THE ORATORS

Paul Bischof
Prof. of Biology at the University Hospital of Geneva, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics - Laboratory of Endocrinology

The main research focus in this laboratory concerns the regulation of metalloproteases during implantation of the embryo in the uterus and the regulation of the secretion of leptine by the human placenta.
Paul Bischof is also the president of the international scientific council of PremUp.

Danièle Evain Brion
Research Director of UMR Inserm 767, University of Paris Descartes

The laboratory aims to develop understanding of the physiology of pregnancy and to improve early diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of its principal pathologies; prematurity, pre-eclampsia, and foetal dystrophy.
Danièle Evain-Brion is also a director of the PremUp foundation.

Graham Burton
Prof. of Reproductive Biology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Our focus is on human placental development, in particular the effects of oxygen and oxidative stress on trophoblast differentiation and function.

Jean Paul Renard
INRA Research Director, Director of UMR Developmental and Reproductive Biology. INRA-CNRS-ENVA, Jouy en Josas

The research focus of this laboratory is on the development of mammalian embryos from the formation of the egg cell to the start of foetal organogenesis.

Christopher Redman
Prof. of Obstetric Gynaecology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Chris Redman began his career in Obstetric Medicine in Oxford in1976 and in 1992 became the world's first holder of a Chair of Obstetric Medicine. His clinical research began in the 1970's with a randomised controlled trial of the treatment of hypertension in pregnancy, which still stands as a reference for the safety of prescribing methyl dopa in pregnancy. His focus of interest then moved to pre-eclampsia.

Irène Cetin
Prof. of Obstetric Gynaecology, Luigi Sacco Hospital, University of Milan, Italy

The main goal of the laboratory is to highlight mechanisms which are involved in pregnancy pathologies. This group is internationally recognized for developing scientific knowledge on fetal growth, placenta function and maternal adaptation to pregnancy both with clinical studies and basic research. There is strict cooperation between obstetricians, nutritionists, psychologists and molecular biologists.

Annetine Staff
Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo

Her area of research is the understanding at molecular level of complications of pregnancy (including pre-eclampsia and diabetes), the development of ovarian cancer (including borderline tumours) as well as other gynaecological cancers affecting the future health of mother and child.

Séverine Degrelle
Doctor in Molecular and Cellular Biology, from the Graduate School "from Genomes to Organisms" at the University of Versailles Saint Quentin in Yvelines. PremUp post-doctoral researcher Unit INSERM UMR 767 University of Paris Descartes and at the laboratory of biology of development and reproduction of INRA

Research topics: "Normal and pathological pregnancy: development and functions of the placenta and uterus" at the faculty of Pharmacy and the laboratory of the biology of development and reproduction of INRA: "Characterization of trophoblastic cells: proliferation/invasion/fusion through in vitro studies of the model of the peri-implanted bovine embryo".

Olivier Morel
Doctor in Obstetric Gynaecology, Maternity of Nancy, University of Nancy, France. PremUp doctoral researcher. Unit INSERM UMR 767 University of Paris Descartes and UMR Developmental and Reproductive Biology INRA Jouy-en-Josas, France.

Research topics: "New tools for screening pre-eclampsia and intra uterine growth restriction". The goal of his research is to evaluate the potential interest of new ultrasound techniques, such as tri-dimensional quantification of the vascularization within the utero-placental unit (clinical trial and animal models), and new biomarkers (clinical and in vitro research) for the screening and understanding of pre-eclampsia.

Guillaume Pidoux
Post-Doc Fellow on "Cell-cell fusion process in human placenta" at the unit INSERM U767, Paris, France

His area of research is the understanding the molecular mechanism involve in the cell-cell fusion process observed in the human placenta. Specially the involvement of the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway and the formation of PKA/AKAP/protein macrocomplexes implies in the fusion of cytotrophoblasts into syncytiotrophoblast. The defect of this syncytial formation is responsible of different pathologies of th epregnancy such as Intrauterine growth restriction, which lead to severe complication for the mother and/or her child.

Philippe Le Bouteiller
Research Director INSERM U 563, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse

The research topic of his team concerns the functions of the HLA-G molecule at the maternal-foetal interface during gestation. This molecule could be a predictive factor of pre-eclampsia.
HLA-G is a non polymorphic non classical Major Histocompatibility Class I (MHC) or MHC class Ib gene, whose tissue distribution in non pathological conditions is mostly restricted to trophoblast cells at the maternal-foetal interface during pregnancy. Determining the role for HLA-G should lead in the future to the identification of aberrant pathways in compromised pregnancies and novel approaches for treatment.

Jean Michel Foidart
Prof. of Obstetric Gynacology, University of of Liege, Belgium

His research is focussed on basic oncology and the impact of steroids on the metabolism of young women during periods of genital activity and in post-menopausal women.

Olga Genbacev
Prof. of Biology, University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Genbacev holds the position of senior scientist at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. She has served on the editorial board of Trophoblast Research and since 2005 has acted as the associate editor of the peer-reviewed journal Regenerative Medicine. She is the author of more than 100 research publications on the biology of human reproduction, including a 2003 article in Science which describes L-selectin as a molecular glue that supports embryo implantation and her most recent book chapter, "Role of oxygen in early development and embryonic stem cell derivation" in Stem Cells in Reproductive Medicine: Basic Science & Therapeutic Potential, published in 2006.