Session 9: Get Your DNA Fragmentation Out of My Uterine Microbiome

Session 9: Get Your DNA Fragmentation Out of My Uterine Microbiome

Host / Moderator Anthony Anderson, DHSc, ELD and Eva Schenkman, MS, TS

"The Relevance of Uterine Microbiome in IVF Treatment"
Dr. Inmaculada Moreno

“Sperm DNA Fragmentation and it’s Impact on IVF Outcomes"
Dr. Alicia Broussard

Panelists: Cynthia Hudson, Dr. Shawn Breen, Dr. Sharon Anderson, & Dr. Dara Berger

Organized by AAB College of Reproductive Biology (CRB)

Dr. Inmaculada Moreno

Dr. Inmaculada Moreno graduated in Biochemical Sciences in 2002 and obtained her European PhD in 2007 in the field of Molecular Microbiology, which was awarded the best PhD thesis of University of Valencia, Spain, in 2008. During her postdoctoral training she specialized on Molecular Oncology and Regenerative Medicine.
In 2014, Dr. Moreno joined the R&D Department of Igenomix, where she is currently the Research Manager and leads the research on The Role of the Microbiome in Human Reproduction. From 2015 to 2018 she collaborated with the Reproductive and Stem Cell Biology laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine as a Visiting Scholar. Currently, she is settled in Boston, and manages the new Research lab of Igenomix in the United States.
Dr. Moreno has been productive in both basic and clinical research. She is the author of more than 30 international publications in peer-review journals and has participated as invited speaker in over 50 international conferences.

Dr Dara Berger

Dara S. Berger has been in the field of reproductive medicine since 2009, and an IVF laboratory director since 2014. Dr. Berger is currently the laboratory director at the University of Pennsylvania’s clinical IVF program, Penn Fertility Care. She directs the embryology, andrology and endocrinology laboratories. She also performs all aspects of clinical embryology. Dr. Berger is the offsite IVF laboratory director at UNC Fertility. She holds a High Complexity Laboratory Director certificate from the American Board of Bioanalysis. In addition to her qualifications as laboratory director and clinical embryologist, she has extensive reproductive biology research experience. After receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in human genetics, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Since that time she continued her passion for research by participating in projects at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine while in New York, at UNC in North Carolina, and most recently at Penn Fertility Care in Pennsylvania. Both Penn and UNC have active academic IVF programs and Dr. Berger currently teaches REI fellows and medical students at both. She is always interested in participating in translational research and teaching opportunities.

Dr. Alicia Broussard

Dr. Alicia Broussard is an embryologist at TMRW Lifescience, Inc. She recently completed her PhD focusing her research on the effects of sperm DNA fragmentation on IVF outcomes and embryo genetic diagnosis. She also researched the best sperm processing techniques and sperm source to reduce DNA fragmentation.