New reproduction research group attracts international conference

Kingston, ON – A new Queen’s University research group in reproduction, development and sexual function will host the world’s largest conference on issues dealing with the placenta. The five-day meeting, expected to attract more than 300 delegates and their families, is scheduled to take place in Kingston in August 2007.

The Queen’s research group is headed by Dr Anne Croy, Canada Research Chair in reproduction, development and sexual function, an expert in the movement of immune cells to the uterus during pregnancy. She will co-chair the conference with cancer researcher Dr Charles Graham, and head of the university’s perinatal research unit Dr Graeme Smith, who studies pre-eclampsia.

Titled "Placenta: Platform for Life", the conference is sponsored by the International Federation of Placenta Associations. The federation’s annual meetings rotate between North and South America, Europe, and Asia. (The 2005 conference will take place in Glasgow, Scotland while the 2006 event is scheduled for Kobe, Japan.)

With more than 20 senior-level scientists and their teams specializing in areas ranging from sexual dysfunction to fertilization and embryo implantation, fetal growth, pre-term labour, and genetic outcomes, the Queen’s research group in reproduction, development and sexual function covers a wide spectrum of expertise. Researchers are drawn from the departments of phamacology and toxicology, pathology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, urology, psychiatry, community health and epidemiology, physiology, biology, and the School of Nursing.