IETS Preconference Symposium

Chairs, Dr. M.B. Wheeler and Dr. B.R. Lindsey

The Life and Travels of the IVF Embryo: From Donor to Recipient
Focus on the Practitioner

Part 1

Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) - Set-up and Equipment

This activity will be a live-streamed or taped segment covering the different ultrasound equipment available along with the probes, needles and tubing set-ups used for OPU. We will have equipment from different manufacturers and several practitioners that use the specific equipment. The equipment and set-up will be demonstrated cow-side at Chessie Creek Farm in South Carolina. The workshop participants will have the opportunity to ask the practitioners questions regarding equipment use and set-up at the workshop room in Savannah, GA. The equipment vendors will have the equipment available.

The emphasis for Part 1 will be with all things on the COW-SIDE, with respect to the aspirator and an assistant performing anything related to donor prep, maintenance of sterile technique and temperature control, the OPU itself, recording relevant info/data; basically everything leading up to the point of handing over the oocyte collection vessel to the searching lab.

Part 2

Recovery and Transport of the Oocyte to the Laboratory

We will have equipment from different manufactures and several practitioners that use the specific equipment. The equipment and set-up will be demonstrated at the Conference Hotel in Savannah GA. The workshop participants will have the opportunity to use and ask the practitioners questions regarding equipment use and set-up at the workshop room in Savannah, GA. The equipment vendors will have the equipment available.

The emphasis for Part 2 will be primarily on the setup in the LAB to prepare the various media (recovery, rinsing, washing, maturation), rinsing the collection tube/filter, searching, grading, packaging, loading incubator, recording info/data and shipping. Also, to emphasize maintenance of sterile technique and temperature control.

Lunch – On your own

Part 3

Decisions for Packaging & Distribution of IVEP embryos to the Practitioner

The different methods to handle IVEP embryos after production will be demonstrated and discussed. The use of field incubators, embryo freezing and various packaging systems will be covered. We will have equipment from different manufactures and several practitioners that use the specific equipment. The equipment and set-up will be demonstrated at the Conference Hotel in Savannah GA. The workshop participants will have the opportunity to use and ask the practitioners questions regarding equipment use and set-up at the workshop room in Savannah, GA. The equipment vendors will have the equipment available.

Part 3 will emphasize the various scenarios that require decisions in the LAB determine WHEN to pull the embryos out to freeze/transfer due to the variety of logistical concerns of physical distance from the lab to recipient, and number of available recipients, Obviously, this brings into account an emphasis on COMMUNICATIONS between the lab personnel, the owner of the embryos, the owner/manager of the recipients, potentially a courier or shipper service AND the practitioner who will transfer the embryos.

Part 4

Disposition of IVEP Embryos in the Field

The different methods to package IVEP embryos after production for shipment to the field practitioner will be demonstrated and discussed. The use of field incubators, transport incubators and various embryo delivery systems will be covered. We will have equipment from different manufactures and several practitioners that use the specific equipment. The equipment and set-up will be demonstrated at the Conference Hotel in Savannah GA. The workshop participants will have the opportunity to use and ask the practitioners questions regarding equipment use and set-up at the workshop room in Savannah, GA. The equipment vendors will have the equipment available.

Part 4 will emphasize the handling of the embryos once received from the lab, all the way through to the transfers. Thus, potentially, unloading embryos out of tubes and into straws. Thus, this part should probably also include discussions of temperature control, organization and coordination of unloading tubes, etc. to ensure optimal throughput, recording info/data, etc. Final Group Discussion

Chair: Dragos Scarlet

08:30-08:45 — Welcome

Session I

08:45-09:30 — Emerging arguments for ARTs in wildlife and their implications for assisted reproduction in the conservation breeding of managed marsupials
Lachlan Howell, Australia

09:30-10:00 — Granulosa cell gene expression and glucose consumption of in vitro matured oocytes of the southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum)
Elena Ruggeri, USA
Production of live calves after transfer of in vitro-produced embryos in synchronized wood bison (Bison athabascae)
Miranda Zwiefelhofer, Canada

10:00-10:30 — Coffee Break

Session II

10:30-11:15 — Recovering a critically endangered frog species using assisted reproductive and genetic technologies
Leah Jacobs, USA

11:15-11:30 — Comparison of various buffalo sera collected during different phases of estrous cycle for in vitro maturation and culturing of Nili-Ravi buffalo oocytes
Muhammad Irfan-ur-Rehman Kahn, Pakistan

11:30-12:15 — Connecting the spots: understanding cheetah biology to improve reproduction
Adrienne Crosier, USA

12:15-12:30 — Follicular fluid extracellular vesicles: endocytosis and influence on domestic cat cumulus cells and oocytes
Jennifer Nagashima, USA

12:30-13:30 — Lunch break (on your own)

Session III

13:30-14:15 — Success rate in a clinical equine in vitro embryo production program
Anthony Claes, Netherlands

14:15-14:45 — CANDES Trainee Travel Awards
Equine embryo size does matter!
Emilie Derisoud, France
Comparison of three permeating cryoprotectant mixtures for equine immature oocyte vitrification
Daniel Angel-Velez, Belgium

14:45-15:15 — Coffee Break

Session IV

15:15-16:00 — Wild theriogenology: understanding reproduction of natural populations in the context of conservation physiology
Karina Acevedo-Whitehouse, Mexico

16:00-16:30 — Temporal ultrastructure changes in staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) sperm: Implications for fertility
Linda Penfold, USA
Evaluation of an antibody-free approach to identifying fecal peptides for pregnancy detection in polar bears
Erin Curry, USA

16:30-16:45 — Final discussion and remarks

48th Annual Conference of the IETS
January 10-13, 2022

Program Co-Chairs: Hilde Aardema and Flavio Vieira Meirelles

Theme: Adaptation of early life to prepare for healthy future

08:00 – 17:00 — IETS Board of Governors meeting

08:00 – 17:00 — IETS Board of Governors meeting

14:00 – 16:00 — HASAC Subcommittee meeting

08:30 – 17:00 — Preconference Symposium – The Life and Travels of the IVF Embryo: From Donor to Recipient

08:30 – 17:00 — CANDES / Morulas Preconference Symposium

13:00 – 17:00 — Exhibitor setup

13:00 – 17:00 — Poster setup

14:00 – 17:00 — IETS Foundation Board of Trustees meeting

07:00 – 08:30 — Poster Setup

07:00 – 08:30 — Past Presidents’ Breakfast

07:00 – 08:30 — Graduate and Undergraduate Student Competition Presenters’ Breakfast, with IETS Foundation Education Chair

09:00 – 19:00 — Commercial Exhibits

08:30 – 09:00 — Opening and Welcome

Session I: The optimal environment for gametes and the proper environment

09:00 – 09:45 — Metabolic exchanges between the oocyte and its environment: focus on lipids
Svetlana Uzbekova, France

9:45 – 10:30 — Physiological parameters related to oocyte nuclear differentiation for the improvement of IVM/IVF outcomes in women and cattle
José Buratini, Brazil

10:30 – 11:00 — Refreshment Break/Poster Viewing and Exhibits

11:00 – 12:30 — IETS Foundation Student Competition Presentations

12:30 -14:00 — Lunch Break

12:30 -14:00 — IETS Board Luncheon with Partner Society

12:30 -14:00 — Morulas and Mentor Lunch

Session II: Maternal conditions affecting future performance in practice

14:00 – 14:45 — Impact of oocyte donor age and breed on in vitro embryo production in cattle, and relationship of dairy and beef embryo recipients on pregnancy and the subsequent performance of offspring: a review
Pietro Baruselli, Brazil

14:45 -15:30 — Female age and parity in horses: how and why does it matter?
Pascale Chavatte-Palmer, France

15:30 – 16:00 — Refreshment Break/Poster Viewing and Exhibits

16:00 – 16:45 — Selected short presentations

16:45 – 17:15 — Distinguished Service Award

17:30 - 18:30 — Welcome Reception

19:00 – 21:00 — Student Mixer

07:00 – 08:00 — Organizational Lunch Meeting of the IETS Foundation

08:00 – 17:00 — Exhibits

Session III: Methods to mimic the in vivo environment in vitro

08:00 – 08:45 — Role of reproductive fluids and extracellular vesicles in embryo-maternal interaction during early pregnancy in cattle
Dimitrios Rizos, Spain

08:45 – 09:30 — Sperm interaction with the uterine innate immune system: toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is a main sensor in cattle
Akio Miyamoto, Japan

09:30 – 10:00 — IETS Business Meeting

10:00 – 12:00 — Poster session I

10:00 – 12:00 — Exhibits

12:00 – 13:30 — Lunch Break

12:00 – 13:30 — IETS Data Retrieval Committee Meeting

12:00 – 13:30 — IETS Exhibitors’ Luncheon with IETS Board of Governors

12:00 – 13:30 — Morulas Career Luncheon

Session IV: Modifications to the epigenome for healthy offspring via the male and female gametes

13:30 – 14:15 — Nurturing the egg: the essential connection between cumulus cells and the oocyte
Claude Robert, Canada

14:15 – 15:00 — Sperm-borne sncRNAs: potential biomarkers of semen fertility?
Eli Sellem, France

15:00 – 15:30 — Peter Farin Trainee Award Winners Presentations

15:30 – 16:00 — Refreshment Break/Poster Viewing and Exhibits

Concurrent Forum

16:00 – 18:00 — Practitioners’ Forum – (continuation of the Preconference)

Part 5

How Does the Practitioner Set-Up Donor Cows for IVEP: Working with the Farm Manager and the Cattle Owner

Various System and Protocols will be discussed by a panel of expert practitioners with participation by the audience. A consensus bullet point list of best practices will be developed by the group.

Part 6

How Does the Practitioner Set-Up Recipient Cattle for IVEP: Working with the Farm Manager and the Cattle Owner

Various System and Protocols will be discussed by a panel of expert practitioners with participation by the audience. A consensus bullet point list of best practices will be developed by the group.

Concurrent Forum

16:00 – 18:00 — DABE

Introduction to the session

Updates on genetically tailored animals as disease models and organ donors for xenotransplantation
Eckhard Wolf, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Exendin Imaging of islet cells in diabetic pigs – TBD

IThera optoacustic device for non-invasive imaging in pigs and rodents
Alexa Hasenbach, European Institute for Molecular Imaging

Genetic modification of stem cells for infrared fluorescent protein expression applicable for optoacustic detection of transplanted cells
Andras Dinnyés, BioTalentum Ltd and Szent Istvan University

Generation of multifunctional nanoparticles for enhanced imaging properties of transplanted cells
Laura Russo, University of Milano-Bicocca

Closing remarks

18:00 – 19:00 — HASAC Open Meeting

18:00 – 19:00 — Morulas Forum

19:00 – 23:00 — Party

07:00 – 08:00 — Organizational Meeting of the IETS Board of Governors

08:30 – 13:00 — Commercial Exhibits

Session V: How to recognize a vital gamete and embryo

08:00 – 08:45 — Current knowledge and the future potential of extracellular vesicles in mammalian reproduction
Dawit Tesfaye, USA

08:45 – 09:30 — Parameters to identify good quality oocytes and embryos in cattle
Christine Wrenzycki, Germany

08:45 – 09:30 — Oral presentations

10:00 – 12:00 — Poster session II

12:00 – 13:30 — Lunch Break

12:00 – 13:30 — 2021, 2022, 2023 IETS Program Committee Lunch

13:30 – 16:00 — Commercial Exhibit and Poster Takedown

13:45 – 14:15 — Pioneer Award

Session VI: George E. Seidel, Jr. Keynote Lecture

14:15 – 15:00 — How the environment affects early embryonic development
Marc-Andre Sirard, Canada

Awards Presentation and Updates

15:00 – 15:30 — IETS Foundation Early Career Achievement Award Winner

15:30 – 16:00 — IETS Foundation Student Competition Awards, CANDES, DABE and HASAC Updates

16:00 – 16:15 — Closing Ceremony