Bruno Lunenfeld Lecture Speaker
Katsuhiko Hayashi
Osaka University, Japan
Katsuhiko Hayashi
Katsuhiko Hayashi, a full professor in Department of Genome Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, is working on germ cell development and its reconstitution in vitro through his career: 1994-1996, MS course of Meiji University; 1996-2002, an assistant professor in Tokyo University of Science; 2002-2005, a staff researcher in Osaka Medical Center (Ph.D. 2004); 2005-2009, post-doctoral fellow in the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge; 2009-2014, associate professor in Kyoto University; and 2014-2021 a full professor in Kyushu University. From 2021, He has been in the current position in Osaka University. The research aim of the Hayashi’s group is to understand genetic and epigenetic regulation of mammalian oocyte differentiation using a unique culture system that produces oocytes from pluripotent stem cells.
Keynote Speakers
Hugh Taylor
Yale School of Medicine, USA
Hugh Taylor
Dr. Taylor is the Anita O’Keeffe Young Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine and Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He is also Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology at Yale University.
Dr. Hugh Taylor received his undergraduate training at Yale University and received his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale. His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as well as a fellowship in Molecular Biology, both at Yale.
Dr. Taylor is a board certified specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology. His clinical research centers on endometriosis, Asherman syndrome, fibroids and infertility. His basic science research focuses on uterine development, endocrine disruption, and stem cells. He is a recipient of fifteen National Institutes of Health research grants and directs The Yale Center for Reproductive Biology.
Dr. Taylor has published more than 500 articles and in leading medical journals. His work is published in the top reproductive biology and reproductive medicine journals but also transcends the specialty. He has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical association (JAMA), Nature Communications, Cell Reports, JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In total he has been cited over 40,000 times and his Google Scholar H index over 100. More than a dozen of his papers have been cited over 500 times.
Dr. Hugh Taylor received his undergraduate training at Yale University and received his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale. His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as well as a fellowship in Molecular Biology, both at Yale.
Dr. Taylor is a board certified specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology. His clinical research centers on endometriosis, Asherman syndrome, fibroids and infertility. His basic science research focuses on uterine development, endocrine disruption, and stem cells. He is a recipient of fifteen National Institutes of Health research grants and directs The Yale Center for Reproductive Biology.
Dr. Taylor has published more than 500 articles and in leading medical journals. His work is published in the top reproductive biology and reproductive medicine journals but also transcends the specialty. He has published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical association (JAMA), Nature Communications, Cell Reports, JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In total he has been cited over 40,000 times and his Google Scholar H index over 100. More than a dozen of his papers have been cited over 500 times.
Joyce Harper
University College London, United Kingdom
Keiichi Kato
Kato Ladies Clinic, Japan
Keiichi Kato
Dr. Keiichi Kato, MD, PhD, is a board-certified specialist in reproductive medicine, reproductive genetics, and obstetrics and gynecology, and serves as General Director of Kato Ladies Clinic in Tokyo, Japan. He advocates natural cycle and minimal stimulation IVF, as well as single embryo transfer, to provide safe, effective, and patient-friendly ART. His main research interests include ovarian stimulation, embryo development, preimplantation genetic testing, cryopreservation, embryo transfer, and fertility preservation.
Nick Macklon
London Women’s Clinic, United Kingdom
Nick Macklon
Professor Nick Macklon is Group Medical Director of London Women’s Clinic which operates 20 centres in the UK, including the London Sperm Bank and London Egg Bank. He has held full Professor and Departmental Chair positions at the Universities of Utrecht, The Netherlands, Southampton in the UK and Copenhagen, Denmark where he also established new academic IVF clinics. His published work, extending to more than 250 papers and several books, has attracted international awards including the Diczfaluzy Prize from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, the Florey Lectureship at Adelaide University, and in 2025, the IVI Foundation Clinical Researcher prize. A past member of the ESHRE Executive Board, Professor Macklon is currently Co-Chief Editor of RBMO.
Nikolaos Sofikitis
University of Ioannina, Greece
Sharon Mortimer
Westmead Fertility Centre, Australia
Sharon Mortimer
Dr Sharon Mortimer is a clinical embryologist and reproductive biologist, and currently serves as the Scientific Director of the Westmead Fertility Centre. She is also a Certified Organizational Coach, with an ACC certification from the International Coaching Federation.
Sharon has presented more than 120 papers in 20 countries, and has co-authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and ten international professional consensus guidelines, as well as Quality and Risk Management in the IVF Laboratory (Cambridge University Press). She has also been involved in teaching undergraduate and Masters-level clinical embryology students in Australia, Scotland, and South Africa. She is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Dundee, an Adjunct Professor in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of British Columbia, and is a past President of Alpha Scientists in Reproductive Medicine.
Wei-Jun Jean Yeung
National University of Singapore, Singapore
