Roger Short Medal and Lecture

RV Short Medal Lecture will be held on Friday 29 January 2025

12:00 – 1:00 pm CST (06:00 – 07:00 pm UTC)

Speaker: Francesca E. Duncan, PhD, Associate Professor,

Obstetrics and Gynecology
Recipient: Roger Short Medal
Thomas J. Watkins Memorial Professor in Reproductive Science
Co-Director, Center for Reproductive Science
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwes tern University, Chicago, IL

Talk Title: A Decade of Discovery: Ovarian Aging from Mechanisms to Clinical Translation 

Description: 
In the Roger V Short Medal Lecture, Dr. Francesca E. Duncan will present a decade of groundbreaking research from her lab on the ovarian microenvironment. The Duncan lab discovered that the ovary becomes inflammatory, fibrotic, and stiff with advanced reproductive age, and this has significant biological consequences for ovarian physiology and pathology.  These findings shifted the paradigm in the field, putting forth the concept that egg quality is not only intrinsic to the gamete itself but also dependent on the microenvironment in which it grows and develops. The research team is now developing innovative approaches to modulate, measure, and model the ovarian microenvironment by leveraging advanced omics technologies, biomechanical methods, ultrasound-based shear wave elastography, and tissue engineering.  Dr. Duncan will discuss how she is moving her work from bench-to-bedside to develop tissue stiffness as a biomarker of ovarian aging and fibrosis as a therapeutic target to extend reproductive longevity and promote healthy aging.

This prestigious international award is a joint initiative of the Society for Reproductive Biology (SRB, Australia and New Zealand), the Society for Reproduction and Fertility (SRF, UK) and the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR, North America) to support outstanding young researchers in the reproductive sciences.

Click here to Register

Learning Objectives:

  1. Define the impact of female reproductive aging from fertility to general health outcomes.
  2. Identify age-related changes in the ovarian microenvironment including changes in inflammatory profiles, extracellular matrix composition, and biomechanical properties.
  3. Examine the biological consequences of the aging ovarian microenvironment from follicle development and egg quality to ovulation and ovarian cancer.
  4. Explore self-assembling organoids as an innovative new model for broadening our understanding of the ovarian somatic compartment.

Consider the clinical potential of low dose anti-fibrotics and shear wave elastography as strategies to modulate and measure the aging ovarian microenvironment, respectively.

Press Release

The RV Short Medal Winner for 2023
The Inaugural Lecture was held on 25 November 2023
Professor Niamh Forde

Click here to watch the Lecture

Award and Lecture Information

The Society for Reproductive Biology (SRB, Australasia), the Society for Reproduction and Fertility (SRF, UK) and the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR, North America) are delighted to announce that nominations are requested for the 2024 RV Short Medal and Lecture. This is the second year of this exciting new initiative and re-nominations from last year that fit the criteria are also welcome. This unique award is designed to recognize emerging early career researchers across the globe

Roger Short was an inspirational reproductive biologist and his depth of insight into so many aspects of reproductive biology research was truly astonishing. Throughout his career, Roger was hugely supportive of early career researchers and this award is designed to recognize emerging research leaders that possess the same spirit of discovery, creativity, and imagination as Roger himself.

The initiative has been developed by Marilyn Renfree, Jock Findlay and the Presidents/Chairs of the SRB, SSF and SSR.

Award Criteria:

The RV Short Medal and Lecture will be awarded annually to an innovative young researcher who has made outstanding discoveries in the field of reproductive science within a period up to 10 years of establishing their independence. The intent of the award is to recognize those who possess the spirit of discovery, creativity and imagination epitomized by the career of Roger Short.

The following guidelines for nominations apply:

  • Any financial member of the SSR, SRB or SRF may nominate a candidate, irrespective of the candidate’s country of origin or whether or not the candidate has been nominated for or received a society award.
  • Nominations are to be submitted online to the award website on each society’s web page by the closing date, normally at least 6 months before the time of the lecture.
  • The award committee will select the medalist from the nominations received, irrespective of the candidate’s country of origin.
  • It is expected that the candidate is, or will become, a member of one of the Societies.
  • A previous RV Short medalist is not eligible for nomination.
  • To avoid any conflict of interest, a member of the award committee must declare any personal relationship with a nominated candidate and cannot nominate a person for the Award.
  • The candidate must agree to be nominated and to any audio-visual requirements in conjunction with the award.