2021 Annual Meeting Summary
The 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) occurred July 6-9, 2021 in Boston, MA with a theme of, “Navigating the Future for Reproductive Science”. We welcomed over 300 attendees in-person in Boston, MA and, for the first time, over 650 virtual attendees!
Tuesday, July 6th, kicked off the first SRI Hybrid meeting with five satellite meetings covering the topics of Fetal Physiology, Endometrium, Ovarian Biology, Placenta and a Joint Satellite - Myometrium/Parturition/PREBIC. Following the Satellite meetings, SRI President Dr. James Segars introduced the 2020 March of Dimes Developmental Biology Prize winner, Susan Fisher, PhD from University of California, San Francisco. The March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology honors an outstanding scientist who has profoundly advanced the science that underlies our understanding of pregnancy, parturition and prenatal development. The recipients of the Prize are leaders in reproductive biology working on translational and actionable science that can develop into interventions or preventions that will improve the health of moms and babies everywhere.
Dr. Fisher’s lecture was followed by the President’s New Investigator Plenary, supported by the Past Presidents’ Fund, and was co-moderated by SRI President, Dr. James Segars and Dr. Sara Berga. Directly following the President’s New Investigator Plenary, the 25 SRI President’s Presenter Awardees were recognized for their meritorious abstracts submitted to the 68th Annual Meeting.
In person New Investigator awardees pictured with
2021 Program Director Dr. Irina Burd & 2021 President Dr. James Segars
Tuesday concluded with in-person attendees networking with colleagues at the Welcome Reception and toasting to science for making this meeting and reconnecting possible!
After the first poster session, Dr. Segars introduced the first President's Distinguished Research Awardee, Joan A. Steitz, PhD, a Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute presented on “Adventures in the Noncoding RNA World.” Following Professor Steitz’s lecture, Dr. Segars presented the President’s Achievement Award to Dr. Irina Burd of Johns Hopkins, Dr. Elizabeth Bonney of University of Vermont was selected to receive the SRI Mentorship Award. Dr. Hilary Critchley of The University of Edinburg - The Queen's Medical Research Institute was honored with the DeCherney Society Lifetime Distinguished Service Award. The Distinguished Scientist Award was presented to Dr. Peter Rogers of University of Melbourne. The Co-Editors-in-Chief of SRI’s official journal Reproductive Sciences, Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy of University of Chicago and Dr. Seung-Yup Ku of Seoul National University Hospital presented the Rogerio A. Lobo Award to co-authors Drs. Clyde Wright and Joshua Johnson of University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
To close the evening, the In Training Member Committee hosted a very successful Connection Corners event. Table topics included but were not limited to, Translating Reproductive Science to the Bedside, Junior Faculty Survival Guide, How to Pick a Mentor, and Combining Clinical Work with Research. Thank you to our table mentors!
Thursday morning started with the SRI Business Meeting and ended with Dr. Segars officially handing over the leadership of the SRI to Dr. Nanette Santoro, 2021-2022 SRI President. Thursday morning continued with the second President's Distinguished Research Awardee, presented by Gregg L. Semenz, MD, PhD, 2019 Nobel Laureate, Director of the Vascular Program, Institute for Cell Engineering and Professor of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This lecture was followed by Hot Topics and an awards ceremony. At this ceremony, the Giorgio Pardi awards, the Laxmi Baxi Awards, the Thomas McDonald Award, Early Career Investigator Awards, Early Career Investigator Awards, Chinese Program Travel Awards and The Kusum Lata Travel Awards were recognized.
Concurrent Oral Presentations III completed an outstanding morning. Over lunch, there were two concurrent Lunch and Learn Symposia as well as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum titled, “How to Create an Environment Supportive of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” presented by Genevieve S. Neal-Perry, MD, PhD, Chief, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at University of Washington, Seattle and moderated by Drs. Ayman Al-Hendy and Dr. Elizabeth Bonney.
Concurrent Oral Presentations IV, Mini Symposia II and the final Poster Session rounded out the afternoon on Thursday. Colleagues from around the globe were able to participate via our virtual platform and e-poster hall.
To conclude the meeting, for the first time ever, the Career Development Workshops and the Grant Writing Clinic led by Thomas Jansson, MD, PhD were held completely virtually on Friday. Sessions included, “People Like You Can’t Do That” by Genevieve Neal-Perry, MD, PhD, “Network or perish: The Untold Secrets of Successful Networking” presented by Sandra T. Davidge, PhD, FCAHS and “Using Social Media Responsibly to Promote Science” Helen Jones, PhD, just to name a few.
Thank you for your patience and assistance as SRI navigated its first hybrid format of the Annual Meeting.
SRI would like to thank our Annual Meeting Supporters, as well as Exhibitors:
2021 Supporters
AbbVie Inc.
Bayer AG
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Cook Medical
Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Hologic
ImmunoVation, LLC
Janssen Research & Development, LLC
Supported in part by March of Dimes Grant No. 4-FY21-0009
Myovant Sciences and Pfizer Inc.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Perinatal Research Society (PRS)
2021 Exhibitors
ImmunoVation, LLC
Reproductive Sciences
Myovant Sciences and Pfizer Inc.
Save the Date!
2022 - March 15-19, Denver, CO, United States
2023 - March 21-25, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
