003. During medical school and residency training he attended courses on research methodology, assisted reproduction and gynecological endoscopy around the world. His keen interest to improve his research skills led to acquisition of a Master’s Degree in Clinical Trials from the prestigious London School Hygiene and of Tropical Medicine. Baris completed a clinical and research fellowship program in Reproductive Gynecological Endocrinology and Infertility at McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 2011. Upon returning to Turkey he founded and assumed the directorship of the assisted reproduction unit of the Uludag University. He moved to Koc University School of Medicine in 2014. He has several awards of excellence as a resident, fellow, clinician and scholar. His research focuses on clinical aspects of female infertility including but not limited to ultrasound imaging of female reproductive tract, clinical assisted reproductive technologies and endometriosis. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications on various aspects of assisted reproduction. He is sitting on the editorial board of several national and international journals including Human Reproduction.

Dr. Pedro N. Barri was born in Barcelona, 6th March 1949. He graduated from the faculty of Medicine in Barcelona in 1971. He had his trainning in Obstetrics and
Gynecology was in Barcelona and in France and England. He received his doctorate in 1993 writing the thesis “Respuesta Anómala a la Estimulación de la Maduración Folicular en Fecundación In Vitro” with qualification Cum Laude.
In December, 2003 he is nominated A Corresponding Academician of the Reial Acadèmia of Medicine of Catalonia.
He is an Active Founding Member of the Faculty Staff of the Institut Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona. At present, he is the Director of the Department of
Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproduction of the same institution. From January, 2011 he is The Director of the Chair of Investigation in Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Institut Universitari Dexeus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
He has published 102 articles and he has presented 283 lectures and 172 scientific conferences and has participated as guest professor in many national and international congresses.

Chiara Benedetto, MD, PhD, FCNGOF, FRCOG
Full Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Torino, Italy (since 2001) – Head, University Division I of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, S. Anna Hospital of Torino (since 1997) – Immediate Past President of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) – Secretary of the Surgical Group of the Union Europeènne des Medicines Specialistes (since 2014)
ACADEMIC TENURES
– 2007-2012: Chairman, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Torino – Since 2009: President, School of Nursing and Obstetric Sciences
– Since 2011: Director, School of Specialization in Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Torino
– Since 2011: Director, Master in Reproductive Medicine and in Vitro Fertilization Tecniques
– Since 2013: Director, Master in Urogynecology APPOINTMENTS in SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES/BOARDS and COLLEGES
– 1994-1997: Regional Delegate for the Italian Society of Perinatal Medicine
– 1997-2000: Member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Chronobiology – 1998-2001: Member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
– 2002-2004: Vice-President of the Italian Society of Psychosomatics in OBGYN
– 2000-2005: Italian Delegate at the EBCOG – 2005-2008: President of the Italian Society of Psychosomatics in OBGYN
– 2005-2007: Auditor of the Italian Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
– 2006-2009: Executive Member of EBCOG
– Since 2007: Member of the Standing Committee of Training and Assessment of the EBCOG
– Since 2009: Member of the Working Group on E-learning and Telemedicine of the EBCOG
– 2008-2010: Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of the Italian University Gynaecologists
– 2008-2011: Secretary General of EBCOG
– 2011-2014: President of EBCOG FOUNDING MEMBER – International Society of Gynaecological Endocrinology – European Society for Gynaecologic and Obstetric Investigation – Medicine Tailored to the Woman Foundation (MAMD) MEMBERSHIP in
NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIES – Since 2005: Regular Fellow of the International Academy of Perinatal Medicine – Since 2007: Regular Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science – Since 2011: Regular Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Torino

Prof. Isaac Blickstein
Education
Erasmus University Rotterdam, School of Medicine (M.D.)
Work Experience
2014 – current PhD-candidate
Department of Reproductive Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, VU University Amsterdam
o Translational research in the Laboratory for Reproductive Medicine at the Center for Reproductive Medicine (CVV).
2012 – 2014 Medical Intern (graduate program)
– Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
o Elective rotation (12 weeks) and project coordinator pilot study: Lactate measurement in Fetal Blood Sampling, Maasstadziekenhuis, Rotterdam.
o Elective rotation (3 weeks), Scheer Memorial Hospital, Banepa, Nepal.
– Department of Urology
o Elective rotation (3 weeks), Sint Franciscus Gasthuis, Rotterdam.
– Department of Pediatric Transplant Surgery
o Observership (4 weeks), Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
2011 (8 months) Research Intern
– Department of Molecular Biology and Gastroenterology, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
o Lab techniques: mouse experimentation from surgery to ChIP sequencing, several DNA and RNA approaches, PCR, ELISA.
o Publication: B.E. Aronson et al., GATA4 represses an ileal program of gene expression in the proximal small intestine by inhibiting the acetylation of histone H3, lysine 27, Biochim. Biophys. Acta (2014).
2010 Medical Intern (under graduate program)
– Departments of Surgery and Pediatrics, Hospital Civil/Infantil, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico
o Observership (3 weeks)
2009 – 2012 Student assistant
– Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus MC, Sophia Children’s Hospital

Prof. Isaac Blickstein

Education
The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Academic affiliation
Associate Professor, The Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel; Affiliate Professor, University of Tampa, Fl.

Positions held to date
Editor – 1 journal, Guest Editor – 4 journals, Associate Editor – 2 journals, Member of the Editorial Board of 8 journals, Reviewer of 40 journals.

Main Publications:
225 Original articles and Editorials
58 Chapters in books
5 Books (including BMA Award winning for best medical book in Obstetrics and Gynecology 2005)
Over 380 presentations at International scientific meetings

Current office
Faculty of the Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaplan Medical Center, Unit of High Risk Pregnancy and Delivery Room
Chairman: The Working Group on Multiple Pregnancy of the International Society for Twin Studies, Research Committee on multiple pregnancy of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine
Board member: The Fetus as a Patient Society, The World Association of Prenatal Medicine, International Society for Twin Studies, Affiliate member of the International Academy of Perinatal Medicine
Sub-specialty: Perinatal Medicine, Main research area: Multiple Pregnancy
Hobbies: Medicine in art and history, gourmet food

Prof. Christophe Blockeel graduated at the University of Ghent, Belgium and became a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology in 2005. He has worked in the field of infertility for many years, his main interest being reproductive endocrinology. He published his scientific work in peer-reviewed journals and lectured at many international meetings. In 2008, he was recognised as a subspecialist in reproductive medicine and surgery by ESHRE and the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr. Blockeel obtained his PhD thesis entitled ‘The optimisation of the follicular phase in GnRH antagonist cycles’ in 2012 and became professor at the Free Brussels University the same year.
Christophe Blockeel is currently Medical Director at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Brussels.

Since July 2010 Annelies Bos has held a position as a Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht, the Netherlands. She completed both her general O&G training (2006) and her subspecialty training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (2008) at the UMC Groningen. In 2003, she received her PhD degree in the field of Medical Oncology from the Rijks Universiteit Groningen. Annelies established and coordinates the Fertility Preservation Service at the UMC Utrecht. In 2011, she co-initiated the oocyte bank in this center.
Special interests: Fertility preservation, Oncofertility, Oocyte Banking and Women Health.
She undertakes research projects in the field of fertility preservation, oocyte donation and ovarian reserve in BRCA gen mutation carriers.
Memberships:
– 2012: Member of the Dutch Alliance of Gender and Health Care
– 2015: Board member of the Dutch Network of Fertility Preservation
– 2014-2016:Member of Dutch guideline group: Fertility preservation for women with cancer
– 2016: Member of the working group for development of fertility preservation guidelines in female cancer patients (0-18 years) as part of the PanCareLIFE project.

Dr. F. Xavier Bosch conducts epidemiological research on cancers linked to infectious agents notably on cancer of the liver, of the cervix, of the skin, of the vagina, of the anus, of the penis and of the oral cavity. He has also carried on research studies on diet and colorectal cancer and led a program of implementation and methodological research in cancer registration.
These various research projects have been instrumental in demonstrating the causal role of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in cervical cancer and on the opportunities for liver cancer prevention using Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) vaccines in rural Africa. Some of these studies have played a catalytic role for the initiation of the first vaccine trials for HBV and HPV and for the evaluation of HPV tests as screening tools. Dr. F. Xavier Bosch has worked in what is now called molecular epidemiology. His research work has been characterized by the integration of the latest biological assays to determine exposure to carcinogens with epidemiological field studies carried out in about 35 countries around the world, particularly in Spain, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The final goal of his research has been the application of the aetiological knowledge derived from it, to the primary prevention of cancer.

Gurkan Bozdag was graduated from Ankara University, School of Medicine on 2004 and completed his residency training in Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. He has completed his reproductive endocrinology training in Hacettepe University, Division of REI that had been accredited by ESHRE in 2007. He has been interested in reproductive endocrinology, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. He is (co)author of more than 70 international articles published in peer-reviewed journals and act as a reviewer. For the last 2 years, he has been attained as a board member of Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine.

Mats Brännström
Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Göteborg University 2003 – ongoing

Medical school degree: Göteborg University 1985;
Doctoral degree:1988 Physiology, Göteborg University.
Postdoctoral work
• Postdoc fellowship, University Adelaide, Australia 1991-1993
• Swedish Research Council – transition grant 1996-1998
• Postdoc GYna-Onc Fellowship, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia 1999
Qualification as Associate Professor
• Associate Professor in Physiology, Göteborg University, 1989
• Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Göteborg University, 1997
Previous professor position
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Uppsala University 2001-2002
Main supervisor for completed PhD and thesis area
• Dr. Ulf Zackrisson, PhD 1997 (ovulation (
• Dr. Masato Mikuni, PhD 1999 (ovulation)
• Dr. Barbro Friden, PhD 1999 (corpus luteum(
• Dr. Eva Runesson, PhD 2000 (ovulation(
• Dr. Karin Ivarsson, PhD 2000 (ovarian cancer(
• Dr. Anders Enskog, PhD 2000 (OHSS(
• Dr. Marita Pall, PhD 2000 (ovulation)(
• Dr. Markus Matousek, PhD 2001 (ovulation)
• Dr. Ken Mitsube, PhD 2003 (ovulation)
• Dr. Randa Racho El-Akouri, PhD 2003 (uterus transplantation)
• Dr. Pernilla Dahm-Kähler PhD 2006 (ovulation)
• Dr. Anna Karin Lind PhD 2006 (ovulation)
• Dr. Caiza A Wranning PhD 2007 (uterus transplantation
• Dr. Klaus Groth PhD 2009 (uterus transplantation)
• Main supervisor for 7 ongoing PhD projects in the areas of uterus transplantation, ovarian cryopreservation, ovulation, prophylactic oophorectomy, PCOS

Frank Broekmans (1956), MD, PhD, is a gynaecologist and Professor in Reproductive Endocrinology and Surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht, since October 2010. He is head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine and chairman of the committee for Science management of division Female and Baby. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the VU Medical Center Amsterdam in 1983, became consultant OBGYN in 1990, completed a Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine at the VU Medical Center Amsterdam in 1993, and received his PhD degree in 1995.
His scientific career has been devoted to the field of female reproductive ageing. Special focus has been on the normal ovarian ageing pattern, assessment of actual and future fertility status, genetic backgrounds of the variation in the ovarian ageing process, and recently the link between vascular and ovarian ageing. At present, he is supervising 4 PhD students. Within his field of interest he obtained several grants from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (ZonMW) and the Dutch College for Health Care Insurance
He has held an Associate Editorship for Human Reproduction between 2005 and 2009, he is the former chairman of the Dutch Flemish Society for Studies on Fertility, he participates in several Advisory boards, is reviewer for Gynaecological Obstetrical Investigation, Fertility Sterility, Human Reproduction, and Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, he was a member of the Institutional Review Board UMC Utrecht between 2012 and 2014, he was chairman of the department Board on Ethical issues in Reproductive Medicine between 2012 and 2015, he is co-chairman of the Reproductive Medicine Research Consortium of the Dutch Society for Reproductive Medicine, he is the coordinator of the Board of the Special Interest Group Reproductive Endocrinology of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, he is chairman of the pillar Reproductive Medicine of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and has published over 175 peer-reviewed scientific papers, contributed 27 book chapters and presented over 100 invited lectures at international meetings.

PhD. Dr. MD. Herjan Coelingh Bennink founded Pantarhei Bioscience (PRB) in 2001 for the development of new drugs for Women’s Health (WH) applications, such as the natural fetal steroid Estetrol (E4) and a new oral contraceptive preserving sexual function (Androgen Restored Contraception). In 2014 HCB founded Pantarhei Oncology (PRO) for the development of drugs for reproductive tract cancers such as an immunological method for the treatment of ovarian cancer (Zona Pellucida antigen immunisation) in collaboration with HRA in Paris, France. In 2015 Mithra in Liège, Belgium acquired the rights for the development of E4 from PRB for all WH applications such as oral contraception and HRT, whereas PRO will develop E4 for breast and prostate cancer treatment.
HCB trained in Gynaecology and Internal medicine in Leiden and in Utrecht, The Netherlands and certified in 1976 as specialist in ObGyn. Since 1976 HCB was director of the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology at the University Hospital in Utrecht. In 1987 he joined Organon in The Netherlands as Executive VP of the WH R&D programme and developed drugs such as Puregon and Antagon for IVF, the Nuvaring, the Implanon and Cerazette for contraception and Livial (tibolone) for HRT. From 1997-2005 HCB was professor WH at the Dutch speaking Free University in Brussels, Belgium.

Jacques Cohen, Ph.D. is the Scientific Director of IVFonline/genX. He is also one of the founders of Reprogenetics, an independent PGD service based in the USA and director of Tyho-Galileo Research Laboratories – an organization that promotes and conducts human fertilization and preimplantation research. He was trained in the 70s at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Holland as a Reproductive Scientist specialized in vitro fertilization and cryobiology. In 1982, after earning a Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, he went to England and joined the team of Dr. Edwards and Steptoe, who were responsible for the first ever IVF birth. He moved to USA in 1985 and worked as laboratory director in several successful IVF clinics. He was the first to culture human embryos on a layer media and oil and was the first to apply micromanipulation techniques on eggs, sperm, and embryos. This led to the development and application of several methods that are now routine procedures worldwide. Dr. Cohen has authored more than 200 publications and several textbooks. He is the senior adjunct editor of Reproductive Biomedicine Online and the North-American editor of Zygote. He is associated with several laboratories involved in IVF and PGD both in Europe and the USA. His interests are embryonic viability, cryopreservation and developing tests and tools for IVF laboratories.

Prof. George K. Creatsas is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chairman of the 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Athens, Greece. He served as a Dean of the University of Athens Medical School for the years 2003-2007 and as a Vice Rector of the University of Athens Greece (2006-2010).
Professor Creatsas has published more than 376 papers with more than 3234 citations (h index 33) in international peer review Journals in the fields of corrective gynecologic surgery, menopause, pediatric and adolescent gynecology and family planning. He is the Editor of 15 proceedings and 5 books in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is Honorary Chief Editor of the European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, Chief Editor of the Journal of Adolescent Gynecology- Reproduction and Menopause (Greece) as well as member of the Editorial Board of the Journals: Gynecological Endocrinology and European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
Professor Creatsas was President and is currently Honorary President of the International Federation of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (FIGIJ). He was also President of the European Society of Contraception (ESC), Vice President of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (EBCOG), President of the Hellenic Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Hellenic Family Planning Association and member of the Board of the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS). Is currently President of the Hellenic Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. He is also Fellow ad Eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FRCOG) and the American College of Surgeons (FACS), Fellow ad eundem of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG), member of the International Academy of Human Reproduction and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
His main topics of scientific interest are Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and Reconstructive Gynecologic Surgery as well as Contraception. He has developed a surgical technic for reconstruction of vaginal aplasia modifying the Williams Vaginoplasty. “Creatsas Vaginoplasty”: Creatsas G. et al. Creation of a neovagina after Creatsas modification of Williams vaginoplasty for the treatment of 200 patients with Mayer- Rokitansky- Kuster- Hauser syndrome. Fertil Steril, 94 2010.
He has organized or contributed to the organization of many National and International Congresses, among which are: World Congresses of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (FIGIJ), Congresses of the European Society of Contraception (ESC), Congresses of the European Board College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (EBCOG) and 9 Congresses on Women’s Health and Disease. Proceedings of the above meetings have been published in the Annals of New York Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Nadine Daan
Work experience
07/2016 – present Resident in training Obstetrics & Gynaecology (AIOS), Sint Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein.
01/2016 – 06/2016 Resident not in training Obstetrics & Gynaecology (ANIOS), Sint Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein.
02/2012 – 12/2015 Research Physician, PhD Candidate, Department of Reproductive Medicine, University MEdical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Thesis: Women’s health implications of ovulatory dysfunction, PhD granted on April 28th 2016.

Education
09/2004 – 01/2011 Medical School, University Medical Center Utrecht.

Teaching
03/2015 Official University Teaching Qualification, University Medical Center Utrecht.
09/2013 – 10/2014 Graduate teaching of first year Medicine course “Regulation and Integration”.

Prof. Christianne de Groot is Chair Obstetrics and Gynecology in the VU Medical Center, Amsterdam. Her main research focus is high-risk pregnancy especially hypertensive disorders in pregnancy; its pathophysiology and long term consequences in close collaboration with several specialists including cardiologists, internal medicine specialists, family physicians and research in patient safety.
She is trained at the Department of Obstetrics and Cardiovascular Research Institute At University of California, San Francisco. She worked in the laboratory of Prof. Taylor and Prof. Roberts on endothelial cell function in preeclampsia (1991-1993). This resulted in a PhD thesis “The role of endothelial cells in preeclampsia”. After finishing residency, she worked as staff member in the Erasmus University Rotterdam. She was Clinical Fellow at NWO and initiated research projects resulting in more than 140 peer-reviewed papers, 9 book chapters and responsibility of 20 PhD students. De Groot is member of Committee of Maternal Mortality and intendant of Consortium 2.0 Dutch Association for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Obstetrie en Gynaecologie, NVOG).

Dr. Laetitia M.O. de Kort, MD PhD
EDUCATION
1984-1991: Medical school, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1984-1991.
1996-2001: Training in Surgery and Urology: De Weezenlanden, Zwolle, Bosch Medicentrum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, UMCU, The Netherlands.
THESIS: 2004: The value of various diagnostic procedures in children with lower urinary tract dysfunction.
MEMBERSHIPS: Dutch Urological Association; European Association of Urology; European Society for Paediatric Urology; International Continence Society
CURRENT POSITION
2002 Urologist, UMCU, The Netherlands
2011 Subsidiary trainer of residents in urology
2013 Head of the Department of Urology
KEY PUBLICATIONS:
De Kemp V, de Graaf P, Fledderus JO, Ruud Bosch JL, de Kort LM. Tissue engineering for human urethral reconstruction: systematic review of recent literature. PLoS One. 2015 Feb 17;10(2):e0118653.
Veenboer PW, Bosch JL, Rosier PF, Dik P, van Asbeck FW, de Jong TP, de Kort LM. Cross-sectional study of determinants of upper and lower urinary tract outcomes in adults with spinal dysraphism–new recommendations for urodynamic followup guidelines? J Urol. 2014 Aug;192(2):477-82.
Kieft JH, Hennus PM, Hoenjet E, Rynja SP, De Jong TP, Bosch JL, De Kort LM. Long-term follow-up after transurethral treatment of infravesical obstruction in boys. Urology. 2014 May;83(5):1155-60.
De Kort LM, Kok ET, Jonges TN, Rosier PF, Bosch JL. Urodynamic effects of transrectal intraprostatic Ona botulinum toxin A injections for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Urology. 2012 Oct;80(4):889-93.
De Kort LM, Bower WF, Swithinbank LV, Marschall-Kehrel D, de Jong TP, Bauer SB. The management of adolescents with neurogenic urinary tract and bowel dysfunction. Neurourol Urodyn. 2012 Sep;31(7):1170-4.
Rynja SP, Wouters GA, Van Schaijk M, Kok ET, De Jong TP, De Kort LM. Long-term followup of hypospadias: functional and cosmetic results. J Urol. 2009 Oct;182(4 Suppl):1736-43.
Van Breda HM, Bosch JL, de Kort LM. Hidden prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms in healthy nulligravid young women. Int Urogynecol J. 2015 Nov;26(11):1637-43.

Dominique de Ziegler, MD
Born in Nice France, Dom de Ziegler was raised in the USSR (Moscow), Egypt (Cairo) and New York City, where he finished the French High School curriculum (Baccalaureate).Dom went to medical school in Geneva and subsequently returned to the US to undertake a research fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York (Erlio Gurpide) followed by Residency and Clinical Fellowship at the UCLA medical center in Los Angeles, California. At UCLA, Dom trained under JG Moore, Bill Dignam, and during the Fellowship Howard L Judd, David R Meldrum and R Jeffery Chang. In Paris and New York, Dom directed Research and Fellowship for Columbia Laboratories. There, he primarily worked on the development of the vaginal progesterone gel Crinone, unveiling the existence of direct vagina to uterus transport phenomenon, or first Uterine Pass Effect (FUPE). Starting in 2000, Dom was in Geneva where he directed the division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the university hospital (HUG), later fused with the same at Lausanne (CHUV). Currently, at University Paris Descartes – Hôpital Cochin, Paris France – Dom heads the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at University Descartes – Hôpital Cochin in the dept of Obtetrics and Gynecology chaired by Charles Chapron. Together with Charles, Dom has exploited the unique model constituted by women affected by ovarian endometriosis for challenging the current views on ovarian reserve, ART outcome and the fecundity of women.

Prof Gian Carlo Di Renzo is currently Professor and Chair at the University of Perugia, and Director of the Reproductive and Perinatal Medicine Center, and Director of the Midwifery School, University of Perugia, in addition to being the Director of the Permanent International and European School of Perinatal and Reproductive Medicine (PREIS) in Florence.
After graduation cum laude at Medical School of the University of Padova, he was a research fellow at the Universities of Verona, Messina and Modena. After training at CHUV in Lausanne (Switzerland), at UCH in London (UK), at the University of Texas in Dallas (USA), and at the Catholic University in Nijmegen (NL) (1977-1982), he became a senior researcher at the University of Perugia. Since 1992 he is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Prenatal Medicine and Director of the Perinatal and Reproductive Center at the University of Perugia. Since 2004 he is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University or Perugia., Chairman of the Midwifery School , of the Ob Gyn Resident’s program and of the PhD Program in Translational Medicine. He was general Secretary of the Italian Society of Perinatal Medicine, President of the Italian Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Secretary-Treasurer of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, President from 2000 to 2002, 2002-2008 Executive Director and Chairman of the Educational Committee, Vice President of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine ( 2007-2013) and President Elect ( 2015). He is founding member of the World Association of Perinatal Medicine (1991- ), of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (1991- ), and of the International Academy of Perinatal Medicine (2005- ). He is honorary member of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Societies of Hungary, Argentina, Ecuador, Romania, Russia, Tartastan, Armenia, Georgia, Czech Republic, Spain, the Croatian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine, the Spanish and the Ibero American Societies of Prenatal Diagnosis and the Romanian Academy of Sciences. Since 2011 he is member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Bangladesh Society of Ob/Gyn (1992), the Maratea Children Prize (1994), the Foundation Corradi Prize for “Scientific Research” (1998), the Liley Medal from the “Fetus as a Patient” International Society (2006), the Allan Chang Visiting Professorship (Hong Kong, 2007) and the Maternity Prize of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine in Istanbul (2008). He has been awarded four Doctor Honoris Causa from the Purkinje University of Prague ( 2002), from the University of Athens (2008), from the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2008) and from the University of St Petersburg (2013). He has been appointed nine Honorary Professorships at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina (2010), the State University of Moscow, the Siberian University of Tomsk, Russia (2011) the International University of Dubrovnik (Croatia, 2011) the University of Moldovia in Chisinau ( 2012) the University of Serbia in Belgrade (2011) the Kuban State University of Krasnodar, Russia (2014) at the Cornell University of New York (2010) and at the Kansas City University Medical Centre ( 2011). He was honorary consultant at the Hamad Women Hospital in Doha, Qatar, and at the Al-Adan Hospital in Kuwait City, Kuwait ( 2008-2012). Since 2011 is Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (London) (FRCOG) and since 2012 is Hon Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FACOG). He was the Hon Guest of the Indian College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology ( 2014). In 2012 he was elected Honorary Secretary of FIGO ( London).
He is the President of the International Society on Cocoa and Chocolate in Medicine (ISCHOM, 2012-) Secretary of the New European Surgical Aacdemy (NESA, 2010- ) and member of the Advisory Board of the Ian Donald School of Ultrasound ( 2008- )
From 1996 he is Editor-in-chief of the “Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine”, for Informa Health Care, UK, and since 1999 he is corresponding editor of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology .
His scientific production comprises over 1200 papers of which more than 300 in referred international journals and 80 books. He is author of the major Italian treatise of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Verduci Pbl., Rome, 2005 (2 vol, 2400 pag, at its 2nd edition 2009). He also coauthored with U Simeoni the Atlas “The Neonate and Perinate” (Informa , Oxford, 2006) with A Malvasi the textbook on “Cesarean Section” ( Informa, Oxford, 2014) and the textbook on “ Diabetes and pregnancy” ( with M Hod, A De Leiva, O Langer for Informa, Oxford now at 3rd ed, 2014)
He has been invited as speaker to more than 1300 international and national congresses, meetings and courses in 92 different countries. He writes and speaks English, Spanish and French fluently.

Prof. Jacques Donnez
EDUCATION:
Medical School
1965-1972: Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium)
(Maxima cum Laude)
Internships
1972-1976: Internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Academic Hospital St. Rafael
Academic Hospital St. Pierre
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics
(Prof. Schockaert) Catholic University of Louvain.
1976-1978: Internship in Surgery
Academic Hospital St. Luc
Department of Surgery (Prof. Kestens)
Catholic University of Louvain
Residency Internship
1978-1980: Academic Hospital St. Luc, Department of Gynecology (Prof. Ferin), Catholic University of Louvain
ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
1980-1986
Lecturer. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Louvain.
1984
Ph.D. (Thèse d’Agrégation de l’Enseignement Supérieur)
Catholic University of Louvain.
1986-present
Professor, Catholic University of Louvain
1986-present
Head of Department
Department of Gynecology, Catholic University of Louvain
Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc.
1992-present
Full Professor and Chairman, Catholic University of Louvain

Prof. Christian Egarter graduated at the University of Innsbruck in 1981 and completed his gynecological residency at the Medical University of Vienna in 1988. From 1991-1993 he was Head of the Department of OB/GYN in Vöcklabruck, Upper Austria. Thereafter, he returned to Vienna to become Deputy Head of the University Department of Obstetrics at the Medical University of Vienna. Since 2007 he served as Deputy Head of the Department of Gynecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine and became Head of the Department in 2011. Prof. Egarter published more than 270 papers in national/international journals and his research interests include prostaglandin application in obstetrics and various topics in gynecological endocrinology, especially in the field of contraception. His research efforts have earned him several grants, e.g. from the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science, a Concerted Action of the EU Commission as well as several grants from the Mayor of Vienna and the Austrian National Bank. Prof. Egarter lives in Vienna with his wife Susanne and children Simone and Caroline.

Ella Einarsdottir
Elin is a patient diagnosed with infertility in 2002 who has since decided, with her husband, to live childfree. Her work in patient advocacy started in 2003 when she joined the board of the Icelandic Infertility Association, Tilvera. Through her work with Tilvera she became a member of the Executive Committee of Fertility Europe in 2012, first as the secretary but since June 2015 as the chair. She is the patient representative in the Ethics Group of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), and has, among other things, spoken about the patient perspective at ESHRE’s Annual Meeting in 2012 and at a meeting held by the European Network of IPPF for it’s members in 2015.

Thomas Ebner, PhD, graduated with honours from the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria, in 1992. Completing his doctorate and post-doctoral thesis, he became a university professor in Graz and Salzburg, Austria. He has published more than 120 papers and book chapters as first and co-author. Research interests include non-invasive IVF selection processes, andrology, vitrification and culture media. He was certified as a senior clinical embryologist in 2008 and re-certified in 2012. Currently he is EC Board Member of ALPHA – Scientists in Reproductive Medicine, head of the Embryological Forum Austria (EFA) and National Representative of Austria in the Advisory Committee of ESHRE.

Prof. Mark Hans Emanuel was trained at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam. Since 1992 he is working in the Spaarne Hospital (University of Amsterdam) in Haarlem/Heemstede/Hoofddorp as a staff consultant gynaecologist and since this year he also works in the University Medical Center in Utrecht.
In 1998 he wrote his PhD-thesis entitled: Submucous Myomas and Abnormal Uterine Bleeding; epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. His special field of interest is diagnosis and treatment of the uterine cavity (ultrasonography and hysteroscopy).
He is a specialist in advanced hysteroscopic surgery and he is directing a National Referral Center for advanced hysteroscopic surgery and Asherman Syndrome. He is a former Board Member of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics & Gynaecologuy (NVOG) and ISGE.
He was awarded as Dutch Inventor of the Year for the development of Hysteroscopic Morcellation or Tissue Removal Sysytems.
He holds three patents related to Hysteroscopic Morcellation, Gel instillation Sonohysterography and Hysterosalpingo Foam Sonography respectively.
He lives in the center of The Netherlands with his wife Lilian Walhof and he has three daughters who live in Amsterdam.

Professor Bart Fauser is Professor of Reproductive Medicine at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands and Chair of the Division of Woman & Baby (Departments of Reproductive Medicine & Gynecology, Obstetrics, Neonatology) at the University Medical Center in Utrecht (since 2004).
He is a former Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Director of the Center of Reproductive Medicine at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam (1996-2003); Visiting Professor, University Southampton, UK (since 2010); Saal van Zwanenberg Professor, Center of Reproductive Medicine, Free University, Brussels (2003-2008); Visiting Professor, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California (1993-1995); and Fulbright post-doctoral Scholar, University of California, San Diego, California (1987-1988).
From 2001-2007, Professor Fauser was the Editor-in-Chief of ‘Human Reproduction Update.’ He has published around 300 PubMed papers (Hirsch factor 52). Professor Fauser serves on many international editorial boards and has been active in many international societies. His work has been widely covered in national and international news media. His major research interest is pathophysiology of human ovarian function.

Dr Simon Fishel, PhD, is Managing Director of CARE Fertility, and is one of the world’s most eminent specialists in the field of fertility treatment. He is recognized for his pioneering work in embryology and IVF.

Dr. Fishel began his research in Cambridge with Professor Robert Edwards several years before the birth of the first IVF baby in 1978. Later he was appointed Deputy Scientific Director of the world’s first ‘test-tube baby clinic’ at Bourn Hall, Cambridge, while maintaining his lectureship at Cambridge University. In 1987 he was invited by the World Health Organization and the Government of China, to establish an IVF programme in China and advise numerous clinics throughout China on the practices and principles of human IVF. Dr Fishel has been involved in many of the pioneering events in IVF since its inception.

Amongst his numerous scientific firsts, Dr Fishel’s early work at Cambridge during the late 1970’s was the first to demonstrate that embryos are capable of responding to their environment and communicating with the uterus and external factors. He was also the first to show that the human embryo in vitro synthesises and secretes the pregnancy hormone HCG (Science, 1984), and early in the 1990’s he was the first to demonstrate conclusively the need to permanently immobilize the sperm tail for efficient and successful ICSI in humans, and during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s he pioneered human sperm microinjection.

He has published over 200 papers and edited 3 books on the development of IVF and micromanipulation technology, and a recipient of many international awards for his work in the field of IVF. One of Simon’s proudest achievements was as Founder of the world’s first degree courses in Assisted Reproduction, which he initiated in 1992. “Teaching, training and researching with like-minded, able and dedicated students is one of life’s enduring pleasures and indelible memories“ Simon Fishel 2007.
Simon was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University in 2009 for his outstanding contributions to the field of fertility treatment.
Simon formed CARE in 1997 with the aim of making IVF treatment more widely available and maximizing opportunities for those seeking treatment. In addition to being Managing Director of CARE, he is currently on the Editorial Board and Reviewer for many International scientific journals, an Inspector for the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and a member of several HFEA committees, a Patron of ISSUE, an Advisor to CHILD and President of AceBabes, and a Patron of the Blue Shed Theatre Foundation. Simon also established the Rachel Foundation, a charity for research into infertility and fertility preservation.

Prof. Arie Franx, medical career started in 1988 as AIOS obstetrics / gynecology at the St. Elisabeth Hospital in Tilburg after studying medicine at the Free University in Amsterdam (doctor’s exam taken in 1988). His specialization in gynecology began in the Academic Hospital in Utrecht in 1991. In 1997 he was registered as a gynecologist, and has since worked in the UMC Utrecht, the St. Elisabeth Hospital in Tilburg, and Erasmus MC in Rotterdam.
Since 2010, Professor Franx has worked in the UMC Utrecht as Division President Obstetrics, university educator and medical manager of the Division of Woman and Baby. He received his promotion on March 11, 1997 at Utrecht University with the thesis, “Measurement and clinical significance of blood pressure in pregnancy”. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. G.H.A. Visser and Prof. Dr. J.M.W.M. Merkus.

Professor Rene Frydman,
Current Positions and Rank:
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris XIand Head of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of AntoineBeclereHospital, since 1990 – Director of Research Unit on Reproductive Medecine
Awards of Distinction:
Officer of the French Legion d’Honneur
Areas of Special Interest and Accomplishments:My special areas of interest in Gynecology and Obstetrics include infertility and high- risk pregnancy. My work in infertility led the first baby born in France as a result of in vitro fertilization in 1982, after embryo freezing in 1986, after PGD in 2000, after oocyte cryoperservation 2010.
My other area of interest has been biomedical ethics. My work in this realm led to many invitations to debate the moral issues created by the use of the techniques of artificial procreation. I have had an active participation in the preparation on the law on bioethics.
I have actively worked with the Medecins du Monde and Medecins sans Frontieres.

Andrea Riccardo Genazzani, MD, PhD, HcD, FRCOG,
Born in Florence in 1942, he attained his M.D. from Siena University in 1966 cum laude.
He completed his residences in Gynecology and Obstetrics, and in Endocrinology and Metabolism Disorders.
– In 1972, he received the PhD at the Division de Biochimie Clinique, Clinique Médicale at Lausanne
University.
– In 1969 he become Deputy Assistant and from 1970 Full Assistant at the University of Siena.
– From 1972 he relocated to the Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the University in Cagliari and from
1973 he was nominated Senior Assistant.
– From 1977 he relocated to the University of Siena as Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
– In 1980 he was awarded as Full Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and nominated Director of the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Cagliari.
– From 1° November 1982 he was nominated Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the
University of Modena
– since 1994 up to 15/02/2012 he become Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the
University of Pisa.
– In 1994 he was awarded with the Honoris Causa Laurea by the University of Wroclaw in Polonia,
– in 2005 he was awarded with the Honoris Causa Laurea by the University “Ovidius” of Costanta in Romania,
– in May 2007 he was awarded with the Honoris Causa Laurea by the University of Bucharest in Romania and
– in February 2009 he was awarded with the Honoris Causa Laurea by the University of Athens in Greece.
Prof. Genazzani is:

• President of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology
• President of the European Society of Gynecology
• Past President of the International Menopause Society
• General Secretary of the International Academy of Human Reproduction
• Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Reviewer of articles appearing in the:
Journal Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Endocrinology
European Journal of Endocrinology Neuroendocrinology
Journal of Endocrinological Investigation Climacteric
Gynecologic and Obstetrics Investigation Circulation
Neurosciences Letters Maturitas
American Journal of Obstetric and Gynecology Human Reproduction
American Journal of Cardiology Fertility and Sterility
Journal of Neuroendocrinology Journal of Hypertension
Italian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology BJOG
International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics Journal of Molecular Endocrinology
ACTA Endocrinologica European Menopausal Journal

• Editor-in-Chief of Gynecological Endocrinology since 1987
• Assistant Editor of the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology from 2000 to 2003
• Editor of Maturitas from 2003 to 2009
• Author of more than 742 papers in peer reviewed journals.
• Editor of more than 42 books
• Editor of A.P.O.G. (Permanent Update in Gynecology and Obstetrics)

Dr. Luca Gianaroli is specialist in Reproductive Medicine since the end of the Seventies. He is the Scientific Director of S.I.S.Me.R. (Italian Society for the Study of Reproductive Medicine) and he holds the position of Scientific Director of I.I.A.R.G., the International Institutes of Advanced Reproduction and Genetics. He is professor at Teramo University and Honorary Professor at the School of Biosciences of the University of Kent.
Active member of several international scientific societies in which he has covered and currently covers roles of primary importance, he has served as Chairman of the Italian Society of Reproduction and of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). At present he is the coordinator of the ESHRE Task Force on Management of Fertility Unit and past coordinator of the ESHRE Certification for Reproductive Endoscopic Surgeons. In 2014 he was appointed as Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and gynaecologists.
Dr. Gianaroli is author of more than 250 papers in international scientific journals and publisher or co-publisher of 9 books.

Dr. Norbert Gleicher graduated from Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine in Israel. After completion of his residency training and fellowship in reproductive immunology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, he held various medical and administrative positions at some of the best hospitals and universities in the US. In 1981, Dr. Gleicher founded the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), where he is currently Medical Director and Chief Scientist.
Dr. Gleicher has published hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers, abstracts and book chapters, as well as edited textbooks and served as editor for many specialty journals. His editorial roles have included founding Editor-in-Chief for the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology (AJRI) and the Journal of In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer (renamed Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics in 1992).
In 2009, he was invited to give the prestigious Patrick Steptoe Memorial Lecture to the British Fertility Society, in recognition of his lifelong contribution to the advancements in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. A popular speaker at worldwide conferences, Dr. Gleicher travels extensively while maintaining his role in clinical patient care and research at CHR.
.

Stephan Gordts
Graduated at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1978. Performed two years of experimental work and training in microsurgery.
Since 1978 his main clinical interest and his full carrier is devoted to reproductive medicine. He is an expert in microsurgical interventions and operative laparoscopies.
In 1982 he followed a postgraduate training in ART at the Monash University, Melbourne, and as clinician in charge of the IVF program he was closely involved in the birth of the first IVF baby in Belgium, born in May 1983.
In 1984 he founded the “Leuven Institute for Fertility & Embryology (L.I.F.E.)”, institution of whom he is the head and the scientific director up till now.
From 1992 –1995 he was associate professor at the department of Gynaecology of the UCL (Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels) where he was director of the IVF unit.
He introduced in 1998 the new technique of the transvaginal laparoscopy and the concept of the one stop fertility clinic.
Member of different fertility societies; was the past-coordinator of the special interest group on reproductive surgery in ESHRE.
Within the ESGE and ESHRE he was the coordinator of the SIG for reproductive surgery and also for the task force on uterine congenital malformations (CONUTA) (collaboration ESHRE and ESGE).
Awards: 1998 the Basic science award ASRM/IFFS for his video on “Transvaginal hydrolaparoscopy: Visualisation of oocyte release and fimbrial pick-up”
He is associate editor of Gynaecological surgery and reviewer of several international journals; he published several papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Alessandra Graziottin is currently Director of the Centre of Gynaecology and Medical Sexology at the H. San Raffaele Resnati in Milano, Italy.
She received her medical degree at the University of Padova in 1978, where she specialised in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1982, and Oncology in 1985. She is also a certified Psychotherapist in Sexual Medicine.
Since 2008 she has been Founder and Chairman of the Alessandra Graziottin Foundation for the cure and care of pain in women Onlus.
Since 2010 she has been Consultant Professor at the Advanced Master in Clinical Sexology of the University of Pisa.
Since 2009 she has been Consultant Professor at the Advanced Master in Andrology and Sexual Medicine of the University of Firenze.
Since 2007 she has been Consultant Professor at the Master Course of Sexual Medicine for Students of Psychology of the University of Venezia and Salesian University (UPS) of Roma.
In 2013 she was Faculty Member of 14th International Meeting of the European Association of Urological Nurses on “Bladder dysfunction: overactive bladder syndrome, nocturia and pelvic floor issues”, organized in Milano, Italy, by the European Association of Urology (EAU).
In 2012 she took part in the International Recommendations Meeting on the interdisciplinary management of vaginismus, organized in Jerusalem, Israel, by the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH).
In 2010 Professor Graziottin was appointed Co-President of the 86th National Congress of the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (SIGO), held in Milano, Italy, on November 14-17.
She was Consultant Professor at the University of Florence, Italy, from 2003 to 2010, where she is currently Faculty member of the Master Course in Human Sexuality and Andrology.
Prof. Graziottin has published: 16 scientific books (as author, co-author or editor); more than 80 chapters of scientific books, over 90 refereed papers and more than 240 proceeding contributions and non-refereed articles; 6 lay books and 8 educational booklets for women. Since 1984 she has been regular columnist on women’s health in Italian national newspapers and magazines.
In 2011 she wrote, with Filippo Murina, “Clinical management of vulvodynia” (Springer Verlag Italia, Milano).
She was Coordinator of the Special Interest Area “Pelvic Pain” of the Italian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (Società Italiana di Ginecologia e Ostetricia, SIGO) from 2009 until 2011, and former Member of the European Working Group of FSDeducation.eu (2006-2010), that developed CME-certified educational material in the area of Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD).
After serving on the Board of:
– the Italian Menopause Society from 1997 until 2001,
– the Italian Menopause Project (PMI) from 1997 to 2007,
– the European Society of Menopause and Andropause (EMAS) from 2000 to 2006,
– the Italian Society of Psychosomatic Gynecology and Obstetrics (SIPGO) from 2002 to 2008,
– the Italian Society of Gynaecology of the Elderly (SIGITE) from 2003 to 2006,
– the International Society for Sexuality and Cancer (ISSC) from 2003 to 2010,
– the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Paediatrics (SIPPS) from 2008 to 2012,
– the Female Sexual Function Forum, FSFF (2000-2001), as Vice President,
– the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, ISSWSH (2001-2002), as President,
– the Italian Society of Psychosomatic Gynecology and Obstetrics (SIPGO) from 2008 to 2012, as Vice-President,
she is currently a member of the permanent International Organizing Committee (IOC) of Controversies in Obstetrics, Gynecology & Infertility (COGI)
In June 2004 she was awarded the Honorary Membership by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC).
As a leading expert and teacher in Gynaecology and Medical Sexology, she has given more than 1200 lectures (more than 60 state of the art lectures) at international and national meetings and courses.
In October 1998 she contributed as a board member to the First International Consensus Conference on Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD), held in Boston. In 2003 she assumed this role for the Second International Consensus Conference on FSD, in Paris, France. In 2005-2006 she chaired the FSD Sub-Committee of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM). The pertinent proceedings have been published in: Porst H. Buvat J. (Eds), ISSM Standard Committee Book, Standard Practice in Sexual Medicine, Blackwell, Oxford, UK, 2006. She is currently member of the Ethics Committee of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM).
From August 2007 to October 2009 she was the only European member of the Scientific Programme Committee of the XIX World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics (October 4-9, 2009, Cape Town, South Africa), organized by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO).

Prof. Grigoris F.Grimbizis
Current post:
2015 Oct: Professor in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Papageorgiou” General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Academic Degrees:
1984, Μ.D., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
1996, Ph.D., Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Special Interests:
Endoscopic Surgery
Scientific fields: Congenital malformations of the female genital tract, uterine pathology (Myomas / Adenomyosis)
Infertility (Male – Female / including surgery for male infertility)
Projects:
ESHRE / ESGE Working Group on Congenital Malformations of the Female Genital Tract / Scientific Coordinator
ESHRE/ESGE Classification System (published)
Comprehensiveness of the ESHRE/ESGE Classification (published)
Consensus on diagnosis (published)
ECRES (ESHRE Certification of Reproductive Endoscopic Surgery) / Member of the Steering Committee
Common ESHRE/ESGE project for the development of the “European Recommendations for Surgical Treatment of Endometriosis” / Member of the working group
FIGO Menstrual Bleeding Committee – Member of the Sub‐Committee on Adenomyosis

Prof. Thorir Hardarson is the Laboratory Director at Fertilitetscentrum, Gothenburg and the Scientific Director for IVF Sverige, Sweden. He received his training at the University of Iceland where he got his bachelor in biology and masters degree in physiology. Moving to Sweden 1997, he did research at Gothenburg University his PhD was on human embryology. In the research for his PhD he was one of the pioneers starting to use time-lapse technology to study the dynamic development of embryos already in 1999.
His research interests has focused on new methods in identifying the best embryo to transfer, ranging from static and dynamic (time-lapse) morphological evaluation as well as metabolomics and PGS.
He is a member of the ALPHA executive committee since 2012.
Thorir Hardarson has published over 60 scientific papers, book chapters and abstracts on embryology and human IVF. He is a reviewer of RBM Online and Human Reproduction.

Dr. José A. Horcajadas Positions 1993: Graduated in Biology (Speciality of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry), Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 1993-1998: Predoctoral Fellow of the Madrid Community in the Institute of Biomedical Research of Madrid (Spain) and Center of Molecular Biology “Severo Ochoa”, Madrid, Spain. 1998-2000: Severo Ochoa Fellow at the Center of Molecular Biology “Severo Ochoa”, Madrid, Spain. 2000: PhD degree (maximum calification), Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 2002-2001; Postdoctoral fellowship from Foundation Raúl González-Salas, Center of Molecular Biology “Severo Ochoa”, Madrid, Spain. 2002-2008: Molecular Biology Group Leader, Fundación IVI, Valencia, Spain. 2007-2008: Visiting Researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, US. 2007-2011: Assistant Professor, University Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain. 2008-2011: Assistant Professor, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. 2009-2011: Chief Scientific Officer of iGenomix, the Genetic Division of IVI, Valencia, Spain. 2011-2013: Senior Research, Hospital Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain. 2011-present: Full Associate Professor, University Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain. 2011-present: Chief Scientific Officer, Recombine EU, Bilbao, Spain. 2012-present: Chief Scientific Officer, SINAE SL, Sevilla, Spain. 2012-present: Adjunt Research Associate Professor at EVMS, Norfolk, Virginia, US. 2004-present: Professor at Master degree of: Universidad de Jaén, Universidad de Murcia, Universidad de Valencia, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla. International visits One formative stay of two months in 1994 at the Physiology Department of the University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Two formative stays of four months in the Pathology Department of the School of Medicine in the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) in the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Sharkey and Dr. Stephen Smith. Two months each in 2004 and 2005. During the second stay with a short visit fellow of the Britain Royal Society. One stay of 1 year in the laboratory of Dr. Linda Giudice in 2007 in the University of California, San Francisco, California (US) with scholarship of the Spanish Goverment. One stay of two months in the University of Rio Grande do Sur, Porto Alegre (Brazil) with scholarship of the local Goverment of Valencia (Spain) in 2009. One stay of one month at the Jones Institute, Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk (VA) with a scholarship of the Jones-Andrews Foundation in 2008.

Dr. Ahmet Zeki Işık was born in 1965 in Ankara. He graduated from TED Ankara College in 1982, finished Hacettepe University School of Medicine with second degree in 1988 and received his obstetrics and gynecology certification from Zekai Tahir Burak Gynecology and Obstetrics Training and Research Hospital in 1992. He had been working as a chief resident in Reproductive Endocrinology, and Infertility Department of Zekai Tahir Burak Gynecology and Obstetrics Training and Research Hospital between 1993 and 1995 and participated in clinical and laboratory applications in IVF center. He had been as a research Fellow at the Cornell University New York Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility in 1994. He had worked as a gynecologist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility unit of Sevgi hospital in 1996. He was the chairman of the first freeze-thaw and blastocyst pregnancy team of Turkey in 1998. He received the certificate of the ICSI and micromanipulation techniques in Brussel Fee University in 1997 and finished preimplantation genetic diagnosis education in 1999. He had worked as a director of IVF centers of Istanbul Alman Hospital and Ankara Bayindir Hospital between 1999 and 2002. He had received his associate professor degree in 2001. He had been director and scientific coordinator of Özel Ankara IVF Centre and Irenbe IVF centre between 2003-2009 and between 2010-2014 respectively. Professor Ahmet Zeki Işık is currently the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Izmir University, and Clinical Director of the ART Laboratory. He pioneered the team who performed the first freeze-thaw oocyte and freeze-thaw of the same embryo pregnancy in Turkey in 2015. His research interests include reproductive endocrinology and in vitro fertilization. He has all the three certificate of Health Ministry including Clinical, Embryology and ICSI. He had been the executive board member of Turkish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, founder of Private IVF Centers Association of Turkey. He is currently the General Secretary of Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine. He has published more than 100 articles in local and international peer reviewed journals, 6 books written and translated and 6 book sections. His articles had received more than 250 citations. Prof. Ahmet Zeki Işık is a well-known invited speaker at national and international meetings.

Dr. Elmar Joura is Associate Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Medical University of Vienna, General Hospital (AKH), and Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna, Austria.
Dr. Joura graduated from University of Graz, Austria where he subsequently worked at the Department of Pathological Anatomy. After internship of urology, surgery and internal Medicine, he started his training in Obstetrics and Gynecology, at the University of Vienna. Before he finished specialization, he worked for a period in Tanzania.
Subsequently, he focused on gynecologic oncology and received a scholarship for a study leave at the National Women´s Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Since 1997 Dr. Joura is consultant gynecological oncologist and in 1998 he made his thesis on epithelial disorders of the vulva.
Dr. Joura is head of the clinic for colposcopy and vulvar disease, is consultant for pelvic surgery and was involved in the development of different surgical techniques. Since 2001 Dr. Joura is investigator for the quadrivalent HPV vaccine trials, he has become member of publishing committee and the Global Advisory Board. He is also member of the Scientific Advisory Board and coordinating investigator for the next generation HPV vaccine. Dr. Joura has published more than 120 articles in peer- review journals and given more than 800 lectures worldwide.

Dr. Yacoub Khalaf
Consultant/Senior Lecturer and subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery, Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College, London
Head of Fertility Services and Director of Assisted Conception Unit & Centre for Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis
Member of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA)
Executive Officer of the British Fertility Society
Chair of the Scientific and Clinical Advances Committee of the HFEA
Chair of the RCOG National Clinical Study group in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery
Member of the RCOG Research Committee
Expert advisor to the National Institute for Health Care & Clinical Excellence (NICE)
Associate Editor of the RBM online Journal
Grant Reviewer for the National Institute for Health Research in the UK
Director of the International Exchange Programme in ART and Fertility Imaging courses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust
Principal Investigators/clinical adviser of several NIHR funded research grants
Supervisor and examiner of Masters, MD and PhD candidates for various UK universities
Published widely on different aspects of Assisted Conception, Reproductive Medicine & Surgery
Lectured on ART at most national and international conferences

Prof. Jan A.M. Kremer is a gynaecologist with a passion for quality and innovation. He is professor of patient-centred innovation and chairman of the quality council of the Dutch Healthcare Institute and member of the National Council for Health and Society.
From 1996 till 2011, he was head of the Radboud IVF centre and led the transition to a large patient-centred organisation. In 2007 he was appointed professor of reproductive medicine.
In 2003 he initiated the ‘Digital IVF clinic’, a community of IVF patients with online access to the EMR for all patients. He guided 23 PhD students to a successful thesis and currently supervises 7 PhD students. Jan Kremer is (co-)author of 195 PubMed publications.
He has held several national and international positions (board of the Society of Gynaecologists, executive committee of the European Society of Human Reproduction). Furthermore, he chaired several guideline projects and ethical committees on freezing egg cells and moral contra-indications for IVF.

Dr. Ellen Laan is a licensed psychologist and sexologist and Professor at the Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Gynaecology of the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After her PhD (cum laude) in 1994, she became a postdoctoral fellow of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1995. Until 2005 she was Associate Professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, responsible for the general training of clinical psychology Master’s students as well as for their sexology education. Presently she is Professor at the Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam. She treats patients with sexual problems and somatically unexplained gynaecological problems, and studies the biopsychosocial determinants of sexual health, with a specific focus on women’s sexual problems and pleasure. She wrote over 150 peer reviewed papers and book chapters. She was advisor to the DSM-5 sub-committee on diagnostic criteria for the sexual dysfunctions, a member of the Standards Committee of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, served as President of the International Academy of Sex Research, and was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Leuven, Belgium, in 2012.

Prof. Antonio La Marca in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Mother-Infant Department of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy and he is the Medical Director of Clinica Eugin Modena, Italy.
He graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Siena in 1996, specializing in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the same institution in 2001. In 200, he obtained the PhD, again at the University of Siena. The PhD thesis was on Biology of germ cells. He has been working at the Institute of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of the University Hospital of Modena since 2003. His clinical activity covers all the field of Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and has taken part in thousands of IVF, laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgical procedures.
Present scientific interests include: ovarian reserve and pharmacological manipulation of ovarian activity. His “most impacting” articles were on the physiological significance of AMH and AFC, their measurement and clinical utility. Moreover he has published a long list of original articles dealing with the prediction of ovarian reserve and response in IVF and the personalization of ovarian stimulation protocols.He is author or co-author of 128 articles published on peer-reviewed journals and authored many chapters on national and international textbooks. He has been Invited speaker in more than a hundred international congresses.
He is involved in several phase 3 and 4 trials as Principal Investigator and is recipient of many research funds competitively assigned. He is active member of many national and international professional and scientific societies and consultant for Italian Ministry of Health for the female fertility related issues.

Robert D. Langer, MD, MPH,is the Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, a Professor of Family Medicine (Las Vegas) at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and a Research Professor of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a family physician, a specialist in preventive medicine, and an epidemiologist with more than 25 years of experience in studies of cardiovascular disease, postmenopsausl hormone therapy, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, osteoporosis, cognitive function and dementia. An author of more than 180 manuscripts in the peer-reviewed literature, he has served as a principal investigator on more than 30 national and international clinical trials and observational studies. He was the Principal Investigator for the University of California Vanguard Clinical Center in the Women’s Health Initiative, served as Chairman of the National Investigators Committee early in the study, and then served as Chairman of the Observational Study Committee for the remainder of the primary study period. He is currently the Principal Investigator of a large 5 year grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health focused on developing clinical and translational research capacity at 13 universities across 7 states in the Mountain West region of the United States.

Dr. Langer graduated from the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago in 1978, and completed an internship in Family Medicine at Overlook Hospital, an affiliate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. After several years in private practice during which he developed one of the first commercially successful electronic health records, Dr. Langer completed a residency in Preventive Medicine at the University of California at San Diego in 1988, concurrently obtaining a Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology. Upon completion of those programs he joined the faculty of the University of California, San Diego Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, achieving the rank of Professor in 2000. From 2005 to 2008 he served as Director of the Outcomes Research Institute for the Geisinger Health System in central Penssylvania, following which he founded the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine in Jackson, Wyoming. He joined the University of Nevada School of Medicine as Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research in 2012, simultaneously accepting an appointment as Research Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Dr. Langer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Heart Association Scientific Councils, as well as a member of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology.

Heidi J. Larson, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Associate Clinical Professor, Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, USA; and a Fellow at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security. Dr. Larson’s research focuses on the analysis of the social and political factors that can affect uptake on health interventions, particularly vaccines, and the implications for policies and programmes. Her particular interest is on risk and rumour management from clinical trials to delivery – and building public trust. Dr. Larson is currently the Principle Investigator for a large European Union (IMI) grant (EBODAC) on the deployment, acceptance and compliance of the Ebola prime-boost vaccine trial in Sierra Leone.

Dr. Yvonne Louwers
Education
2001 – 2008 Doctorate of Medicine, Erasmus University Medical School, the Netherlands Cum laude
2007 Internship Obstetrics and Gynecology / Surgery in Malawi, Africa: Clinical Officers Training Program
Professional experience
2016- present Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology Erasmus Medisch Centrum Rotterdam
2014 – 2016 Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis Delft, the Netherlands
2009 – 2014 PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, subdivision of Reproductive Medicine. Thesis: ‘Genetics of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), promotors: prof. dr. J.S.E. Laven MD PhD and prof. dr. A.G. Uitterlinden MD PhD. PhD defense February 26th, 2014
Awards
2013 Exchange Award VFS. Vereniging voor Fertiliteits Studies, Maastricht
2011 Wladimiroff Research Award. RCOG/ Wladimiroff onderzoeksbijenkomst, Rotterdam
2010 Exchange Award VFS. Vereniging voor Fertiliteit Studies, Leuven
Other activities
2016 – present Board Member Association Residents Obstetrics and gynecology the Netherlands
2009 – present Several teaching activities and supervision of research master of medical students and interns

Dr. Kirsten Tryde Macklon obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Copenhagen in 2005 dealing with fertility preservation in young female cancer patients with particular emphasis on cryopreservation of ovarian tissue. After obtaining her specialist degree in obstetrics and gynecology in 2008 she immediately started working at the fertility clinic in Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen where she now holds a consultant post and is clinically responsible for the fertility preservation programme. With 40 publications in international, peer-reviewed papers, numerous international lectures at scientific meetings, 3 book chapters and several national as well as international guidelines on fertility preservation she is scientifically active at an international level. She is also associate editor of ACTA Obstetricia et Gynecologica, the Nordic journal of OBGYN. She has been on the scientific board of several international meetings and will be chairman of the next Nordic Fertility Society meeting in 2017. In 2013 she worked part time for a year at Complete Fertility Centre, Southampton to help set up their fertility preservation service.

Prof. Nicholas Stephen Macklon is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology within Medicine at the University of Southampton.
Nick Macklon trained in Edinburgh, and carried out his doctoral research in Glasgow before taking a Fellowship in Fetal Medicine in Rotterdam where he was subsequently appointed Senior Lecturer and Director of the Assisted Conception Unit. In 2005 he was appointed Professor of Periconceptional Medicine and Infertility at the Utrecht University Medical Centre, where he became Head of the Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecology. In 2009 he was appointed to the Chair in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Southampton, where he is also Director of the Complete Fertility Centre Southampton.
Professor Macklon has published more than 100 Pubmed cited articles in the fields of ovarian stimulation and endometrial receptivity. In addition to contributing chapters to standard texts in the field, he has published two books, the award winning IVF in the Medically Complicated Patient, and more recently the Textbook of Periconceptional Medicine. External appointments include Past Chairman of the ESHRE Special Interest Group on Reproductive Endocrinology, Founding Board Member of the Dutch Society of Reproductive Medicine. He is currently editorial board member of Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility and Reproductive Biomedicine Online. He holds Visiting Professorships in Adelaide University, Australia, and Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Prof. Mireille Merckx
Qualifications:
Stafmember at the “Vrouwenkliniek” of the University Hospital and Research activity at ICRH University Ghent
Head of Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, AZ Jan Portaels, Gendarmeriestraat, Vilvoorde sinds April 2014

Member of the multidisciplinary team “female genital mutilation” in th UZGent
Member of the Steering Commitee for Public Health: “vaccination strategies and communication towards professionals “since September 2011
Member of the FOD public health workshop: “action against intra familiary violence” since June 2011

Representative of the VVOG in SENSOA
Expert advisor and stakeholder at the commission of cervical cancer screening in the commission and in the scietific round tables for the Flemish Federal government since 2011 for the VVOG
, member of the advisory board of the Zika commission for the National Health of the Belgian government

Member of the Board of Directors of the VVOG since June 2007.
Vice President of the VVOG and Chairman of its scientific committee since 2009.
Board member of the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health since 2012.
President of the BIGPAG (pediatric and adolescent gynaecology scientific group of the VVOG )
Board member of ISIDOG, international society of infectious disease in Obstetrics and gynaecology
Board member of the European society of contraception and reproductive health since 2012
Board member of FIGIJ since june 2016

Heidi Mertes
Heidi Mertes currently holds a position as a professor in ethics at Ghent University and is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders. She is also a founding member of the Bioethics Institute Ghent. She obtained her PhD in 2009 with a doctoral thesis on the interaction between science and ethics in the debate regarding embryonic stem cell research under supervision of Prof. Dr. Guido Pennings. Research interests since then include the ethics of reproductive medicine in general and more specifically ethical challenges in fertility preservation and prenatal genomics and ethical issues related to social egg freezing, stem cell derived gametes, genetic parenthood, genome editing, etc. She has published numerous articles in outstanding journals both in the fields of bioethics and of reproductive medicine and her results are also regularly presented at international conferences and symposia. Next to her research, she teaches courses in bioethics, engineering ethics and ethical theory to aspiring scientists and philosophers.

Chris J. L. M. Meijer, M.D., Ph.D.
Chris Meijer received his PhD at VU University medical center Amsterdam and was trained as surgical pathologist at Leiden University Medical center ( LUMC) where he worked as a staff pathologist till 1980. From 1980-1982 he was head of the Department of Immunopathology at the SSDZ, Delft. In 1983 he was appointed as prof.of Pathology and director of the Dept of pathology of the VU-UMC, Amsterdam.
His research is in the field of HPV and cervical cancer.with focus on
the development of molecular techniques for the detection of HPV, development of international guidelines for validation of HPV assays. He was the principle investigator of clinical trials in which was shown that an HPV test protects better against cervical cancer than cytology (POBASCAM), that HPV testing could be used as triage marker for cytological equivocal smears (VUSA-SCREEN), and as test of cure. He also showed that HPV can be used as a screening test in self-collected cervico/vaginal specimen (PROHTECT) and that full molecular cervical screening can be done by HPV testing in combination with methylation marker triage testing.
He is and has been chairman or member of several national and international scientific and strategy committees advising in the field of oncology and pathology and has been awarded for his activities several times by (Inter)national organisations.
Since his retirement in 2010 he leads a research group focussing on the development of a full molecular cervical cancer (self)screening algorithm. In addition he is director of Self-Screen a spin off company from VU UMC which develops and manufactures molecular tests for screening and diagnosis of cervical (pre)cancer

Dr. Velja Mijatovic
OBGYN residency at the VU University Medical Center/ SLAZ, Amsterdam. PhD thesis in 1999 (Postmenopausal HT and risk markers Lp(a) and homocysteine, VU Amsterdam). Consultant gynaecologist since 2003. In 2007 registered as subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine. Since 2014 Head of multidisciplinary academic Endometriosis Center VUmc, Amsterdam. Other professional appointments: board member Dutch working group on endometriosis, member of ESHRE Committee of National Representatives, editor-in-chief Dutch Journal Obstetrics & Gynaecology & past president of the Dutch Menopause Society.

Prof. Ben Willem Mol is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. He is interested in the organisation of multi-centric evaluative research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Fertility. The research is focused mainly upon everyday practices. As a Professor, Ben considers his most important task to be the stimulation and innovation of evaluative research in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine.
Ben studied Medicine at the University of Amsterdam. From 1993 to 1997, he obtained a PhD in the department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the AMC. Between 1997 and 2003 he was trained as a Gynaecologist at the University Medical Centre (Universitair Medisch Centrum) in Utrecht. Since 2002, he has been a Senior Researcher in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the AMC. From 2003 to 2007, he worked as a Gynaecologist-Perinatologist at the MMC in Veldhoven. Ben was instrumental in initiating the Dutch consortium for Research in Women’s health, in which 70 hospitals collaborate in multicenter trials. The initiative is now incorporated by the Dutch Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology and is supported by the Dutch national funder and the Dutch health insurance companies. In 2010, he co-initiated the Global Obstetric Network GOnet.
In 2014, Ben moved with his family to Adelaide, Australia. Ben holds an NHMRC practitioner fellowship, which was awarded as the highest ranked application in 2014. His professional adage is ‘A day without randomisation is a day without progress.’

Amir Mor, M.D. Ph.D
Education
2013 – Present: Residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
1999-2012 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
2006 –2012 Ph.D., “High Pressure Modulation of Mammalian CNS NMDA-Receptor Response.”
1999 – 2010 M.D.
2002 – 2006 Master of Medical Science – Cum Laude
1999 – 2002 Bachelor of Medical Science – Cum Laude
Memberships
1. American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
2. American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)
3. American Medical Association (AMA)
Teaching Experience
2010 – 2013 Course Director, Neurophysiology, Goldman School of Medicine, Ben-Gurion University (Israel) in cooperation with Columbia University (NY).
2007 – 2013 Course Director, Clinical Communication Skills & Physical Examination, Goldman School of Medicine, Ben-Gurion University (Israel) in cooperation with Columbia University (NY).
2008 – 2010 Lecturer, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Israel Center for Medical Simulation, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
2005 – 2009 Lecturer, Emergency Medicine and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), School of Medicine Ben-Gurion University, Israel.
2001 – 2009 Teaching Assistant, General Physiology Course, School of Medicine, Ben-Gurion University, Israel.
2003 – 2005 Lecturer, Histology Course, Rekanati School, Ben-Gurion University, Israel.

Wilhelmijna L.D.M. Nelen
TRAINING AND WORK EXPERIENCE
2016 – present Associate professor ‘personalised gynaecological care’ Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
2016 – present Board member working group guideline implementation, ESHRE, Central Office, Grimbergen, Belgium
2013 – present Chairperson Scientific Committee Dept. Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
2013 – 2015 Deputy Special Interest Group Safety and Quality, European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), Central Office, Grimbergen, Belgium
2009 – 2014 Coordinator clinical guideline program ESHRE, Central Office, Grimbergen, Belgium
2004 – 2015 Senior Scientist, Dept. Reproductive Medicine, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
2002 – 2004 Post-doc, Scientific Institute of Quality of Healthcare, Radboudumc Nijmegen, the Netherlands
2000 – 2001 Gynaecology training. Depts. Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, ’s-Hertogenbosch en Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
1994 – 1999 PhD student, Dept. Obstetrics and Gynaecology Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands (thesis: Risk factors for recurrent early pregnancy loss. Hyperhomocysteinaemia, thrombophilia and impaired detoxification)
1994 Graduation Study Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands
1987 VWO-Exam, Mencia de Mendoza Lyceum, Breda, the Netherlands
PERSONAL AWARDS
Encouragement award 1994: Medical Faculty, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands (thesis: Umbilical artery pH < 7,00. A predictor for neonatal morbidity?) Young Scientist's Award 1997: XV FIGO world congress (Copenhagen) presentation: A genetic risk factor for habitual abortion SNS award 2001: Thesis: Risk factors for recurrent early pregnancy loss. Hyperhomocysteinaemia, thrombophilia and impaired detoxification.

Dr. Jane Norman graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1986. After early clinical and academic training in obstetrics and gynaecology in Edinburgh, under the supervision of Professors David Baird, Andrew Calder and Rodney Kelly, she was awarded the degree of MD by the University of Edinburgh in 1992.
Jane moved to a clinical lecturer post at the University of Glasgow in 1993, focusing on the pathophysiology of parturition. Since 1993, she has conducted translational research aiming to understand factors responsible for the initiation of normal and abnormal parturition. She also leads multicentre clinical trials of therapies to improve the process of parturition for women and their babies.
Jane was awarded a Personal Professorship at the University of Glasgow in 2006, and the Regius Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow in 2007. She moved to Edinburgh to the Chair of Maternal and Fetal Health and Directorship of the Edinburgh Tommy’s Centre for Maternal and Fetal Health Research in 2008. In 2014, she also became Vice Principal, Equality and Diversity (now Vice Principal, People and Culture) at the University of Edinburgh.
Jane maintains an active clinical practice as a Consultant Obstetrician at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Franco Orsi
Work Experience
1994–1998 Senior Assistant – Director – Division of Diagnostic Radiology European Institute of Oncolog, Milan (Italy) Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
1998–2002 Senior Deputy Director – Director – Division of Diagnostic Radiology European Institute of Oncology, Milan (Italy) Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
2002–2005 Co- Director – Division of Diagnostic Radiology IRCCS – European Institute of Oncology, Milan (Italy) Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
2005–2014 Director – Unit of Interventional Radiology IRCCS – European Institute of Oncology, Milan (Italy) Interventional Radiology
01/01/2015–Present Chief of the Division of Interventional Radiology IRCCS – European Institute of Oncology, Milan (Italy) Interventional Radiology Clinical management Diagnostic Radiology
Personal Skills
More than 500 national and international meeting attended as invited speaker, moderator and faculty Member
More than 1500 vascular interventions (TACE, TAE, HIAC, SIRT, PHP, UFE); more than 700
percutaneous, laparoscopic and open surgical thermal ablation (liver, lung, kidney, bone, adrenal gland); more than 400 HIFU procedures; around 1200 chest port placement and more than 4000 image guided (US and CT) percutaneous biopsy; hundreds of vascular and non-vascular interventions such as biliary drainage, urologic procedures (nephrostomy, stenting…).
Memberships: CIRSE Fellow; Member ECR and WCIO; Co-founder of IESIR; President of IESIR;
President of ISMINIM

Eva Pajkrt
Education/training
2004 Registered Perinatologist NVOG/KNMG
2002 – 2004 Clinical Fellow in Fetal and Maternal Medicine, University College London Hospital, London
Head of department: Prof. C.H. Rodeck, MD, PhD
2002 Registered Gynaecologist KNMG
1996 – 2002 Resident in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
1994 – 1996 Clinical Research Fellow, Fetal Medicine Unit, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam
Research project: ‘First trimester ultrasound screening for chromosomal anomalies’
Supervisor: Dr. C.M. Bilardo, MD, PhDWork Experience
2014 – Principal Investigator in the AMC
2010 – Head of the Fetal Medicine Unit and Clinical Director of the Outpatient Clinic Obstetrics in the Academic Medical Centre
2010 – Director ‘Stichting Prenatale Screening Amsterdam en Omstreken (SPSAO)’. This foundation is in charge of the regional quality control of prenatal screening performed by contract parties of the Regional Centre: Academic Medical Centre.
2005 – Perinatologist, Academic Medical Centre
Head of department: Prof. J.A.M. van der Post, MD, PhD

Santiago Palacios, MD, PhD,
Santiago Palacios is Director of the Instituto Palacios de Salud y Medicina de la Mujer, (Palacios’ Institute of Women’s Health), in Madrid, Spain, and also, he is President of the Spanish Foundation for Woman and Health (FEMYS).
He is also Past President and Honorary Member of the Spanish Menopause Society (AEEM), Past Chairman of the Council of Affiliated Menopause Societies (CAMS) of the International Menopause Society (IMS), and Past President of the Ibero American Society of Osteology and Mineral Metabolism (SIBOMM).
Education: Dr. Palacios received his MD degree, completed his residency in obstetrics and gynaecology, and earned his PhD degree from Complutense University of Madrid.
Research and special interests: Dr. Palacios is highly experienced as a principal investigator, having participated in more than 50 clinical trials. His most important areas of research are menopause, osteoporosis and female sexual dysfunction.
In 1989, Dr. Palacios founded the first Spanish unit devoted to the advancement of information on menopause at the Jimenez Diaz Foundation.
Publications and congresses: Dr. Palacios has contributed to more than 300 books and journal articles, nationals and internationals, on women’s health. He is editor in chief and member of the Editorial Board of several indexed journals related to menopause and gynaecology.
He is a frequent speaker in national and international congresses and has participated in more than 600 presentations.

Pierluigi Benedetti Panici M.D,
Department of Gynecological and Obstetrics Sciences and Urological Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Umberto I Hospital, Viale del Policlinico, 155, 00155 Rome, Italy.

Occupational field: Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology

Occupation or position held:
• From 2007 – Director of Gynecology and Obstetrics postgraduate school, Gynecology and Obstetrics Department and Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics and coordinator of integrated course of Obstetrics and Gynecology, faculty of Medicine, Umberto I Hospital, University “Sapienza” of Rome
• From 2004: Director of Integrated Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Umberto I Hospital, University Sapienza of Rome
• From 1999 to 2004: Full Professor in Gynecologic and Obstetrics, Free University Campus Bio- Medico, Rome
• 2000: Director of Gynecology and Obstetrics postgraduate school, Free University Campus Bio- Medico, Rome
• 1998: Head of Gynecologic Section, National Institute of Tumours of Rome, Regina Elena Institute
• From 1997 to 1999: Head of Gynecologic Section, Free University Campus Bio- Medico, Rome
• From 1992 to 1999: Associate Professor in Gynecologic Oncolgy, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Catholic University, Rome
• From 1985 to 1986: Assistant Professor at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cagliari

Education and training
• 2007: 2nd Place “Kott Award for Best New Minimally InvasiveTechnique”, 37th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, Washington
• 2005: Histological analysis of endometrioma: what the surgeon needs to know, 1st prize Carlo Romanini Award. American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, AAGL,Chicago
• 2005: Resectoscopic versus bipolar electrode excision of endometrial polyps: A randomized Study, 3rd prize Golden hysteroscope award.
  American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists, AAGL, Chicago
• 2005: “Wertheim Award” for outstanding in Gynecologic Oncology, Austrian Society of Gynecologic Oncology, ASGO Author of more than 370 international publications. (The last 10 years publications) (total impact factor 1419) Coordinator of 54 national and international clinical trial More of 8000 surgical procedures of major gynaecological oncology carried out as primary operator

Prof. Antonio Pellicer
Antonio Pellicer studied Medicine at the University of Valencia and obtained his MD Degree in 1978, he became Doctor in Medicine in 1980 in the same University and did his Residency of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hospital Clínico of Valencia, and he also did his Fellowship in Reproductive Medicine at Yale Univ. School Medicine (USA) and at the University of Mainz (Germany).
Professor Pellicer founded the ‘Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad’ (‘IVI’) in 1990, and his work in the field of fertility has led to the creation of many ‘IVI’ clinics both in Spain and internationally. He is also President of the ‘IVI Foundation’ for the Study of Reproduction and Director of ‘Equipo IVI’.
He is Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology since 1999 and Dean of the University of Valencia School of Medicine, Spain from 2006 until 2012.
He is also Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at ‘La Fe University Hospital’, Valencia, since 2009.
Professor Pellicer is an Executive Committee member of the ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology); and also of the International Federation of Fertility Societies.
He has been President of the Sociedad Española de Fertilidad between 1994-1996. He is currently member of the Comisión Nacional de Reproducción Humana Asistida.
Professor Pellicer has authored over 300 textbook chapters and more than 800 journal articles in national and international journals, and presented over 475 lectures in a congresses. He is Co-Editor in Chief for the journal ‘Fertility and Sterility’ since 2011 and he is member of editorial boards of several scientific societies.
Professor Pellicer have earned it several awards for his contribution to the field of reproductive health, which include the following: he has been seven times awarded the Annual Meeting Prize Paper Award by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, XXV Society for Gynaecological lnvestigation President’s Award in 2002, Rey Jaime I Prize in the category of Clinical Medicine awarded by Foundation Premios Rey Jaime I in Valencia in 2004, Gold Medal Prize of the College of Physicians of Valencia, in Valencia, in 2006, Rotary Flame Award 2007: of Sciences in Valencia in 2008 and Lilly Foundation Biomedical Research Clinic Award 2008, awarded by the Lilly Foundation in Madrid in 2008, and he has recently been named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, in Gandia, Valencia in 2011. Pro Academy Prize 2013 rewards their efforts in science and academic life, awarded by The Round Table Foundation. Valencia, 2013. Innovation Award at the XVII edition of the Enterprising of the Year Award organized by Ernst & Young, Madrid, in 2013. Prize “Jacques Salat-Baroux” by the National Academy of Medicine of France, Paris, France, 2014. IVI is named Honorary Ambassador of the Marca España in the category of Science and Innovation. Madrid, Spain, 2015.

Dr. Tony Perry has studied mammalian genome engineering for two decades. He is an author of the first reports of mouse and pig cloning and his lab recently produced England’s first cloned mouse. His work on the earliest moments of mouse development lead to a method of transgenesis that he predicted over a decade ago could lead to preimplantation genetic surgery as envisioned today by some via genome editing. His lab has since efficiently generated genome-edited mice using a method of sperm injection into eggs (ICSI) that is routine in many human fertility clinics.

Prof. Felice Petraglia is Professor and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Residency Program in Obstetrics and Gynecology and of PhD Program in Molecular Medicine at the University of Siena (Siena, Italy).
EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
He earned his MD degree at the University of Siena in 1980. From 1985-1988 he trained at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, CA). He served the University of Modena as Associate Professor from 1992. In 1997 he was appointed Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Udine (Udine, Italy) and moved to his present position in Siena in 2000. Since 2004 he is an Adjunct Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada).
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
He is Fellow ad Eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG), Correspondent Member of the Pontificial Academy for Life (PAL). He was President of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation (SGI) and member in the Membership Committee of the Endocrine Society, member of the Executive Board of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), member of the Scientific Committee of the European Association of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, of the Council of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (EBCOG), Deputy of the ESHRE Special Interest Group on Reproductive Endocrinology (2003-2007), expert in Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Italian Drug Agency (AIFA) and in the group of expert of the Ministry of University, President of the Italian Society of the Reproduction (SIdR).

Paul Piette, PharmD
An experienced Pharmacist Post-Graduate in Clinical and Endocrinological Chemistry now specializing in men’s and women’s health pharmaceuticals development, care and counselling. Extensive knowledge relative to men’s and women’s healthcare pharmaceutical environment. In addition, I have considerable expertise in KOLs management, training, educational program development and marketing. I published some review and have written on the subject of menopause and late onset of hypogonadism in men. I have excellent communication and cross-cultural skills, speaking French but also Flemish and English fluently.
EDUCATION
High School – Athénée Robert Catteau (Brussels, Belgium)
University – Graduate in Pharmacy, 1975 with Great Distinction
Graduate School – Free University of Brussels (U.L.B.)
Post-Graduate Training – Post-Graduate in Clinical Chemistry, Bacteriology and Haematology, 1979 with Great Distinction
Graduate School – Free University of Brussels (U.L.B)
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
• Member of Global Operations Team, Besins Healthcare Corporate (since 2015)
• Expert and speaker at PRISM School (Post-Graduate International of Men’s Health School) – Bruges – Belgium (since 2013).
• Expert and speaker at PREIS School (Permanent International and European School in Perinatal, Neonatal and Reproductive Medicine) PREIS School – Florence – Italy (since 2012).
• Senior Research Fellow of Besins Healthcare R&D (December 2007)
• Scientific & Medical Affairs Director of Besins Healthcare Corporate (2006) and Medical Director of Besins Healthcare, Region Benelux (2001)
• Medico-Marketing Director of Besins International Healthcare, Head of Regulatory Corporate Affairs (from 2003 to 2006)
• Associated Pharmacist responsible for QA in Besins International Belgium (1997-2001)
• Effective Member of National Committee of Clinical Biology (1996–2000)
• Master of training Courses at the Free University of Brussels for Clinical Chemistry and Endocrinology since 1991
• Consultant at Clinique Antoine Depage – Brussels – Belgium (from 2001)
• Director and CEO of Laboratoire d’Analyses Médicales (Labopiette S.P.R.L.), Chief of Blood Analysis Department and Laboratories of Clinique Antoine Depage from 1982 to 2001
• Director and CEO of Laboratoire d’Analyses Médicales Piette & Stallenberg SPRL from 1978 to 1982
• Associated Industrial Pharmacist of Laboratoires Piette Internatonal s.a. (Manufacturing plant), agreed by Belgian Ministry of Public Health, since 1982 (AFMPS Agr.number 902)
• Consultant of Sopropharm s.a.(Edition and Medical Promotion Company), from 1985 to 2001
• Board of Directors & Medical Director of Besins International Belgium s.a., before Laboratoires Piette International s.a. (1977-2001)

Prof. Sjoerd Repping is currently the director of the center for reproductive medicine at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam. He obtained his Master Degree in medical biology in Amsterdam in 1998 and obtained his PhD in Medicine and Genetics in 2003 in Amsterdam and at the Whitehead Institute in Boston working on genetic causes of spermatogenic failure. He became a certified clinical embryologist in 2001 and was lab director from 2005 until 2013. In 2013 he became director of the center. Furthermore he is chair of the Dutch society of clinical embryology, director of the Amsterdam Research Institute on Reproduction and Development and member of various national and international committees. He has published over 150 papers including papers in NEJM, Nature Genetics and Cell and has supervised over 20 PhD students.

Laura Rienzi is Senior Clinical Embryologist, Laboratory Director at the GENERA Centres for Reproductive Medicine.
She obtained her biological degree magna cum laude at the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ in 1993. Research Fellow at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Hôpital Necker in Paris, France in 1994 and Laboratory Director at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine of the European Hospital in Rome, Italy from 1996-2007. She also obtained a II Level Master in “Reproductive Medicine” at the University of Padova. From 2000-2004 she has been adjunct Professor of Clinical Embryology, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Perugia. President of the Italian Society of Embryology Reproduction end Research elected in 2014.
In 2008 she has founded together with Dr. Filippo Maria Ubaldi the GENERA Centres for Reproductive Medicine where she is the Laboratory Director of 4 different centres in Italy (Rome, Marostica, Umbertide, Naples).
Her current areas of interest include in vitro fertilization, ICSI, studies of human gametes, zygote and embryo morphology in relation to their developmental ability, and chromosomal constitution (PGD, PGS), as well as the cryopreservation of sperm, oocytes and embryos.
To date, she is Author and co-Author of 121 papers (94 original research papers and reviews and 27 book-chapters).
She is internationally recognized for her expertise in human clinical embryology and research as evidenced by invitations to speak at national and international scientific meetings (207).
She is involved in different Academic Activities. She has supervised 7 B.Sc students and 1 PhD student to successful completion. She is currently involved in Tutoring and Teaching activities for different Italian University.
She has also covered different Editorial posts (Associate Editor of Human Reproduction, Reproductive Biomedicine online, Fertility and Sterility, and Focus on Reproduction) and today Associate Editor of Human Reproduction Update. She is member of the scientific board of GFMER Global Consultation on WHO Infertility Guidelines: Addressing evidence-based guidance on infertility diagnosis, management and treatment”.

Prof Jan-Paul WR Roovers graduated at the university of Utrecht, the Netherlands in 1996. In that year he worked 8 months as house-officer in Ghana, and after his return he started his PhD. He evaluated the effects of hysterectomy and prolapse surgery on pelvic floor function, which resulted in a PhD thesis in 2001. He performed his residency in Tilburg and the UMC Utrecht and did a fellowship in uro-gynaecology in 2006 at the University hospital of Leuven, Belgium. In 2008 he became a board-certified urogynaecologist.
Since 2006, Prof Roovers has been responsible for uro-gynaecology in the AMC Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Since 2008 he is medical director of 2 clinics (“Bergman Clinics|Women health”) which collaborate with both of the university hospitals in Amsterdam (AMC and VUmc). Since 2011 he is one of the Principal Investigators of the AMC Amsterdam, since 2012 he is chair of the department of gynaecology in the AMC Amsterdam, and since 2014 he is a professor in gynaecology. Evaluation of innovative surgical procedures is one of his research topics and he has performed surgery in more than 25 countries worldwide.
Prof Roovers has (co-)authored more than 120 original research papers in gynaecology, especially uro-gynaecology, he has written several book chapters, and supervised over 20 PhD fellows. He is editor of the IUGA journal and associate editor of Gynaecological and Obstetrical Investigation. He is chair of the dutch uro-gynaecology complication registry, vice-president of the dutch society of pelvic floor, and chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Uro-gynaecology Association.

Talli Y. Rosenbaum, BS, MSc.
Associate Editor, Journal of Sexual Medicine; AASECT Certified Sex Therapist; Certified member of Israel Sex Therapy Association; Full member, International Association for Sex Research; Member, International Society for Sexual Medicine; Member, European Society of Sexual Medicine; Fellow, International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health
Professional Employment
Lecturer: Bar-Ilan University Sex Therapy Program; Puah Institute; Israeli Institute for Family and Marital Studies (YNR); Tel Aviv University School of Medicine “Sex and Sexuality” course
Owner, Private practice: Sexual, and Marital and Individual Counseling Jerusalem and Bet Shemesh
Professional Affiliations
International Association for Sex Research; International Society for the Study of Vulvar Disease; Israeli Society for Sexual Medicine; International Society of Sexual Medicine; Israel Sex Therapy Association: affiliate member; International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health; American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists; Israel Physical Therapy Association; IPTA Women’s Health Interest Group; Female Interdisciplinary Intimacy Forum; Nefesh: The International Network of Orthodox Health Professionals.
Professional Appointments
Local Organizing Chair: 2012 Conference of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, Jerusalem, Israel
International Regional Membership Chair: AASECT (American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors and Therapists)
Certifications committee chair: AASECT (American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors and Therapists)
International outreach committee chair: AASECT (American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors and Therapists)

Evelien Roos MD, received her medical degree from the University of Utrecht in 2000. She completed her general O&G training in 2008 at the same university. Since 2010 she is a consultant obstetrics and gynecology with special fields of interest in urogynecology and pediatric & adolescent gynecology in Tergooi, Hilversum, the Netherlands.
In 2014 she completed the international fellowship in pediatric & adolescent gynecology (IFEPAG) in London. While continuing her medical practice in Hilversum Evelien is currently studying for a Master of Science in epidemiology with specialization clinical epidemiology at the University of Utrecht. This is part of her PhD project in progress addressing female posterior compartment disorders.
Special interest: benign gynecology, urogynecology, pediatric & adolescent gynecology, clinical epidemiology, global health.
Membership:
-2011-2013 Chairman of the committee “gynecologist and society” of the Dutch society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NVOG).
-2013 to present board member of NedPAG (Dutch society of pediatric & adolescent gynecology)
-2016 to present board member of FIGIJ (Federation Internationale de Gynecologie Infantile et Juvenile)

Yuliya V. Savochkina MD PhD
Associate professor of Belorussian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education,
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Chief Republic of Belarus,
Consultant Gynaecologist of Clinic “Mother and child”. My specialty is Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, Menopause, PMS, Contraception and Gynaecological Endocrinology.
I am a member of Belorussian Society of Medicine (O & G Division) and
National Society of Obstetrics and Gynecologist.

Dr. Lydia Marie-Scemama
Professional:
1978: Medical Doctor
1982: Gynaecology and Obstetrics
Private Practice in Gynaecology – office located in Boulogne Billancourt, France
Medical Journalist:
Co-founder / regular contributor to the medical journal “Le Quotidien du Médecin”
President: The French Gyncologists Trade Union (Syndicat des Gynécologues Libéraux)
Vice-President: The French Menopause Studies Association (Association Française d’Etudes sur la Ménopause – AFEM)
Exceptional Awards: French Legion of Honour
2013: knighted with the French Legion of Honour “Legion d’honneur” – highest award to a French citizen for exceptional services to the community.
Languages
French and Italian: Bilingual (Italian: mother tongue)
English: advanced level / Arabic: intermediate level.

Lone Schmidt is Associate Professor, MD, DMSci, PhD at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. She has in 2000 established the Copenhagen Multi-centre Psychosocial Infertility (COMPI) Research Programme; an international, cross-disciplinary programme on infertility and assisted reproduction. Her research focuses on reproductive epidemiology, psychosocial consequences of infertility and assisted reproduction, family formation, and prevention of infertility. She has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters within this field. H-index: 36; citations 3,798. She is teaching pre- and postgraduate medical and public health students in reproductive health with a focus on infertility and family formation. She is member of the WHO Steering Committee for Guidelines and Nomenclature for infertility investigation and treatment; member of ReproUnion, Denmark and Sweden; member of the Working Group on Prevention of Infertility, The Council on Health and Disease Prevention, Denmark; and member of the Fertility Awareness Working Group, Danish Fertility Society.

Michael Schumacher
Born in 1958, Michael Schumacher conducted his doctoral research under the supervision of Pr. J. Balthazart and received in 1985 his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Liège (Belgium). After postdoctoral trainings in the laboratories of Pr. J.B. Hutchison at the University of Cambridge (U.K.) and Pr. B.S. McEwen at the Rockefeller University (New York), he became in 1991 Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Paris-Sud. In 1993, he has been appointed Director of Research of Inserm, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, and he pursued his research on neurosteroids in the laboratory of Pr. E.E. Baulieu. Since 1998, he is heading a research unit of Inserm and University Paris-Sud. In 2009, he also became the Dean of the Doctoral School “Signaling and Integrated Networks in Biology” (University Paris-Saclay).
Our research unit “Neuroprotective, neuroregenerative and remyelinating small molecules” (U1195 Inserm and University Paris-Sud) is located in one of the suburbs of Paris. As indicated by its name, the research of our laboratory is focused on the effects of steroids and other small molecules on the nervous system, with particular emphasis on their role in neuroprotection and in the regeneration of axons and myelin. The concept of “neurosteroids” has been introduced in our laboratory by E.E. Baulieu in the eighties, and we first demonstrated a key role of progesterone in the formation of myelin sheaths, which insulate and protect nerve fibers (Science 268, 1500-1503).
Major recent collaborative achievements are the demonstration of a key role of brain progesterone synthesis and progesterone receptors in endogenous neuroprotective responses, the observation of a central role of the CNS androgen receptor in the regeneration and sexual differentiation of myelin and the promotion of peripheral nerve regeneration by combining new microsurgical procedures with pharmacological treatments, in particular with neuroactive steroids and ligands of the translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO).
Michael Schumacher has co-authored 217 articles published in international journals.
Sum of the times cited 9,186, h-index: 56 (by January 2016).
In 2014, he has launched with Dr. Jesus Bénavides, the former Director of the Department of Neurological Diseases at SANOFI, in collaboration with senior researchers of pharmaceutical companies, physicians and academic researchers a degree of University Paris-Sud entitled “Translational Research and Therapeutic Innovation for Diseases of the Nervous System”. The course offers graduate students, clinicians and collaborators of pharmaceutical companies the necessary tools for a successful communication between experimental and clinical research.

Marta Shahbazi is an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow at the laboratory of Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz (University of Cambridge). Marta did her PhD at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) under the supervision of Mirna Perez-Moreno, working on the basic mechanisms that preserve the shape and function of epidermal stem cells. For her post-doctoral training she is applying her knowledge on basic cell biology to study the development of mammalian embryos. Her current research focuses on the transcriptional and architectural changes that take place in the embryonic compartment of mouse and human embryos at the time of implantation. She has recently worked in the establishment of a system to culture of human embryos up to day 13 in vitro.

Medical Director and Founder of VCRM, Dr Sharara is a board certified Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility specialist with extensive experience in all aspects of infertility, especially assisted reproductive technologies. Dr Sharara is a Clinical Professor at George Washington University and has more than 70 scientific publications and book chapters, and is the editor for “Ethnic Differences in Fertility and Assisted Reproduction” book published in 2013. He is the recipient of multiple academic, clinical, and scientific awards. Dr Sharara has given more than 250 invited lectures on all topics of infertility, and is a reviewer for multiple journals. Dr Sharara has been voted as one of the top doctors by multiple local and national magazines. He recently published an App entitled “The Infertility Diet” to help infertile couples optimize their dietary requirements.

Andrew Shennan is Professor of Obstetrics at King’s College London, based at St. Thomas’ Hospital. He leads clinical research at the Women’s Health Academic Centre, and is Clinical Director South London Clinical Research Network.
He specialises in clinical trials in antenatal and intrapartum care. His research interests include interventions to predict and prevent preterm birth, pre-eclampsia, obstetric anaesthesia, global health and the use of blood pressure monitoring. His current research funding as applicant/co applicant is >£15m, in 15 grants. He has published more than 50 articles in the last 24 months and over 300 peer reviewed research reports in total.
Background information
He has an active clinical role in managing high risk obstetric patients, including a regular hands-on labour ward commitment, and a specialist preterm birth surveillance clinical (award winning 2013/2015/2016 innovations prize) that accepts national and international referrals.
He was made an honorary member of the Obstetric Anaesthetic Association (OAA) in 2010. He chaired the Department of Health Committee on Blood Pressure Monitoring in clinical practice, and has sat on the relevant committees for the International Standardization Organization (ISO), British Standards Institute (BSI) and the British Hypertension Society (BHS). He also advises the World Health Organisation (WHO) on perinatal research, and was a member of the Low Resource Use Blood Pressure device committee for the WHO. He is an expert advisor to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) Hypertension in Pregnancy CDG, the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and advises the EU Commission. He was clinical director of the Maternity Workstream for NHS London 2008-2010, establishing a number of committees to determine long term strategy for Healthcare for London. He was the National chair of the reproductive health and childbirth specialty group 2010 to 2015, when it became the leading specialty in recruitment numbers nationally.
His charity work also includes being chair of Action on pre-eclampsia (APEC), and advises Tommys the Baby Charity and Action Medical Research. He is a director of the International charity, Maternity Worldwide.

Prof. Manuela Simoni
Specialized in Endocrinology and Metabolism “Privatdozent” (approved lecturer) in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)
University Professor of Endocrinology and Molecular Biology of Reproduction, University of Munster (Germany)
Current position:
• Full Professor of Endocrinology, Deputy Director, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia (Italy)
• Director of the Unit of Endocrinology, Azienda USL of Modena (Italy)
• Director of the School of Specialization in Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia (Italy)
• Director of the Center for Genomic Research, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia (Italy) General Born in Carpi (Italy) on July 4, 1956

Sven Skouby,
Professor in Gynecological Endocrinology, University of Copenhagen and at the University of Southern Denmark
Director of the Endocrinological and Reproductive Unit
Dep. Ob/Gyn. Herlev Hospital, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.
Postdoctoral residency in Diabetology, Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine.
Founding member of the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Haealth (ESC) in 1988
President 2000-2004
President of the Scandinavian Menopause Society 1990-2002
President of the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS).1994-2000
Board member of the International Menopause Society (IMS). 2004-2010
During the last 20 years organizer and chairman for a number of national and international congresses, workshops and consensus meetings on reproductive health care in general and sex steroid and metabolism in particular. President of the First Global Congress of the ESC. Former member of the European Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP) expert advice group on Health Concerns in Relation to Sex Steroids.
Member of FIGO Expert Advisory Panel on Contraception and Menopause. Former Chairman of the gynecological guidelines Committee of the Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Coordinating Professor at the Institute Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Mediacal Science, University of Copenhagen
Official examiner or supervisor for more than 30 Ph. d theses and from numerous bachelor projects
On a continuous basis reviewer on a series of European and International Journals
Special research interests:
Gynecological endocrinology and reproductive medicine. Especially translational medicine in relation to the molecular impact of sex steroids on metabolism and vascular function based upon clinical and experimental studies. Appr. 150 articles in peer reviewed journals and more than 575 lectures during international scientific meetings.

Dr. Peter Snijders gained his degree in biology in 1987 from the Catholic University in Nijmegen. He holds a doctoral degree (cum laude) in Medicine from VU University in Amsterdam. From 1993 to 1997 he was post-doctoral senior fellow of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Currently, he is Clinical Scientist in Molecular Pathology in the department of Pathology at the VU University medical center, Amsterdam. Since 1988, he has focused on studying HPV-mediated carcinogenesis and development of biomarker tests for HPV-induced precancers and cancers. He has published over 350 papers and (co)developed HPV and methylation markers test that are nowadays increasingly applied.

Eric A.P. Steegers, MD, PhD
Professor of Obstetrics and Prenatale Medicine. Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
My current research interests relate to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease paradigm involving the complex pathophysiology of cardiovascular and placental related adverse first trimester outcomes and the consequences for fetal and maternal health as well as disease in later life. This work is largely embedded in the Generation R study, a population-based prospective cohort study among 10,000 pregnant women and their children and the Rotterdam Predict Study, an ongoing hospital based periconception cohort study, including embryonic and placental growth trajectories (3D-US and virtual reality) and tissue-specific epigenetic studies. I am one of the PIs of both cohorts. New knowledge from translational research in these areas is being disseminated and translated in evidence-based local and national transmural preconception and early pregnancy programs for improved risk selection and general and personalized interventions with a special emphasis on high risk and socially deprived reproductive target groups, in close collaboration with related fields like Public Health. My mission is to contribute to the primary and secondary prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes and disease in later life in current and next generations.
D.O.B 13-01-1961. Author/co-author (PubMed) of 610 publications (Hirsch index 47). Completed the supervision of 47 PhD theses, while another 20 are ongoing. Listed as most cited author in the field of Reproductive Biomedicine 2007 – 2013 (Lab Times 2015; 4: 32-34.

Diana W. Stein
EDUCATION AND ACADEMIC DEGREES
1980 B.A. Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1983 M.Sc. Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
EMPLOYMENT
2002-present Laboratory Manager, IVF Unit, Laniado Hospital, Netanya, Israel.
2011-2011 Consultant, IVF Unit, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
Responsibilities included weekly on-site visits to evaluate, troubleshoot and make recommendations for bringing the unit back up to code.
1999-2002 Off-site Laboratory Manager, IVF Unit, Laniado Hospital, Netanya, Israel
Co-joint venture between Rambam Medical Center, Haifa and Laniado Hospital, Netanya to manage and operate the IVF Laboratory.
1998-1999 Consultant, IVF Unit, Laniado Hospital, Netanya, Israel
Responsibilities included all aspects of planning and development of the IVF Unit.
Including design and layout of the IVF Unit space, recommendation of all laboratory equipment, establishment of laboratory protocols acceptable and in accord to religious law (Halakha) and preparation of unit for operating approval from Ministry of Health.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Competent in all modern IVF Laboratory skills including ICSI, AH, Vitrification and Time-lapse annotation (Miri-TL and Embryoscope).

Jerome F. Strauss, III, M.D., Ph.D is the Dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs of the VCU Health System. His research interests are in the field of reproductive medicine focusing on the genetics of disorders affecting fertility and pregnancy outcome. He has authored over 300 original scientific articles, and holds 12 issued U.S. patents for discoveries in diagnostics and therapeutics. Dr. Strauss’s honors include election to AOA (1971); the University of Pennsylvania’s Berwick Award for Teaching (1983); the Medical Student Government Award for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania (1983); the President’s Achievement Award (1990), the Distinguished Scientist Award (2006) and Frederick Naftolin Award for Mentorship (2016) from the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, of which he is past President (2004); the Society for the Study of Reproduction Research Award (1992); election to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences (1994); the Transatlantic Medal of the British Endocrine Society (1994); the Beacon (2001), Pioneer (2004) and National Research Distinguished Service Awards (2007) for contributions to the reproductive sciences; the 2005 Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the highest honor that the School of Medicine bestows upon an alumnus; Chuenkong Scholar from the China Ministry of Education (2006); the Rector’s Medal from the University of Chile (2009) for contributions to research and research training; and honorary professor at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China (2013). Dr. Strauss served on the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Advisory Council as Chair of its Executive Committee. He is currently Chair of the Institute’s Board of Scientific Counselors.

Prof. Basil Tarlatzis
Professor of Obstetrics – Gynecology & Reproductive Medicine
Professor and Chairman 1st Dept of Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Vice President of the Council of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Past Dean, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Past Deputy Chairman of the National Authority of Medically Assisted Reproduction
Past Chairman of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)
Past President of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS)
Visiting Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Dutch-speaking Brussels Free University (AZ-VUB)
International Award in Gynecology (Premio Internazionale per la Ginecologia) “Arnaldo Bruno”, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy.
“ASRM Service Award” American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)
“Fellow ad Eundem” Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (RCOG)
Editorial Board Member of 14 International and 7 National Scientific Journals
Editor / Co-Editor in 5 Scientific Books
Member of 18 International and 24 National Scientific Societies
296 Publications in International peer-reviewed Scientific Journals
and 80 in National Journals

Dr. Andrea Tinelli completed his medical degree magna “cum laude” in 1996, at School of Medicine “Federico II” of Naples, Italy, and specialized in Obsteric & Gynecology cum laude in 2000 at University of Trieste, Italy. After gaining her specialization, he carried out surgical fellowship in endoscopy and surgical oncology in: Ginekoloska Klinica, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), in Abteilung für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, LandesKrankenHouse, Villach (Austria) and in European Institute of Oncology, Milan (Italy), and in National Oncological Institute of Aviano (Italy). He is permanent Board Member of Committee in Experimental Oncological and Pathological Medical Researches, at University of Salento, Italy. Dr Tinelli collaborates with foreign Hospitals and University as the following Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Moscow State University of Medicine & Dentistry, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia; Moscow Institute of Physics & Technology, Russia; University Hospitals Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Germany; The New European Surgical Academy, Berlin, Germany; University of Ioannina, Grece; The Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens, NY, USA; LandesKrankenHouse (LKH), Villach, Austria; Wilhelminen Hospital, University of Vienna, Austria; Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; ErasmusMC University, Rotterdam, Netherlands; SESVER, Veracruz, México; Columbia University and St Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals, NY, USA. Dr. Tinelli is author and co-author of 5 Books, more than 350 papers, on peer-reviewed medical journals and 30 textbook chapters; he is active member of national and international scientific and professional associations and is Editorial Board Member of Scientific Journals. Dr. Tinelli’s has an h-Index of 17 and his clinical specialties include: minimally invasive surgery and gynaecological endoscopy, gynecological surgical oncology, molecular biology in gynecology, endometriosis and pelvic floor repair. Dr. Tinelli currently works in University affiliated Hospital, the “Vito Fazzi” Hospital, Lecce, Italy, as Chief of Division of Experimental Researches on Endoscopic Surgery, Imaging, Minimally Invasive Technology and Therapy in ObGyn Department. From January 2014, he has National Authorization as Associate Professor in Obstetric and Gynecology, and he is Adjunct Professor at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Moscow, Russia, in the International Translational Medicine & Biomodeling Research Team. He’s a PhD in Morphological Molecular Sciences, at Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.

Dr. Gabriele Tridenti
Born in 1956, after attending classical high school in 1983 GT graduated with full notes as a Medical Doctor at the University of Parma, then he specialized in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O & G) and in Clinical Pathology of Human Reproduction at the same university, then in Experimental Endocrinology at the University of Milan.
In 1991 he attended the yearly postgraduate course on “Diagnostic Ultrasonography in O & G” at the University of Bologna.
He attained the “International Fellowship in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (IFEPAG)” – Part 1 (in 2000) and Part 2 (in 2002), organized by the International Federation of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology – FIGIJ.
He numbers 114 scientific publications, mostly in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (PAG).
He speaks Italian, English and French.
He worked as Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Montecito Emilia, Correggio and Guastalla Hospitals and at the Family Planning Outpatient Departments of Langhirano and Parma.
Since March 2002 to date GT has worked at the Dept. of O & G of Santa Maria Nuova Hospital, in Reggio Emilia, mostly involved in PAG, O & G Ultrasonography and invasive prenatal diagnosis.
In autumn 2002 he was awarded the High Specialization in Obstetrics.
During the academic years 1990/91 and 1991/92 he was professor of O & G at the Nursing School of Reggio Emilia.
From academic year 1992/93 to 2009/2010 GT was Temporary Assistant Professor at the Specialization School in Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases of the University of Parma.
Since November 2010 he has been the President of the Italian Society of PAG – SIGIA and since May 2011 he has been Vice President of the European Association of PAG – EURAPAG.
Since 2013 he has been a member of the Executive Board of the International Federation of Infantile and Juvenile Gynecology – FIGIJ, firstly with the office of Treasurer and since June 2016 as a Vice President.
Reggio Emilia, August 23rd, 2016

Prof. Gürkan Uncu
Gurkan was born in 1963, Bafra. He completed his Ob&Gyn residency in 1991. His worked at the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Facolta di Medicina “Agostino Gemelli” Isituto di Clinica Ostetrcis e Ginecologica (1991 – 1992) and Div. of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Dept. of obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Illinois at Chicago (1995 – 1996) as a fellow. He was appointed as a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2003. He is currently the director of Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecolog in Unuldag University, Bursa, Turkey. Gurkan is the president of the Turkish Society of Reproductive Medicine, and serves on the boards of ISGE and Turkish Society of Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. He is the Turkish Representative at ESHRE.

Working experience
• March 1986 – August 1986 resident obstetrics/gynaecology at the Andreas Ziekenhuis te Amsterdam.
• January 1987 – March 1990 resident Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden.
• April 1990 – 1996 obstetrics/gynaecology specialty Groningen University
• April 1996 – September 1996 gynaecologist Medical Center Leeuwarden.
• October 1996 member of staff gynaecology University Medical Center Utrecht
• March 2010 -2103 head of the department gynaecology and reproductive medicine of the division women and baby UMCU.
• 2012 Professor in urogynaecology at the University Utrecht
Other professional activities
• 2004 – 2010 Chairman of the “Dutch working party on pelvic floor and incontinence” of the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. As chairman, the fourth official subspeciality “Urogynaecology” was devel-oped and recognized by the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecolo-gy in November 2009.
• March 2002 – medical director Bergman Clinics female health (private en-terprise)
• Member of the board of the Dutch urogynaecology research consortium
• Chairman of the national multidisciplinary guideline on female urinary in-continence.
• Member of the scientific committee of the International Urogynaecologi-cal Association

Prof. Gommert Abraham van Koeveringe obtained his medical degree in 1991, the PhD degree with the thesis entitled: “Dynamics of smooth muscle contraction” in 1997 and the urologist’s degree in 1999 at the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam. From 2000 on he is staff-urologist, with a special assignment in functional, reconstructive and neuro-urology. For a duration of 5 years he was medical director of the pelvic care center in Maastricht.
From July 2015 on he is chairman and from February 2016 Professor and chairman of the department of Urology at Maastricht University medical center (MUMC+). He is conducting and coordinating basic, translational and clinical urological research within the research school for neuroscience (MHeNS/EURON), on neurology, bladder and lower urinary tract control mechanisms at Maastricht University. He participated in several European research projects and obtained multiple national and international research grants. He participates in several MUMC+ multidisciplinary teams such as the pelvic care center, the neuro-intervention center and the neuromodulation taskforce. He is a member of the scientific committee and member of the functional and reconstructive urology working group of the Dutch urological association. He participates in several clinical and preclinical studies in the field of Functional and Neuro-urology, and has authored several book chapters and over 110 international publications in this field.

Dr. Rik HW van LunsenIs a specialist in bio-psycho-social sexology, sexual health researcher and educationalist, with a background in ob/gyn, psychiatry, psychotherapy and urology. Since 1987 he is Head of the Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam. Dr van Lunsen has won a number of scientific honours and awards and published many international articles and book chapters in the field of sexual health and sexology/sexual medicine.
In the Netherlands he is a regular guest in television programs, newspapers and other media and well known for his emphasis on sexual pleasure as the only sensible motive for sexual activity.

Marieke Verhoeven is trained as gyneacologist at the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam. Since she finished her training in 2012, she held a few temporary clinical posts across the Netherlands before joining as gyneacologist the academic fertility department in the VUmc in 2015. Her academic focus is endocrinology and fertility treatments. Earlier, she obtained a PhD on research on relation between menopause and cardiovascular diseases in project group “Ageing Women” led by professor Kenemans and dr Van der Mooren, with the thesis entitled: “Menopause, therapies and ADMA”. She is married with two daughters

Dr. Rita Vassena received a DVM and PhD from the University of Milan, Italy, with studies involving the evaluation of oocyte developmental competence in large animal models. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Philadelphia, where she focused her work on the early events of chromatin remodeling after somatic cell nuclear transfer. From 2007 to 2011 she has been working at the Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona – Spanish National Stem Cell Bank, where she focused her research efforts on the developmental competence of human embryos, as well as studying pluripotency in embryonic and induced stem cells. Since 2011 she is the Scientific Director of Clinica EUGIN, a European reference center for the treatment of infertility, where she coordinates research in the area of human IVF, and directs the basic research laboratory of the center. Dr.Vassena has co-authored more than 30 research papers in several high ranking journals and is a frequent speaker at international meetings. She currently serves in the Executive Committee of ESHRE.

Prof. Gerard H.A.Visser
Emeritus professor Obstetrics, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Former chairman department Obstetrics, Gynecology and Neonatology. Former member of the board of the University Medical Center and vice-dean. Board member of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine( immediate past-president). Member executive board of EBCOG. Honorary Fellow of the Flemish, South African and Royal ( British) colleges of O&G. Research interests: fetal ( neurological) development, fetal monitoring, IUGR, diabetes and pregnancy. Around 400 PubMed articles, supervisor of 66 completed PhDs, Hirsch Index 47 ( ISI Web of Knowledge), or 61 (Google Scholar).

Prof. Barbara Wirleitner obtained her degree in Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck. She completed her Ph.D. thesis in Immunology and Biochemistry on signal transduction pathways and apoptosis regulation in human lymphocytes. Since 2008 she is working as clinical embryologist at the IVF Centers Prof. Zech in Bregenz, Austria, where she became scientific advisor in 2012. Her main research interests include early embryo development, cryopreservation of gametes and embryos, and clinical statistics. Dr. Wirleitner has co-authored more than 80 research papers in several high-ranking journals and has presented her work on numerous international meetings. Barbara Wirleitner is member of the Embryologists Forum Austria (EFA) and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

Dr. Mark Yudin is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and an Active Staff Physician in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Michael’s Hospital. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and his medical degree from the University of Toronto. He completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Toronto. He then completed a two-year combined clinical and research fellowship in Reproductive Infectious Diseases at Magee-Womens Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA. He also received a Masters Degree in Clinical Research from the Graduate School of Public Health and the University of Pittsburgh. He started on active staff at St. Michael’s Hospital in 2003, and his clinical and research interests include general obstetrics and gynecology, colposcopy, and infectious diseases in women. He co-founded the Positive Pregnancy Program, a comprehensive and multidisciplinary program for the care of HIV-positive pregnant women, in 2006. He is the current chair of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC), and Director of Clinical Research at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Toronto. He has lectured and published in the area of infectious diseases in women.

Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
Professor of Mammalian Development and Stem Cell Biology
University of Cambridge, UK

I study the early development of the mammalian embryo, both mouse and human, at pre-, peri- and early post-implantation stages. My current aim is to understand the critical cell fate determining processes by which cells transit from totipotency through different states of pluripotency towards the differentiated state in order to build the future body and how these processes are coordinated.
EDUCATION
1982-1988 University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology, Warsaw, Poland
Graduated First Class (summa cum laude)
Master of Science, Developmental Biology

1989-1993 University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Department of Embryology, Supervisor Prof. Andrzej Tarkowski
PhD, Developmental Biology of Mammals

1990-1991 University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Department of Zoology, Supervisor Prof. Chris Graham
PhD SOROS Foundation Fellowship

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
2010 – present Professor of Mammalian Development and Stem Cell Biology
Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

2002 – present Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow
The Gurdon Institute and Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, University of Cambridge

2007-2010 Reader in Developmental Biology, tenure awarded at the University of Cambridge
Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience
University of Cambridge

1997-2003 Senior Research Fellow
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

1997-2002 Lister Institute Senior Research Fellow
The Gurdon Institute and Department of Genetics
University of Cambridge
1995-1997 EMBO Fellow
University of Cambridge, Supervisor Prof. Martin Evans
Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Institute

TEACHING AND MENTORSHIP
My teaching is focused on developmental biology, to undergraduates, medical students and graduate students. I regard this as an opportunity to inspire students to have an interest in developmental biology with the hope that this will entice them to take their interests beyond this. One of the advanced courses I organise is focused upon the research topic of my group to understand the development of pluripotent cells within the embryo and their first differentiation steps. I am also the instructor of a medical student lab class on human reproduction. In addition to formal lecture classes, I give supervisions on courses associated with graduate programmes in which we bring students coming from different backgrounds to a similar knowledge base.