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Deadline abstract and registration | May 6th 2025�Submission abstracts | mimicry@kuleuven.be

Location | O&N5, KU Leuven, Campus Gasthuisberg

Registration | Via this link

The Trilogy Of Reproduction

Session I The Swimmers’ Quest: From Testes To Fertilization – Chairman H. Devroe

09:40 – 10:05 Keynote speaker Prof. Ellen Goossens (VUB, Belgium) � Testicular tissue transplantation to restore fertility after gonadotoxic treatment

10:05 – 10:20 MIMICRY invites Dr. Ilse Goovaerts (UZA, Belgium) � DNA fragmentation in sperm

Session II The Ovarian Orchestra: Eggs, Hormones and Timing – Chairman L. Lannoo

10:20 – 10:45 Keynote speaker Prof. Christiani Amorim (UCL)� Theca-granulosa cell spheroids as a model for steroidogenesis

10:45 – 11:00 MIMICRY presents Prof. Frederic Lluis � GSK3 and cellular dormancy: linking embryonic diapause to cancer survival

Coffee break

Session III The Embryo Chronicles: Embryo Development and Beyond – Chairman S. Mackens

11:30 – 11:45 MIMICRY presents Prof. Joris Vermeesch � On the origins and consequences of haploidy and polyploidy11:45 – 12:00 MIMICRY invites Prof. Atilgan Yilmaz � High-throughput Functional Genomics Approaches to Decipher Essential Genes for Human Myogenesis

Session IV The Fragile Foundation: impact of Endometrial Disorders on Fertility – Chairman J. Vriens

14:00 – 14:30 Keynote speaker Prof. Andrea Romano (Maastricht University)

Endometriosis and the role of the local steroid metabolism

14:30 – 14:45 MIMICRY presents Amber De Moor

Modelling endometriosis inflammation using organoid models

14:45 – 15:00 MIMICRY presents Lena Luyckx

PCOS endometrium-derived epithelial organoids as a novel model to study endometrial dysfunction

Coffee break

Session V Inherited Scars: Lasting Effects of Pregnancy Complications– Chairman K. De Clercq

15:30-16:00 Keynote speaker Dr. Jorge Lopez-Tello (Madrid University)

Placental endocrine malfunction due to loss of paternal Igf2: a story told across generations

16:00 – 16:45 MIMICRY presents Dr. Hannes Van der Merwe

The placenta: villain or victim

16:45 – 17:00 MIMICRY presents Dr. Francesca Russo

From scars to solutions: pregnancy as a window of hope

The Womb’s Influence

Lunch break & Poster session

09:00 - 09:30 Registration

09:30 - 09:40 Introduction Prof. Katrien De Clercq

June 6th, 2025