Saturday, January 16, 2027

IETS 2027 LOC Preconference Symposium: From Environment to Fertility—Practical Strategies for Improving Reproductive Success In Vivo and In Vitro

The 2027 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is excited to share that the speaker lineup for the IETS 2027 LOC Preconference Symposium on Saturday, January 16, is now available.

• Towards Non-Invasive Selection of Bovine Embryos Using Media Secretions
  By Alfonso Gutierrez-Adan, PhD (National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology [INIA-CSIC], Spain)
• Non-Surgical Embryo Transfer in Swine: Current Status and IVP Perspectives
  By Maria A. Gil, PhD (University of Murcia, Spain)
• Metabolic, Genomic, and Fitness Impacts of Bovine Embryo Technologies in Calf and Adult Females
  By Enrique Gómez, PhD (Retired, Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario [SERIDA], Centro de Biotecnología Animal, Spain)
• Wagyu (Japanese Black), final title still pending
• By Satoko Matoba, PhD (NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Japan)
• Conservation and Development of Native Endangered Cattle: The Case of the Italian Varzese Breed
  By Alberto M. Luciano, PhD (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy)
• Environmental and Management Factors Determining Pregnancy Rates in Timed-AI and Timed-ET Programs
  By Gabriel A. Bo, Med Vet, MVSc, PhD (Instituto de Reproducción Animal Córdoba [IRAC], Argentina)
• Roundtable Discussion: Future Perspectives of Embryo Technologies in Europe
  Paneled by Daniel Martínez Bello, DVM (EmbrioMarket, Spain); Lais Barbosa Latorraca, PhD (CRV, The Netherlands); Hanna Grothmann, DVM (Synetics Germany GmbH, Germany); Giselle Gamarra, PhD, MSc, Zoot. Eng. (AURIVA-Élevage, France); and Alberto M. Luciano, PhD (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy)

IETS 2027 Equine Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) Preconference Workshop

In addition to the main program, the recently formed Equine ARTs Committee is orchestrating the Equine ARTs Preconference Workshop on Saturday, January 16.

• Optimizing Ovum Pick-Up Selection: Follicular Waves, Cycle Stage, and Age
• Nuclear Transfer in Science and Practice
• Toward More Fillies: Sexing Sperm, Sexing Embryos, Sexing Ultrasound, and Genetic Diversity
• Afternoon workshops
  • Sperm Selection
  • Embryo Vitrification and Direct Warming Workshop
  • Warming of Slow Frozen Embryos Workshop
  • Ovum Pick-Up In Vitro Workshop

Stay tuned for more information!

Sunday, January 17 – Tuesday, January 19, 2027

IETS 2027 Main Program Theme: Embryo Technologies in a Changing Environment—Emerging Challenges and Solutions

Opening Keynote

• Exploring Oocytes: From Fundamental Mechanisms to New Perspectives in Fertility
  By Melina Schuh, PhD (Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Germany)

Session 1: The Evolution of Reproductive Technologies

• Dissecting the Circuits of Mammalian Embryo Development with a Gene Editing Scalpel
  By Pablo Bermejo-Álvarez, DVM, PhD (National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology [INIA-CSIC], Spain)
• From Oocyte Biology to Fitness Assessment
  By Marie-Hélène Verlhac, PhD (Collège de France, France)

Session 2: Environmental Stress and Gamete Fitness: Cellular and Epigenetic Mechanisms Shaping Fertility

• Heat Stress in Female Ovarian Function
  By Aileen Keating, PhD (Iowa State University, USA)
• Germ–Somatic Communication in the Ovarian Follicle: Implications for Oocyte Competence and In Vitro Embryo Production
  By Felipe Perecin, DVM, PhD (University of São Paulo, Brazil)

Session 3: Managing the External Conditions to Improve the Internal Conditions of the Embryo

• Managing Prenatal Environment to Improve Ovarian Development and Reproductive Potential of Female Offspring in Ruminants
  By Francesca Mossa, Med Vet, PhD (Università degli Studi di Sassari, Italy)
• Genomic Selection and Gene Editing for Thermotolerance in Dairy Cattle
  By Peter J. Hansen, PhD (University of Florida, USA)

Session 4: Current Advances for a Successful Cattle Breeding—From Embryo to Calving

• Beyond Morphology: Decoding the Molecular Signature of High-Quality Bovine Embryos
  By Christine Wrenzycki, Dr Med Vet (Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany)
• Molecular Traits of the Fertile Uterine Microbiome: Insights from the Bovine Model
  By Osvaldo Bogado Pascottini, DVM, PhD, DACT (University College Dublin, Ireland)

Session 5: George E. Seidel Jr. Keynote Lecture

• Redefining the Relationship Between Nutrition, Metabolism, and Reproduction in the Modern Era
  By Matt Lucy, PhD (University of Missouri, USA)

Wednesday, January 20, 2027

IETS 2027 Domestic Animal Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and Epigenetics (DADE) Postconference Symposium

We’re excited to host the inaugural Domestic Animal Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) and Epigenetics (DADE) Postconference Symposium on Wednesday, January 20, 2027, at IETS 2027. The symposium will bring together leading scientists to explore how gametes, embryos, and maternal environments shape phenotypes in domestic animals. The program will feature invited speakers, short oral presentations, and a dynamic student session focused on epigenetics, environmental influences, and maternal health from the earliest stages of development.

Session 1: Gametes and Transmission

• Paternal sncRNA Legacy to Early Embryo
  By Veronique Duranthon, PhD (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment [INRAE], France)

Session 2: The Embryo and its Environment

• Epigenetics and Embryo
  By Marcella Pecora Milazzotto, PhD (Universidade Federal do ABC, Brazil)

Session 3: Managing the External Conditions to Improve the Internal Conditions of the Embryo

• Maternal Metabolic Health and Fertility: Caring About Mother’s and Daughter’s Oocyte
  By Jo Leroy, PhD (University of Antwerp, Belgium)
• From Ovarian Reserve to Mammary Function: Understanding the Multigenerational Legacy of Prenatal Heat Stress
  By Jimena LaPorta, PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)