This is a (slightly late) report on SIN Canada’s involvement with the 15th International Conference on the Development and Function of Reproductive Organs (DFRO), held at the University of Edinburgh in September 2011. We supported the participation of Dr. Paul Dyce (University of Western Ontario) as part of our broader work in promoting UK-Canada links in stem cells and regenerative medicine. Dr. Paul De Sousa (University of Edinburgh) was kind enough to record an interview with Dr. Dyce, in which he talks about his work and its applications:
I’ll let Dr. Dyce take it from here:
Recently I had the opportunity to present my research findings at the Reproductive Function and Dysfunction Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Aside from the wonderful opportunity to visit such a beautiful country I was able to network with leading members in the field of reproductive biology. Experts on follicular development such as Dr. Evelyn Telfer and Dr. Helen Picton as well as clinical researchers such as Dr. Roger Gosden and Dr. Sherman Silber were active members at the conference.
My work involves differentiating skin isolated stem cells into immature gametes (egg cells) in vitro (outside the body, in a culture dish). This work has generated a lot of interest from the scientific community as it holds the potential to provide new fertility options for many patients lacking functioning gametes. The possibility of improving fertility is feasible only if this work can be extended to humans and advanced to allow the formation of functional gametes. Currently, this work has been done in the mouse and pig species with both producing gametes with many characteristics of natural gametes. Unfortunately the in vitro produced gametes are unable to mature and are therefore non-functional. The conference provided me the forum to realistically look at the challenges ahead and communicate to the reproductive community that fundamental issues with the in vitro culture system remain and must be solved prior to any clinical applications. The audience had many helpful suggestions and were genuinely interested in the current results.
How I currently see my work being utilized is as a tool to study the earlier stages of gamete formation and development. The ability to study the formation of cells with gamete formation potential in a controlled in vitro environment should lead to a better understanding of the general processes involved.
I would like to personally thank the Science and Innovation Network for providing this wonderful opportunity.