One of Nine Abstracts Selected for Presentation Also Nominated for Prestigious Prize
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ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Through a highly selective process, nine abstracts based on research by a total of 15 Shady Grove Fertility Center (SGFC) medical doctors, researchers and psychological social workers will be featured this week at the 65th annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in Atlanta.
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The conference, scheduled for Oct. 17-21, is the year's biggest gathering of reproductive medicine scientists and doctors. Included on the agenda are oral presentations of five studies conducted at SGFC, the nation's largest fertility center, which is headquartered just outside Washington, D.C. Only one in four abstracts that the ASRM 2009 Scientific Program Committee accepts to be showcased at the conference is selected for oral presentation. In addition to the five oral abstracts, findings from four other SGFC studies were selected to be highlighted as poster presentations in the conference exhibit hall.
One of the five SGFC abstracts to be presented orally is also one of 14 nominated by the ASRM committee for one of the two Scientific Program Prize Paper awards, to be announced at the conference: Comprehensive SNP Microarray Genetic Analyses on Single Cell(s) from Polar Bodies or Embryos to Determine 23-Chromosome Aneuploidy, Structural Chromosome Aberrations and Complex Genetic Disorders. This abstract concerns a study on microarray techniques for preimplantation genetic analysis, which describes ways of examining an embryo's DNA to ensure its viability prior to implanting into a patient's womb. William G. Kearns, Ph.D., the director of the Shady Grove Center for Preimplantation Genetics, will present this abstract, coauthored by five of his colleagues at SGFC: R. Pen, A. Benner, A. Siegel, E. Widra and R. Leach.
"As the country's largest fertility center, we feel our mission is not only to improve Shady Grove Fertility Center's own success rates, but also to advance the medical field overall," said Kevin Richter, Ph.D., SGFC's Research Director. "Since fertility is a relatively new medical field and is still rapidly evolving, the wealth of data and statistics we collect every year provides rich material for analysis to glean lessons learned for refining diagnostic and treatment techniques. In addition, we design prospective studies, gather data and interpret those findings."
Every year, SGFC is one of the largest contributors of abstracts featured at ASRM, many of which subsequently are developed into full manuscripts and published in leading medical journals. SGFC's commitment to research is multi-pronged: it is one of a small handful of fertility centers in the country with a full-time, dedicated researcher on staff whose sole focus is to oversee the design, implementation and analysis of research and statistics. Several SGFC physicians also are involved in academia in teaching and research. And two years ago its physicians partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to integrate SGFC into a fellowship program to train future reproductive endocrinologists.
In addition to the abstract nominated for an ASRM prize, the other four oral abstracts based on research that involved SGFC staff members (with affiliations of non-SGFC coauthors indicated) include the following:
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) Profiles of Applicants to a Gestational Carrier (GC) Program – E. J. Mindes, P. L. Sachs, T. H. Simpson, T. L. Raque-Bogdan (Univ. of Maryland), K.S. Richter, S. N. Covington.
- To Determine Whether Trophectoderm Biopsy and PGS for 10-Chromosomes Is a Viable Alternative to Day-3 Blastomere Biopsy and Preimplantation Genetic Screening – R. Pen, A. Benner, J. Liebermann (Fertility Center of Illinois), M. Katz-Jaffe*, W. Schoolcraft*, W. Kearns. *Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine
- Proceeding to Oocyte Retrieval Compared to Conversion to IUI (intrauterine insemination) Improves Live Birth Rates in Low Responding Patients – J. M. Norian (NIH), E. D. Levens, K. S. Richter, A. H. DeCherney (NIH), M. J. Levy.
- Effect of Air Quality on Assisted Human Reproduction – R. S. Legro*, M. V. Sauer (Columbia Univ.), G. L. Mottla, K. S. Richter, W. C. Dodson*, D. Liao*. *Penn. State Univ.
- Reducing the Incidence of Weekend Oocyte Retrievals in GnRH Antagonist Protocols by Selective Initiation of COS on Cycle Day 1 Through 4 -- M. J. Levy, K. Gordon*, P. C. IJzerman-Boon*. *Schering-Plough Corp.
- Is Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) a Predictor of Ovarian Response in Infertile Women < 35 Years of Age with an Elevated Day 3 FSH Level? – S. K. Nurudeen (Georgetown Univ. Hospital), H. Browne (NIH), A. Armstrong (NIH), K. S. Richter, A. DeCherney (NIH), E. A. Widra.
- Pregnant Patients with Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome Have Lower Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Levels and Doubling Time – C. E. Alford (NIH), K. S. Richter, J. H. Segars (NIH), M. J. Levy.
- PGD on 3,189 Embryos from 332 Cycles Due to Parental Reciprocal Translocation, Robertsonian Translocations or Pericentric Inversions – A. Benner, R. Pen, K. Nguyen (NIH), A. Siegel, A. Kittai, W. G. Kearns.
Shady Grove Fertility Center is America's largest fertility center based not only on the number of practicing physicians but also on the number of in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles performed annually (more than 4,000), which is more than all other Baltimore/Washington area fertility clinics combined. Twenty-one reproductive endocrinologists, Ph.D. scientists and geneticists, as well as 350 specialized staff care for patients in 11 full-service offices throughout the Washington, DC, and Baltimore areas. Shady Grove Fertility Center offers a comprehensive range of fertility treatment options including IVF, donor egg, intrauterine insemination (IUI), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and integrative holistic care, as well as resources to address all patients' needs—medical, emotional, and financial. Shady Grove Fertility conducts clinical research in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and is part of their subspecialty training Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology. Since Shady Grove Fertility's inception in 1992, more than 15,000 babies have been born to its patients. Shady Grove Fertility physicians have been featured as experts for comment on media outlets such as NBC's The Today Show, The New York Times, NPR's Diane Rehm Show (WAMU-FM 88.5, Washington, DC), and Parent Magazine. Washingtonian magazine listed Shady Grove Fertility among the area's Best Places to Work in 2007. Visit www.ShadyGroveFertility.com
SOURCE Shady Grove Fertility Centers
