President's Message
President's Message
March 1, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
It is difficult to believe that my year will soon be ending, as the SRI 71st President. As I mentioned in my first letter last year, SRI has played a significant role in my career and has been, and will continue to be, my academic home. I am a strong believer in democratization of knowledge. In the spirit of tech transfer and global scholarship, I have recently started a new chapter in my professional journey as a visiting scholar at a top university in a Middle Eastern developing country. I will share this experience and more during my presidential address on Friday, March 28, 2025 at 5:45PM, in the Richardson Ballroom at the Charlotte Convention Center. I look forward to seeing you all there.
I am very pleased that the SRI INSPIRES Program (Increasing Student Participation in Reproductive Sciences) has come together and will be launched on Wednesday, March 26th, as part of the SRI Annual Meeting. Approximately 50 diverse high school and undergraduate students will hear about why the field of Reproductive Sciences is so important and an excellent career choice, enjoy hands-on activities, view scientific posters with our in-training ambassadors, and learn about different career paths they could someday take. This program will help enrich the dried up pipeline, and enhance diversity in the biomedical workforce. It was one of my goals for my presidential year, and to see it come to fruition is incredibly exciting.
A number of exciting highlights related to our journal, Reproductive Sciences, occurred this past year. First, SRI has signed on to stay with Springer Nature for another five years, and we look forward to what the future holds. Second, we have implemented a program to invite those in LMIC’s whose papers have been accepted into Reproductive Sciences, to become members of SRI. Becoming more international is a priority for SRI, and so I hope that through this, we continue to see growth in new parts of the world.
Finally, I am very excited to welcome so many of you to Charlotte in just a matter of weeks, for the 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting. Along with numerous career development activities, satellites, lunch sessions, and plenary speakers, will be March of Dimes Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize recipient, Professor Dennis Lo, PhD, Vice Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Valerie Montgomery-Rice, President of Morehouse school of Medicine and Professor Chuan He, a pioneer in epitranscriptomics from University of Chicago. I have no doubt that the 2025 meeting will be full of excellent science, networking with our colleagues, and celebrating how diversity drives innovation.
Thank you for supporting me this past year and allowing me to be your president. It has truly been an honor.
As always, if you have news you would like to see highlighted regarding you or a colleague, please reach out to the SRI Staff.
Sincerely,
Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, PhD
SRI President, 2024-2025