SP3D: Embryo and fetal development
The plastic used for microfluidic device fabrication affects mouse embryo culture outcome Andreia Santos Miranda, PhD student, University of Leeds, UK
Mouse embryonic stem cell model reveals maternal protein restriction around conception alters embryonic signaling and metabolic phenotype Pooja Khurana, Postdoctoral Research Specialist, University of Southampton, UK
Pooja Khurana is an experienced Stem Cell Scientist and a Developmental Biologist, Pooja worked across multiple disciplines during her studies in Biotechnology (India) and Biomedical Engineering (Germany). Given her strong curiosity for research, she was awarded the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (England), where she spent 5 intense but rewarding years of her career. Since her postdoc in exotic Hawai’i, she has been working as an Editor for the Marie Curie Alumni Association; Ambassador in Public Health, representing The Pad Project; Outreach Coordinator of a sustainability think tank called Global Crisis Response, and a founding member of a virtual peer-support group called Therapy Thursday.
Spatiotemporal control of mitotic exit in the mammalian embryo Henry Brennan-Craddock, Masters Student, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Canada
Henry completed his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at Cardiff University where he began to study oocyte calcium storage under the supervision of Dr. Karl Swann. In 2021 Henry left the UK to join the laboratory of Dr. Greg Fitzharris in Montréal, Canada to pursue an MSc in molecular biology. Here, he became interested in the first cell divisions of the preimplantation embryo and the mechanisms controlling their timing. He is currently investigating how an imbalance of genetic material in the embryo may have an observable impact on the cell cycle of the mouse embryo using morphokinetic movies.
The effect of chemotherapeutics on the fetal testis Agnes Stefansdottir, Lecturer in Reproductive Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK
Agnes is a Teaching-Track Lecturer in Reproductive Biology at Edinburgh University. She is responsible for the running of several undergraduate courses and contributes to a wide-range of teaching and student supervision within the school of Biomedical Sciences. Prior to taking on this role, Agnes worked as a postdoctoral research fellow with Prof. Spears, having completed her PhD in 2014. Agnes’ current research focus is on investigating whether and how treatment of pregnant women with chemotherapy agents can impact on the developing fetal gonads.