CRS Science Shines at Summer Research Conferences
Summer is research conference season! This past June and July, our CRS community members attended and presented at ENDO, SSR, and Gordon Research Conferences! CRS members traveled to Boston, Dublin, and Barcelona to partake in amazing opportunities to engage and learn about the latest development in the reproductive and endocrine fields from world class scientists, clinicians and educators, and trainees. And of course, CRS’s own faculty, staff, and trainees were an integral part of this year’s programming. 
The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting (ENDO 2024) was held June 1-4 in Boston which showcased advancements and the latest developments in hormone focused research. Dr. Monica Laronda, chaired several sessions and presented her work on "Gonadal Tissue Cryopreservation for Patients with Differences in Sex Development." Dr. Laronda will serve as the ENDO 2025 Basic Science Research Chair. The Laronda lab members, Anjali Patel and Hana Kubo, presented posters on their current research focuses, while Tim You from the Bulun Lab presented both an oral and poster presentation and was an Outstanding Abstract Award Recipient!
The Society for the Study of Reproduction’s annual meeting was held on the Emerald Isle with a theme of “Evolution of Reproductive Sciences: Where Should We Go?”. This meeting brought an international contingent of reproductive scientists to Dublin from July 15-19. And the CRS community brought their A game. Dr. Monica Laronda and CRS alumna Dr. Stephanie Pangas helped run the pre-conference Ovarian Workshop with potentially record-breaking attendance. Drs. Francesca Duncan, Julie Kim (SSR Board Members) and Monica Laronda chaired sessions while CRS trainees and staff presented their work at oral and poster sessions. Tracy Zhao of the Babayev lab, Drs. Hoi Chang Lee and Aubrey Converse of the Duncan Lab, and Drs. Lindsey Block and Pam Monahan from CRS presented their work during poster sessions across the 4 day meeting. Oral presentations were given by Prianka Hashim and Jeff Pea (Duncan Lab) and Hana Kubo and Hannah McDowell (Laronda Lab). The excellence of our CRS community was front and center this year and our members were awarded some significant prizes. Dr. Francesca Duncan received the Roger V. Short Medal which recognizes early career researchers who possess the spirit of discovery, creativity, and imagination. CRS alum, Dr. Shuo Xiao (Rutgers University) received the Virendra B. Mahesh New Investigator Award which is awarded for outstanding research completed and published within 12 years after receiving their PhD. Emily Zaniker (Duncan Lab) was awarded the Anita Payne Scholarship to support her attendance at the Frontiers in Reproduction course and Hannah McDowell won 1st place in the Predoctoral Trainee Presentation Competition! To cap it all off, a special reunion, hosted by former CRS Director, Dr. Teresa Woodruff, brought together past and present CRS members for Guinness toasts and songs, led by Dr. Tom O’Halloran! 
Directly following SSR in Dublin, CRS members jetted off to Barcelona, Spain to participate in the Gordon Research Conference on Mammalian Reproduction from July 21-26, whose theme this year was “Diverse Strategies to Advance Reproductive Science and Health”. Dr. Julie Kim served as the meeting’s Vice Chair and discussion leader on “Blazing New Paths from “Essential Foundations in Reproductive Sciences”. Dr. Francesca Duncan was discussion leader on “Hormonal Signaling, Reproductive Cancers and Aging” and Dr. Monica Laronda presented her group’s work on “Bioengineering an Ovarian Microenvironment Informed by the Human Ovary BioMolecular Atlas”. Kim Lab members were in high attendance with Grace Foley orally presenting her work while Harun Cingoz and Dr. Huma Asif presented posters. Dr. Elizabeth Tsui (Laronda Lab), with a freshly minted PhD, presented a poster on her research. CRS alums also had a strong showing with Dr. Rexxi Prasasya (UPenn), Dr. Shuo Xiao (Rutgers), Lead Simon (Cornell), Max Edmonds (Duke), Yu-Ying Chen (NIEHS), and Dr. Teresa Woodruff (MSU) presenting their work, chairing, and leading discussions.
All in all, the CRS community had a stellar showcase on a national and international stage this summer. CRS holds true to its mission of “Leading reproductive research, medicine & technology for decades.” Congrats to all our past and present CRS members!