Session 141: Smart Fertility
3pm ET/ 8pm UK/ 9pm CET, Tuesday 8th Oct 2024
This webinar is kindly sponsored by Future Fertility
Synopsis:
The International IVF Initiative recently held an insightful and comprehensive webinar, aimed at exploring the latest innovations designed to enhance fertilization outcomes and optimize oocyte management strategies within IVF laboratories. This engaging event, lasting 110 minutes, was moderated by Dr. Aisling Ahlström and Dr. Marcos Meseguer Escrivá, both esteemed scientific directors of large clinic groups, alongside Jullin Fjeldstad. Together, they guided a series of cutting-edge presentations delivered by leading embryologists, each specializing in key aspects of reproductive technology.
Dr. Xavier Pollet-Villard opened the webinar with his presentation, "Petite incubation, grands résultats?" in which he detailed how innovative incubation techniques, despite their simplicity, could lead to remarkable improvements in lab results. Following this, Dr. Alberto Tejera presented on the critical role of oocyte activation, sharing how this technique can significantly enhance fertilization rates and increase the number of viable blastocysts, thereby improving clinical outcomes. Lucia Murria Aguilar then introduced a pioneering approach by demonstrating how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to evaluate oocyte quality, a topic that sparked great interest among attendees due to the technology’s potential to revolutionize the selection process for IVF treatments.
Throughout the event, attendees were given the opportunity to gain practical knowledge and discover breakthrough solutions that could elevate the success rates of their own reproductive labs. The session concluded with a lively and interactive Q&A segment, where participants engaged directly with the speakers, posing questions that further enriched the discussions. By providing a platform for these in-depth discussions, the International IVF Initiative helped professionals stay at the forefront of reproductive medicine, offering vital insights into emerging techniques and technologies aimed at boosting overall fertilization success.
Moderators:
Dr. Aisling Ahlström and Dr. Marcos Meseguer Escrivá with Jullin Fjeldstad
Presenters:
Dr. Xavier Pollet-Villard- Petite incubation, grands résultats?
Dr. Alberto Tejera- AOA could improve fertilization and useable blastocyst rates
Lucia Murria Aguilar- Using AI to evaluate oocyte quality
Q and A
Dr. Aisling Ahlström
Aisling Ahlström, is the Scientific director of Livio AB and is responsible person for the Livio Egg and Sperm donor bank. From Australia, she has worked for more than 20 years in Sweden as an embryologist, under which time she completed her phD. Main research interests include investigation of non-invasive methods for prediction of embryo viability and assessment of selections models, including time-lapse. Aisling is currently a member of ESHREs Executive Committee and holds two advisory positions to the European Commission; working subgroup of Medical Device Coordination Group and an expert panel member for medical devices in the field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and reproductive medicine
Dr. Marcos Meseguer Escrivá
Dr. Marcos Meseguer received his Biological Sciences Degree from the University of Valencia in Spain. He performed a pre-doctoral fellowship in St Mary´s Hospital, Manchester University, United Kingdom. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Obstetrics and Gynecoloy and the European Doctor Degree from the University of Valencia, Spain. He has also a master degree in Research Methods; Design and Statistics from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain.
Actually is Global Director in Embryology Research for IVIRMA group and Senior Embryologist in the IVF unit of IVI Valencia. Dr. Meseguer has received and nominated twice the prize paper of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), 7 times the Star Award from ASRM. Three times the Lalor Foundation International Award from the American Society of Andrology, three times the research award from the Spanish Society of Fertility and 7 times the research award from the Spanish Society of Embryology. He received the Robert Edwards prize paper award from RBM on line. The primary areas of his research are embryology and male infertility.
As Principal Investigator, his work has been funded through 30 projects sponsored by the Spanish Government, including 12EUREKA. Horizon 2020 EUROSTAR projects (granted to high quality technological projects) supported by the European Community). He has two international patents.
He is part of the group of researchers most cited in the world according to Standford University has published over 225 scientific articles, with 13000 citations and h-index of 63, including the most cited paper in Human Reproduction. Additionally published 70 reviews or book chapters, edited the first time-lapse book and made more than 800 presentations at national and international congresses. He has been the Director of 16 Doctoral Thesis all qualified with "Cum Laude", and actually is directing 7 PhD candidates.
He is also Associate Professor of the Master in Biotechnology from Valencia University.
Dr. Xavier Pollet-Villard
Dr Xavier Pollet-Villard, MD, MSc is the Head of the Nataliance Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Andrology Center, located within the Pôle Santé Oréliance, Saran, France. He is involved in the standardization of clinical embryology through his position as a COFRAC Technical Auditor in ISO 15189 for Human Reproductive Biology laboratories. He holds the positions of Medical and Scientific Advisor at the IM VITRO company, a start-up providing AI assessment of embryo development and IVF cycles characteristics, and at the BEEZ BIOTECH company, a start-up providing microfluidic solution for spermatozoa selection. He is involved as an IVF expert in 4 working groups at the Agence de la Biomédecine (ABM, France) and is an invited lecturer in Reproductive Medicine and Biology, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France. He is an active member of multiple French and international societies (Alpha, ESHRE, BLEFCO, SMR, SMMR, MSERM) and working groups and is involved in the development of national and international guidelines/consensus in clinical embryology as well as collaborations with diverse industrial companies and research organisms.
His scientific profile is available at https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9473-4408
Dr. Alberto Tejera
Dr. Alberto Tejera was born in April 1972, received his Biological Sciences Degree in 1997 from the University of Valencia in Spain. He performed a pre-doctoral fellowship in La Fe Hospital, Valencia University, Spain. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2015 from the University of Valencia, Spain. He performed also a master degree in Biotechnology from Valencia University, Spain.
He was Director of the In vitro Fertilization (IVF) Laboratory at the Institute Valenciana de lnfertilidad (IVl)-Vigo from 2004 to 2006. Later he was CO-Director of IVF Laboratory at !VI-Bilbao from 2006 to 2008. So far, he is Senior Embryologist in the IVF unit of IVI Valencia, being part of PGT (preimplantational genetic test) team. The primary area of his research is embryology, mainly in non-invasive methods as time-lapse system or embryo selection based on artificial intelligence into assisted reproduction. In addition, he is a specialist in treating couples with previous unsuccessful fertilization attempts or with problems in embryo development.
He has published many articles and reviews or book chapters, and has given numerous talks at national and international congresses, and he is associate professor of the Master in Biotechnology from Valencia University. IVI Valencia is the biggest infertility clinic in Spain and one of the most important in Europe.
Lucia Murria Aguilar
Lucía Murria is a esearcher embryologist who graduated in Biochemistry from the University of Navarre in 2020. She completed a Master's degree in Human Reproduction in 2022 and subsequently began her PhD at the IVI Foundation - Health Research Institute La Fe - IVIRMA Valencia, under the supervision of renowned experts Dr. Marcos Meseguer, Dr. Ana Cobo and Dr. Jose Remohí. Lucía has gained valuable experience through internships at the Applied Medical Research Center in Pamplona, the University of Navarre Clinic, and the IVI Valencia fertility clinic. Her research is focused on oocyte cryopreservation, exploring oocyte quality, and identifying markers that can predict success in cryopreservation. She is particularly interested in the cryopreservation of both oocytes and embryos, striving to contribute to advancements in reproductive medicine through her work.
Jullin Fjeldstad
Jullin Fjeldstad began her fertility career at the Victoria Fertility Centre in 2007, quickly becoming a senior embryologist and successfully holding the position of laboratory director for several years. She has a BSc. in Biology from the University of Victoria, Canada and a MSc. in Clinical Embryology from the University of Leeds, UK; achieving distinction in both areas. She has always held a passion for innovative ART technologies aimed to improve the fertility journey and patient IVF outcomes. Today, Jullin is the Head of Clinical Embryology and Scientific Operations for Future Fertility. She works closely with partnering clinics to ensure smooth onboarding of innovative AI-based tools within their laboratories. Additionally, she oversees Future Fertility’s scientific project collaborations, bringing research findings to international fertility conferences.