This proposal is to request support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled """"""""Frontiers in Reproductive Biology and Regulation of Fertility"""""""", organized by Sudhansu K. Dey, Martin M. Matzuk and Kelle H. Moley, which will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico from February 1 - 6, 2009. Sexual reproduction is a complex and highly regulated process essential for successful propagation and diversification of genetic complements, beginning with germ cell development and completing with birth of live young. For successful reproduction, a plethora of events including gametogenesis, ovulation, fertilization, implantation, and placentation requires precise regulation; the success of each go-ahead event is dependent on the accomplishment of the preceding event. Research on these events and their coordination has been translated into clinical practice, particularly for enhancing successes in fertility clinics, controlling gynecological diseases and developing contraceptives. This meeting is designed to bring together a diverse group of leaders, established and rising in the field, who study the complex regulation of reproduction and related developmental processes. The speakers and participants will comprise a group that uses a variety of model systems to better understand the processes relevant to human and animal reproduction and fertility regulation. The meeting will focus on stages critical to reproductive success, beginning with germ cell renewal and differentiation and ending with the biology of placentation. The first areas covered are reproductive tract morphogenesis and testicular biology. The focus will then turn to preimplantation biology, with topics including energy metabolism in embryos and early cell lineage specification. Emphasis will also be placed on the importance of communication between various tissue signaling pathways, including germ cell-somatic cell dialogue, cross-talk between the corpus luteum and deciduum, and the symbiotic relationship between the embryo and uterus. In light of the continued use of hormone therapy for fertility regulation and exposure to environmental toxicants and endocrine disruptors, a session is included to highlight epigenetic, environmental and hormonal impacts on various aspects of reproductive events. The emerging concepts regarding potential roles for noncoding RNAs, stem cells and imprinting during reproduction will also be discussed, particularly their relevance to embryo development, attachment and placentation. ? Project Narrative: The principal goal of this conference is to stimulate cross-disciplinary exchange and integration of information concerning reproduction, which will allow attendees to identify the current problems that most significantly impact human reproductive health and the routes for ameliorating or curing these conditions. ? ? ? ?
