University of Melbourne

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Professor David K. Gardner, AM, FAA, is a pioneer in human IVF. He is the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF, Virtus Health Director of ART, Scientific Innovation and Research and a Distinguished Professorial Fellow in the School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.

He completed his PhD (1987) at the University of York, with Henry Leese. In 1988 he moved to Harvard Medical School to work with John Biggers, after which he moved to Monash, Australia, in 1989 to work with Alan Trounson. In 1997 became the Scientific Director of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Denver, where his work on human embryo culture conditions and blastocyst transfer revolutionised how human IVF is performed today.

In 2007 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Zoology Department at the University of Melbourne and promoted to the level of Distinguished Professor, School of BioSciences in 2018. In 2016 he became the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF.

In 2017 in recognition of his many significant contributions to reproductive sciences he was elected as a Fellow into the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and in 2022, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant contributions to reproductive medicine and education.

His current research is focussed on the metabolepigenetic regulation of mammalian development, how the blastocyst signals the endometrium, the role of antioxidants in ART, how AI can be used to select sperm, the development of microfluidic devices for sperm preparation and analysis, and how 3D microfabrication can be used to create novel devices to improve ICSI, culture and cryopreservation.

Helmholtz Munich

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David’s scientific journey has taken him across 4 countries and through 6 diverse labs, starting in cancer research before he ended up, somewhat unexpectedly, exploring the fascinating world of crocodile sperm with Prof Brett Nixon. This venture sparked his deeper interest in sperm biology, and he hasn’t looked back since. While he maintains a strong foothold in animal conservation, his central research is a feminist endeavour, aimed at shifting the burden of reproductive responsibility from majoritively women to men. Starting January 2026, David will establish a dual-institution research group between Helmholtz Munich (Germany) and UON, exploring male contraceptive development, what determines healthy sperm, and how our ever-changing environment remodels sperm epigenetics, which in turn shapes the health trajectory of the next generation. Through this, he hopes to usher reproductive medicine into a more impactful, molecularly driven era where men play an equal part in family planning and fertility care.

University of Massachusetts Medical School

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University of Florida

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John Bromfield is an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida. Dr. Bromfield’s laboratory focuses on infection & immunity in the female reproductive tract and its impact on fertility. Dr Bromfield studies disease, environmental stressors and physiological systems that involve the maternal immune system and its contribution to fertility in cattle. 

Newcastle University

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Geoff is academic with a research focus on male infertility. He is based at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he part of the globally recognised HMRI Infertility and Reproduction Program, who together investigate the biological factors contributing to infertility. Geoff's research aims to advance our understanding of sperm cell biology, how the environment impacts this cell type and why idiopathic infertility occurs in some men, all towards developing effective treatments, including new technologies for assisted reproduction. His contributions have advanced our appreciation of sperm oxidative stress and its key role in diminishing cell function and driving up the damage to their DNA cargo. In line with a key priority for the larger research program, Geoff is also leading advancements in understanding how environmental factors, such as low power wireless communication electromagnetic energy, can impact male fertility potential.

University of Melbourne

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Eva Dimitriadis, PhD is a Professor and internationally recognised expert in reproductive biology, specialising in infertility and pregnancy disorders associated with placental insufficiency. Her research employs genetic and molecular approaches to develop innovative mouse and human models that elucidate the mechanisms of embryo implantation and placental development. Professor Dimitriadis has pioneered the use of single-cell omics technologies, organoids, and human tissue to investigate how dysregulated molecular pathways contribute to implantation failure, infertility, and preeclampsia. She has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cell Reports, EBioMedicine, Nature Reviews Endocrinology, and Nature Reviews Disease Primers, and her work has been featured in editorials in Science and PNAS. She currently serves as Executive Champion for Human Health at Reproductive Health Australia.

Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice

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Dr Chris Edwards is a Research Fellow at Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia) and an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Inclusive Futures beacon at Griffith University. He serves as an Executive Committee member of the Australasian Society for Autism Research (ASfAR) and a Non-Executive Director of Empower Autism. Chris, who is Autistic, has over 11 years' experience supporting the Autistic community across diverse roles. Chris completed his PhD through the Autism CRC in 2019. His research primarily focuses on education, mental health, and adult experiences related to autism. Chris has received multiple awards and accolades in recognition of his significant contributions to autism research and community engagement.

Newcastle University

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Dr Joshua Fisher was awarded his PhD in 2020 and is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Newcastle, Hunter Medical Research Institute where he works as part of the Mothers and Babies Research Program. Dr Fisher’s work investigates the central role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of fetal growth restriction (FGR), identifying how impaired placental bioenergetics contributes to poor fetal growth. Their research aims to advance the fields understanding of the contribution of mitochondria to placental function through the use of cryoelectron microscopy to study mitochondrial structure at an angstrom level as trophoblast cells differentiate. Dr Fisher applies this knowledge to improving reproductive outcomes and strives to reduce the burden of FGR. Dr Fisher’s work has identified genetic markers of mitochondrial dysfunction in the FGR placenta and is exploring mitochondrial-targeted therapies to prevent or treat FGR, aiming to restore placental energy metabolism and improve fetal outcomes.

University of Queensland

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Dr. Andrés Gambini is a Senior Lecturer in Animal Science at the University of Queensland, internationally recognised for his pioneering work in reproductive biotechnology. He earned his veterinary degree with honours from the National University of Río Cuarto (Argentina) in 2008 and completed a Ph.D. in Animal Reproduction at the University of Buenos Aires, focusing on in vitro embryo production in horses. Dr. Gambini has led several landmark achievements, including the first cloned horses in South America (2010) and Australia (2018), the first in vitro–produced embryos of donkeys and mules (2022), and the first cloned zebra (2020) and IVF kangaroo (2025) embryos. His research spans animal cloning, IVF, ICSI, oocyte activation, and embryonic genome activation, with the goal of improving reproductive efficiency and advancing genetic conservation in equine and other animal species.

University of Otago

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Neil Gemmell is a Sesquicentennial Distinguished Professor and holds the AgResearch Chair in Reproduction and Genomics at the University of Otago. His research blends ecology, population, conservation, and evolutionary biology with leading-edge genomic technologies. A recurring theme in his research is that of reproduction, with past and current projects investigating mating systems and mate choice, sperm function and sperm competition, the effects of age on fertility, sex determination and socially controlled sex change. It is this later work on natural sex change in fishes that he will focus on at the upcoming SRB conference, presenting the latest work on the genetic and epigenetic events that orchestrate socially controlled sex change in fishes.

The Australian National University

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Hayashi is a group leader and senior lecturer at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU. After his PhD in Japan, Hayashi did his first postdoc with David Ish-Horowicz in London to study the mechanism of body axis formation during Drosophila oocyte development and conducted an EMS mutagenesis screen (G3, 2014, PMID: 24531791). Hayashi moved to Vienna to work with Julius Brennecke, and characterised the identified mutations, revealing novel mechanisms of pre-mRNA splicing and small RNA biogenesis (G&D, 2014, PMID: 25081352; Nature, 2016, PMID: 27851737). Since his independence in 2018, Hayashi continues to study aspects of germline-specific gene regulation in Drosophila, including Piwi-interacting RNA-guided transposon silencing (PLoS Biol, 2023, PMID: 37279192) and testis-specific transcription (G&D, 2024, PMID: 39332828).

University of Melbourne

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Dr Jennifer Hutchison is an endometrial biologist investigating the complexities of marsupial pregnancy under the supervision of Professor Andrew Pask at the University of Melbourne. Her current research focuses on identifying the components of marsupial uterine fluid and their role in supporting embryo development, using the fat-tailed dunnart as a model species. She is also developing marsupial-specific in vitro tools to advance understanding of their unique uterine biology. Jennifer’s work builds on her previous experience in human fertility research and mouse models examining the effects of chronically elevated activin A on the reproductive system, under the guidance of mentors including Professors Lois Salamonsen and Kate Loveland. Having grown up in New Zealand, she developed a passion for endangered species early in life. She is now excited to apply her reproductive biology expertise to the conservation of Australia’s highly endangered marsupials, whose embryonic development depends critically on preimplantation endometrial support.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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The Jorgensen laboratory’s investigations into female and male gonad development are inspired by the quest to understand the fetal basis of sex-specific adult diseases in reproductive endocrinology. Our interest in female gonad development is focused on formation of the unique cellular niche, the follicle, which ensures survival and maturation of the female gamete. We discovered a cluster of homeobox transcription factors that are expressed during ovary development whose disruption results in follicle failure and oocyte death, classic components of premature ovarian insufficiency or failure, a devastating disease in adult females. Our interest in male gonad development is centered on local regulation of androgen synthesis. Defective androgen synthesis or activity during fetal development is emerging as a component of adult male infertility and a component of the testis dysgenesis syndrome that includes a constellation of impacts from urogenital tract malformation, infertility, and gonadal cancers. The major goals of my research have been to discover local cell-cell interactions and molecular mechanisms that are used to establish the nascent gonad environments. It has been established that male and female developmental pathways engage in an ongoing battle of mutual antagonism to maintain sex-specific identity. Therefore, we find it critical to understand the sex-specific cell-cell interactions that depend on both time and geographical space during development to help us understand the potential for adult diseases.

The University of Western Australia

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Dr Iliana Magiati (she/her) is Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia. She has lived, studied and worked in Greece, the UK, Singapore, and Australia. Her research focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of Autistic people, particularly camouflaging/ masking, burnout, anxiety, diagnosis and post-diagnostic supports for Autistic adolescents and adults. She is committed to participatory research, co-producing meaningful and impactful research with Autistic people. Iliana coordinates UWA’s Graduate Certificate in Autism Diagnosis and led the UWA team in the development of seven online self-paced microcredential courses in autism assessment and diagnosis, created by Autism CRC with UWA and offered via UWA Plus, with more than 350 enrolments to date. She is Vice-President of the Australasian Society for Autism Research (ASfAR), an Editor for Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, and serves on several editorial and diversity committees. Her work has informed national and international policy, government reports and guidelines.

University of Adelaide

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Professor David MacIntyre is a Professor of Reproductive Systems Medicine and Director, Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide. He received his PhD in Reproductive Medicine, University of Newcastle, Australia (2007), before undertaking post-doctoral training in metabolic profiling at the Centro de Investigacion Principe Felipe in Valencia, Spain where he was awarded the Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship. At Imperial College London, he received the prestigious UK Medical Research Council Career Development Award (2013), where he established an internationally recognised research program focused on understanding how the microbiome influences reproductive health outcomes. He also maintains a role at Imperial College London, where he is developing diagnostic and predictive tools that can be translated to clinical settings to improve maternal and neonatal health.

The Kids Research Institute Australia

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David is Theme Leader for the Chronic Disease Theme and heads up the Clinical Epigenetics group at The Kids Research Institute Australia.

His research interests include the epigenetic regulators of gene control that influence child development and disease risk.

David completed his PhD at the University of Western Australia in transcriptomics of food allergy with Prof Susan Prescott and Prof Patrick Holt. and undertook postdoctoral studies in epigenetic of food allergy with Prof Richard Saffery and Prof. Katie Allen at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. As the previous recipient of two NHMRC fellowships, he led foundational genome and epigenome-wide association studies in allergic disease and then established the Clinical Epigenetics team at Telethon Kids in 2018.

University of Melbourne

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David Potter is the ExoDev-Bioengineering project leader within the broader Tasmanian Tiger De-extinction project, TIGRR Lab, Andrew Pask’s group, University of Melbourne. David’s fundamental research focus is the development of novel biosythetic systems that will support ex vivo embryogenesis and foetal development as well as creating microfluidic based tools for embryo and foetal analyses. 

Macquarie University

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Dr Diana Tan (she/her) obtained her PhD in Psychology from the University of Western Australia in 2018 and has been working as an autism researcher for over 12 years. To date, she has attracted over 1.5 million dollars in funding, including a Macquarie University Research Fellowship and an ARC DECRA, focusing on understanding how Autistic students experience stigma, discrimination, and belonging in higher education.

Newcastle University

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Dr Natalie Trigg earned her PhD in 2021 from the University of Newcastle under Prof. Brett Nixon, studying the dynamics of sperm small RNAs and sperm-extracellular vesicle communication. Dr Trigg was then recruited to A/Prof. Colin Conine’s lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA where she identified the acquisition of a subset of microRNAs by sperm during epididymal transit and uncovered their function post-fertilization. Now a postdoctoral researcher at the Hunter Medical Research Institute’s Infertility and Reproduction Program, Dr Trigg focuses on how sperm RNAs influence male fertility, embryo development, and offspring health contributing to our understanding of the importance of the paternal preconception period. 

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

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Dr Tucker is a research geneticist and Team Leader of the Ovarian Development and Disease program within the Reproductive Development group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. She uses a multi-omics strategy to discover new genetic causes of female infertility. This is coupled with the development of models for functional validation and insights into ovarian biology and pathology, including animal modelling (Drosophila, mouse) and the study of patient cell lines. The significance of this work includes the ability to offer personalised treatment and counselling to affected individuals, and screening of family members to detect pre-symptomatic individuals that can benefit from early intervention such as egg-freezing and hormone-replacement therapy. Her research has been recognised by awards and grants such as the Norman Beischer Scientific Fellowship, the UNESCO/L’Oreal International Rising Talent Award and the SRB Newcastle Emerging Research Leader award.

Monash University

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Sabatino obtained his PhD in Pharmacology from Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) in 1992. He has held research positions at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, University College London (UK) and Monash University.  He was appointed as a Senior Lecturer (Teaching & Research) at Monash University in 2004 and maintains this position in the Drug Discovery Biology Theme of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University’s Parkville Campus. He teaches undergraduate Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science students and is Head of the Male Reproductive Pharmacology Research Lab. Sab has co-authored 86 peer reviewed publications and his research investigates the pharmacology of male reproductive organs with a view to identifying novel therapeutic targets for male contraception and the treatment of prostate disorders.

Monash University

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A/Prof Jennifer Zenker’s scientific journey started at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), where she obtained her PhD in Neurobiology. Next stop was Australia, starting her PostDoc at EMBL Australia (Monash University), shortly followed by a move to Singapore to IMCB, A*STAR. During her Postdoc, A/Prof Zenker specialised on live imaging of early mouse embryos which led to several seminal discoveries, including first author publications in Science (2017), Cell (2018) and Nature Protocols (2017). She was also awarded three international postdoctoral fellowships, from the prestigious Human Frontier Science Fellowship, German and Swiss National Science Foundation. 

 
She then embarked as an independent group leader at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI, Monash). Her research group contributed to the generation of iBlastoids (Nature, 2021) and discovered RNA asymmetries in early mouse embryos (Nature Communications, 2023). In 2019, she was awarded the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Azrieli Scholarship. This was followed by an NHMRC Ideas Grant (2020) and an NHMRC EL2 Investigator Grant (2021). As a real mark of her scientific excellence, A/Prof Zenker received the Sylvia&Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship and the Eduard Kellenberger Medal (2023).

Hudson Institute of Medical Research

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Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

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University of Sydney

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University of Queensland

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Curtin University

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