Reproduction and Genomics Science round table

Reproduction and Genomics Science round table

13 February 2009

Many of New Zealand’s top scientists will converge at AgResearch’s Invermay campus near Dunedin on Thursday 19 February to take part in a one day colloquium focusing on the latest research developments in animal and human reproduction, health and disease.

The Inaugural colloquium, presented by AgResearch’s newly established Centre for Reproduction and Genomics (CRG), will showcase the wide spectrum of science being undertaken in and around the CRG through a series of invited presentations that span reproduction, health and disease in humans, livestock and other systems.

Professor Neil Gemmell - the Director of the CRG, which is a collaborative venture between AgResearch and The University of Otago, says the colloquium, which is to become an annual event, will give Australasian scientists working in these spheres a much needed opportunity to share research findings and look at ways they may work collectively to address common problems. “If we are to find the crucial linkages between the various projects undertaken by Centre staff and colleagues, both locally and abroad, it is vital that we develop the means to enable our scientists and researchers to regularly meet and learn more of each other’s work,” he says.

The colloquium will focus on both animal and human health research, covering four broad areas of research within the field of reproduction and genomics:
• Development and Epigenetics
• Technologies and Applications
• Female reproduction
• Health and Diseases

The dual focus on animal and human systems is a departure from many such specialist meetings and creates a unique opportunity for information exchange between scientists working in these areas. Professor Gemmell sees such cross-disciplinary exchange as a key strength of the CRG and this colloquium. “The increasingly refined knowledge of animal productive systems is improving our knowledge of the human condition, enhancing health outcomes, while knowledge derived from work on human health conditions is leading to the identification of similar syndromes in livestock and with these, new models of human disease. Here we have assembled world experts in both spheres, which is a rare occurrence, and I am hopeful this meeting may generate ‘eureka’ moments for some of the participants.”

The colloquium speakers will talk on a diversity of topics including the factors that give rise to multiple births, the importance of genomics in improving our productive industries, the genetic basis of common (gout) and some uncommon human diseases (skeletal abnormalities) and the mechanisms through which Queen bees are formed. Australian National University’s Professor Jenny Graves, world renowned for her work on unusual animals such as the platypus, will likewise share her thoughts on the latest developments in our understanding of vertebrate sex determination in an opening keynote address.

Fur a full programme of the day’s speakers and to register for free, go to
http://www.crg.org.nz/colloquium/isrc.aspx

ENDS

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