Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Call for SSR 2014 Program Suggestions

The 2014 Program Committee would like your suggestions for speakers at the 2014 SSR Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please submit your suggestions via the online form.

We would appreciate having your suggestions prior to August 23, 2013. Please be aware that identification of specific speakers and their areas of research will be more useful to the 2014 Program Committee than just suggesting general topics. However, all suggestions will be considered.

We are also interested in new faces and issues, i.e., speakers who have not presented and topics that have not been represented at the last three annual meetings. Remember to include international members, who now comprise ~30% of our membership.

The theme of the 2014 meeting is Fertility: A Global Challenge and topics will include recent discoveries in reproductive sciences that impact preservation and limitation of fertility in humans, wildlife, feral species, as well as farm and companion animals. These include Male and Female Fertility and Infertility, Translation of Basic Science to Real-World Practice (wildlife, farm and domestic animals, and humans), Interrelationship of Reproduction and the Environment, as well as Pregnancy/Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DoHaD). The Ovarian Workshop will be joining us again as a module in 2014. 

The Program Committee will use your suggestions to construct a program of interest to a broad audience and the entire SSR membership. Thank you for your assistance in helping us put together a great SSR meeting and we look forward to seeing you in Grand Rapids in July 2014!

—Lois Salamonsen and Jon Hennebold
SSR 2014 Program Committee Chairs

Monday, July 15, 2013

SSR 2014 Overview

The theme of the meeting will be Fertility: A Global Challenge. Topics will include recent discoveries in reproductive sciences that impact preservation and limitation of fertility in humans, wildlife, feral species, as well as farm and companion animals. The Keynote Address will be by Anna Glasier, M.D., who is renowned for her remarkable efforts in promoting women’s health around the globe.

The Program Chairs are already planning an exciting meeting and, in addition to the outstanding science, Grand Rapids offers a remarkable combination of cosmopolitan atmosphere and small-town warmth. The city is consistently ranked one of "America's Top 100 Places to Live." Located on the banks of the Grand River, Grand Rapids offers all the big-city excitement you'd expect from a million-resident metropolis, with a safe and clean downtown featuring hundreds of restaurants and nightspots, theaters, museums, sports, and concerts all within walking distance of the hotel (Amway Grand Plaza) and convention center (DeVos Place). 

For those planning a vacation, West Michigan has something for everyone: a sparkling blue Great Lake, pristine sand beaches, fabulous golf courses, great fishing, biking and hiking on hundreds of miles of connected trailways, and some of the Midwest's most noted microbreweries.  

Abstract submission deadline: 15 February 2014.