Faculty
Nasser Al Asmar Piñar
Spain
Nasser Al Asmar Piñar
Nasser Al-Asmar received his Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy, Graduated in Specialization in Genetic Counselling and Clinical Genomics, and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction at Valencia University, Spain. He has got his PhD in Biomedicine and Biotechnology at Valencia University, Spain. He was Laboratory Manager at Igenomix USA (Miami, FL) from its opening in 2012 until January 2016, when he became Scientific Advisor first in the USA and after that for Spain and Latam. Currently, he is Scientific Director of the Igenomix Academy, part of the Vitrolife Group.
Nitzan Barzliay
Israel
Nitzan Barzliay
Nitzan Barzilay, a graduate student in Computer Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Nitzan researches at Hope Lab, who’s goal is to build systems that transform the scientific process, by helping humans to explore useful literature, discover new directions and solutions to problems, generate research hypotheses, and make well-informed decisions. Her research focuses on harnessing natural language processing (NLP) techniques to create systems that can understand and automatically summarize complex scientific texts.
Christophe Blockeel
Israel
Christophe Blockeel
It is a privilege to introduce Professor Christophe Blockeel.
Prof. Christophe Blockeel serves as the Medical Director of the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at University Hospital Brussels in Belgium. Additionally, he holds the position of Visiting Professor at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, within the School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Notably, Christophe held the esteemed role of President of the Belgian Society for Reproductive Medicine from 2017 to 2020. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Ghent, Belgium, in 2000 and achieved specialization in obstetrics and gynaecology by 2005.
In 2008, he gained recognition as a subspecialist in reproductive medicine and surgery from both the ESHRE and the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Further enhancing his expertise, he successfully defended his PhD thesis in 2012, focusing on ‘The Optimization of the Follicular Phase in GnRH Antagonist Cycles’. That same year, he was appointed as a professor at the Free Brussels University.
Christophe possesses a rich background in fertility treatment, with a primary focus on reproductive endocrinology. His contributions to the field are extensive, including the publication of over 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and active participation as a lecturer in numerous international meetings.
Tina Buchholz
Germany
Tina Buchholz
Tina Buchholz is a clinical specialist in Reproductive Genetics. During her training, she specialized in Human Genetics and in Gynecology and Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine and became an associated Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany. She is head of a private Centre for Reproductive Genetics in Munich. Her genuine interests are identifying as well as facilitating solutions for genetic conditions in human reproduction as well
as supporting global access to fertility care.
She is the former President of the German Society of Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Buchholz represented this society for many years on the board of the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), prior to serving as Scientific Director of the IFFS. Recently she has been appointed as the Audit Chair of the IFFS. Further to this in 2015 she was elected as a member of the International Academy of Human Reproduction and just recently been appointed as
Executive Director of the IAHR. With regard to her interdisciplinary expertise, she is the editor for Genetics for the Journal of Reproductive Medicine and Endocrinology as well as for the Journal Global Reproductive Health.
Urmila Diwekar
USA
Urmila Diwekar
Dr. Urmila Diwekar is the President of Stochastic Research Technologies LLC, United States, and also the president of the Vishwamitra Research Institute (United States), a non-profit research institute that she founded to pursue multidisciplinary research. She is also a Visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA and Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, where she advises Ph.D. students in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, and industrial engineering.. She is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed research papers, 17 book chapters, seven books, and three software packages. She has been the principal advisor to 47 Ph.D. and M.S. students and has advised 15 post-doctoral fellows and researchers.
Dmitri Dozortsev
USA
Dmitri Dozortsev
Dr. Dmitri Dozortsev received his MD from Pavlov’s Medical School and his PhD Summa Cum Laude in biomedicine from the State University of Ghent. He is credited with several discoveries, including untangling the mechanism of ICSI and classifying progesterone as an agonist of GnRH. Dr. Dozortsev holds certifications as HCLD by the American Board of Bioanalysis and as EMB by the American College of Embryology. He serves as the director of Omni-Med Laboratory, the scientific director of the Advanced Fertility Center of Texas, the president of Repronova LLC, and the president of the American College of Embryology.
Ibrahim Elkhatib
UAE
Ibrahim Elkhatib
Ibrahim ElKhatib holds a bachelor’s degree in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, an M.Sc. in Healthcare Management, an MBA in Data Science and AI, an M.Sc. in IVF Biotechnology and Human-based Research and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in reproductive genetics. With over fourteen years of expertise in Embryology, Ibrahim currently serves as the Group Embryology Director at ART Fertility Clinics. His contributions extend to various scientific publications in Reproductive Medicine, encompassing subjects like Time-lapse Monitoring, Embryo Morpho-kinetics, and reproductive genetics.
Robert Fischer
Germany
Robert Fischer
Elisa Gil Arribas
Spain
Elisa Gil
* Gynaecologist specialized in Human assisted reproduction, working in IVI-RMA since 2010.
* My favourite fields in ART is Fertility preservation and low ovarian reserve.
*Member of ESHRE and Spanish Fertility Society (SEF), where she is the General Secretary since 2022.
Georg Griesinger
Germany
Georg Griesinger
Georg Griesinger was born in 1974 in Salzburg, Austria. After graduation from the Academic Gymnasium in Salzburg, study of human medicine at the Medical University in Vienna 1992 -1998. PhD medicine in 1998 (Title: Regulation of gene expression of alpha chorion gonadotropin during in vitro differentiation of human trophoblasts).
Since 1992 continuous scientific and clinical activity in the department reproductive medicine in Austria, then England and Germany. Scholarship of the Federal Ministry for Science and Research (Vienna) for foreign-language foreign countries 2001. Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Genetics (Preimplantation Genetics and Fetal Medicine) 2002 at University College London.
Since 2002 at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, campus Luebeck, active. Specialist exam gynecology and obstetrics 1/2007 (Medical Association SH). Focus gynaecological endocrinology and reproductive medicine 5/2009 (Medical Association SH). Habilitation in November 2007 at the University of Luebeck. Since July 2010 Professor (W2) for gynaecological endocrinology and reproductive medicine at the University of Luebeck.
Member of Editorial of journals Reproductive Biomedicine Online and regular reviewer for academic journals such as Lancet, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Members of the European Society for Reproductive Medicine (ESHRE).
Sonia Herraiz
Spain
Sonia Herraiz
Dr. Sonia Herraiz is a Miguel Servet principal investigator at IVI Foundation-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria la Fe (IIS La Fe) leading the Ovarian reactivation research group, and part of the Fertility Preservation Unit at La Fe University Hospital in Valencia.
Her scientific career is focused on ovarian reactivation and rescue by several approaches like the autologous stem cell transplantation or the ovarian fragmentation with over 45 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 100 communications and lectures in international congresses. She completed several postdoctoral stays hosted by leader scientists in the field of ovarian biology including the University of Edinburgh (2012-2013), Stanford (2016-2018) and Yale (2020-2021). She has been prized by the Spanish Fertility Society in 2016 and by the Society of Reproductive Investigation in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Mark Hornstein
USA
Mark Hornstein
Pei-Yang Hsu
Taiwan
Pei-Yang Hsu
Dr. Hsu had his MD degree from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan and received his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the Johns Hopkins University in the US.
He’s now working as a reproductive medicine specialist and the associate director of Professor Chang Fertility Clinic in Taiwan.
His research interests are in medical device innovation and evidence-based medicine.
He is the co-inventor of more than 15 patented medical devices.
He is also a frequently invited speaker at multiple REI conferences in Taiwan.
Alexander Katalinic
Germany
Alexander Katalinic
Alexander Katalinic is Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Lübeck. He is Director of the Institute of Social Medicine and Epidemiology and the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, which houses the Cancer Registry of Schleswig-Holstein. From 1986 to 1992 he studied medicine at the University of Erlangen, Germany; he obtained his MD in 1994 and his Habilitation (Venia legendi: social medicine, epidemiology and health services research) in 2004. His research focuses on cancer epidemiology, screening and health services research. He is, among other posts, Chairman of the Association of Population-Based Cancer Registries in Germany and Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Centre for Cancer Registry Data at the Robert Koch Institute. He has contributed to more than 350 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. In 2008, he was awarded the German Cancer Prize.
Ertug Kovanci
USA
Ertug Kovanci
Ertug Kovanci, MD
I graduated from Istanbul University, Istanbul School of Medicine in 1991.
I completed my residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Istanbul School of Medicine in 1996.
I was a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University School of Medicine between 1997 to 2000.
I repeated my Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training at Baylor College of Medicine between 2000 and 2003.
I completed my fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Baylor College of Medicine between 2004 and 2006.
I worked as a faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine between 2007 and 2014.
I started Houston Assisted Reproductive Technologies (HART) Fertility Clinic as a co-founder in 2019.
Since 2022, I have been teaching medical students at the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine as a Clinical Professor.
Neri Laufer
Israel
Neri Laufer
Milton Leong
Hong Kong
Milton Leong
Prof. Milton Ka Hong Leong was brought up in Hong Kong, finished his basic school years, and then went to attend McGill University in Montreal Canada. He did Honours Biochemistry as an undergraduate, and then Medical School. Further postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynecology followed, and he obtained his specialists degree in 1974. He then went to London on a McLaughlin Fellowship granted by the Canadian Royal College where he studied under Professors Richard Beard and Stuart Campbell. Returning to Montreal, he joined the McGill University Department as academic staff, and was active in teaching and also headed the High Risk Obstetric Unit. In 1979 Prof. Leong returned to Hong Kong and engaged in private practice. Seeing a need at that time, he started to concentrate in the study and treatment of Infertility. He set up the IVF Centre at the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, a private hospital, in joint venture form, and with his partner Dr Clement Leung, they built it up to be one of the most successful IVF clinics in Asia and the world. He “made” and delivered the first IVF baby in Hong Kong in 1985,and in the last 20 years had researched, published, and taught the art and science of infertility and the assisted reproductive techniques. Prof. Leong is a member of the various reproductive medicine societies, and various international committees. He lecture widely, and still plays an active academic role, and remains to be an Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in McGill University. His current interest is how to provide the optimal treatment for infertile patients using a patient orientated, more holistic approach.
Martin Mienkina
Austria
Martin Mienkina
Martin Mienkina leads Advanced Technology Development and Innovation for the Women’s Health Ultrasound business unit within GE HealthCare. He has been working and providing leadership at the intersection of research and development in the field of ultrasound imaging and workflow automation using AI for more than a decade. He received a doctorate in Electrical Engineering, focusing on ultrasound imaging, from the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany in 2010.
Frederick Naftolin
USA
Frederick Naftolin
Emre Pabuccu
Turkey
Emre Pabuccu
Emre Göksan Pabuçcu was born in Ankara in 1981. After graduating from TED Ankara Private High School, he started his medical education in Ankara University Faculty of Medicine. He completed his residency program in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine. He has been working at Ufuk University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2013 where he received his Associated Professorship in 2017. He has worked at Houston Fertility Specialists Clinic and Texas Woman’s Hospital, Texas (2016) as an observer in the field of preimplantation genetic testing and minimal invasive surgery. He has also been working at Centrum Clinic Private IVF Center, Ankara/Turkey since 2012. He is actively interested in Reproductive Endocrinology and Reproductive Endoscopic procedures. He is a former board member of International Society of Gynecologic Endoscopy (ISGE). Dr. Pabuçcu is currently a reviewer of several local and international journals about Reproductive Medicine, Endocrinology and Endoscopy. He has published more than 70 papers in peer reviewed journals.
Alia Rahman
Canada
Alia Rahman
Carmen Rubio
Spain
Carmen Rubio
Trained in Science and Embryology in the University of Valencia, Spain, Dr Carmen Rubio specialized in cytogenetic studies in human reproduction, partly in the University of Barcelona. She completed her PhD in the field of Reproductive Genetics and post-doctoral research included research in male and female meiosis at the laboratory of Drs. Patricia Hunt and Terry Hassold (Washington State University, USA). She has published more than 100 papers in the main peer-reviewed specialist journals in the field, books chapters as well as numerous lectures at conferences worldwide. She is Board member of the PGDIS society, and the PGT Consortium working group, under the auspices of ESHRE. Currently she is the head of the Research & Development department at Igenomix (Vitrolife group). Her main research interests are non-invasive approaches of embryo aneuploidy and understanding the origin of cell-free DNA in the culture medium.
Gerald Schatten
USA
Gerald Schatten
Gerald Schatten is a Professor at the U Pitt Medical School who has directly trained over 50 doctoral and postdoctoral fellows, thousands more in the ‘Frontiers in…’ advanced training course series he founded, and his > 300 papers have appeared in premier journals, including Nature and Science. Dr. Schatten is an eloquent advocate for research in reproduction, development, regeneration, and stem cells, as well as being an advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility; for these latter, he has been acknowledged by being among the recipients of NIH’s inaugural award for Outstanding Mentor for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
Zeev Shoham
Israel
Zeev Shoham
Professor Zeev Shoham serves as the head of the Fertility and IVF Unit at the Kaplan Medical center in Rehovot, Israel.
Professor Shoham was born and raised in Jerusalem, Israel. He received his M.D. degree from the Hadassah Medical Center in 1981. Later completing, his residency at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot, and his fellowship in infertility and in vitro fertilization at Tel – Hashomer Hospital and MIDDLESEX Hospital in London, UK. Since 1988 he has specialized in a wide range of treatments including:
Fertility treatments, in vitro fertilization, oocyte retrieval preservation and freezing, donor eggs and sperm, care for women during pregnancy and follow-up and treatment of postmenopausal women.
In 1991 Prof. Shoham received an award from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology for the best scientific research that year in Europe for his work on stimulating sperm production by adding GH to treatment with gonadotropins in patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
Professor Shoham has published over 140 papers in the field of Reproductive Medicine, and his publications had won international awards. In addition, he has contributed chapters to numerous books. He is the editor/ author of the textbook, Female Infertility Therapy: Current Practice (1999), and one of the four editors of the textbook, Assisted Reproductive Techniques, which is at its fourth edition.
Professor Shoham is the co-founder of IVF-Worldwide the most comprehensive website on in-vitro fertilization. Professor Shoham has been organizing internationals medical conferences for the past 18 years and is a lecturer in many conferences in the field.
Sherman Silber
USA
Sherman Silber
Dr. Sherman Silber, a renowned pioneer in microsurgery and infertility, is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on IVF, mini-IVF, sperm retrieval, ICSI, vasectomy reversal, male infertility, tubal ligation reversal, egg and embryo freezing, ovary transplantation and the reproductive biological clock.
He has operated all over the world, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Behrain, Israel and Qatar.
Sherman J. Silber, M.D., and his team have pioneered most of the “miracle” infertility treatments now accepted around the world for both male and female infertility.
Stasa Stankovic
UK
Stasa Stankovic
Dr Stasa Stankovic is a geneticist and bioinformatician with a PhD in Reproductive Genomics (University of Cambridge). She focuses on deciphering genetic architecture of reproductive ageing and fertility, and their link to health outcomes in women. Their work led to the discovery of genetic signals that influence the age women begin menopause and the first evidence of the ability to, through gene manipulation, extend reproductive lifespan and improve fertility, thus paving the path towards first genetic test for the prediction of menopause time and next-generation therapeutics for ovary-centric disorders. Stasa also acts as a strategy consultant for various pharmaceutical and governmental institutions. Based on her impact, she was awarded ‘McKinsey&Company Next Generation Women Leader’ for 2020, the best young investigator under the age of 40 by the International Menopause Society (‘Robert Greenblatt Award’), one of ten best UK young scientists in the biomedical sector by the UK Government ‘STEM for Britain’, and she is considered as one of 11 scientists with the highest impact on innovations in menopause by Forbes.
Alberto Vaiarelli
Spain
Alberto Vaiarelli
- Personalization of OS in IVF is key to maximize the CLBR in poor prognosis patients (AMA and POR): OS should be personalized to retrieve the optimal number of oocytes in each couple, based on their profile.
- The adoption of new strategies, such as unconventional stimulation (DuoStim protocol), can be conceived as a real full-personalization of OS in PGT cycles
- Evidence shows that oocytes obtained from un-conventional ways seem to be developmentally, genetically, and reproductively competent
- DuoStim strategy in poor prognosis patients seem to be more efficient compared to two conventional stimulations because reduce the drop-out rate and time to obtain at least one competent embryos
- DuoStim represents a sound alternative to oocyte accumulation, which can be even proposed in progress after careful counseling focused on patients’ chance to find at least one euploid embryo on account of their age and of the number of blastocysts obtained after conventional stimulation
Piotr Wygocki
Poland
Piotr Wygocki
Founder and CEO of MIM Solutions, a Polish IT company specializing in innovative AI solutions for the medical sector. Piotr Wygocki is an innovator and scientist. A graduate of the University of Warsaw, a PhD in computer science with a double master’s degree in computer science and mathematics. Assistant professor at the University of Warsaw.
Johnny Younis
Israel
Johnny Younis
Johnny S. Younis, MD, is the director of Reproductive Medicine at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center – Poriya. He is a full professor at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Galilee affiliated with Bar-Ilan University. He is the past Chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Circle and the past Chair of the Admission Committee at the Faculty of Medicine. He is the past Chair of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Examination Board, the Scientific Council, Israeli Medical Association. Since October 2018, he is the Vice-Dean for Clinical education at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in Galilee. His present interests are low ovarian reserve, ovarian reserve biomarkers, endometriosis, and controlled ovarian stimulation.