World-Renowned RFU Researchers Address Infertility at ASRI Meeting

Researchers from Rosalind Franklin University’s Reproductive Immunology program, which is ranked No. 1 in the world by ScholarGPS, presented groundbreaking data in reproductive immunology at the annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Immunology (ASRI), May 24–28, in Lexington, Kentucky. Presenters included the No. 7–ranked clinician-scientist in the field today, Joanne Kwak-Kim, MD, MPH, FCRI, ASRI, RFU’s director of reproductive medicine and immunology, who chaired a session called “Breaking Barriers: Innovative Immunotherapies in Human Reproduction.”

Infertility rates in the United States are increasing. Reproductive immunology plays an important role in identifying and treating immune-mediated causes of infertility, which has significant implications for advancing women’s health. The U.S. total fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — fell from about 3.6 in 1960 to 1.6 in recent years.This is well below the replacement rate of 2.1 required to maintain a stable population absent immigration. Annual births have declined as well, falling from a peak of more than 4.3 million in 2007 to closer to 3.6 million today.

“While these numbers reflect different factors, identifying factors and mechanisms associated with infertility puts us one step closer to finding ways to correct deficits and promote successful pregnancies,” said Janice Urban, PhD, RFU’s interim executive vice president of research.

In addition to Dr. Kwak-Kim, RFU presenters included:

• Thanh Luu, DO, assistant director of reproductive medicine and immunology at RFU Health Clinics, participated in Dr. Kwak-Kim’s session with a talk on “the endometrial environment and reproductive failures.”
• Riyas Ali, MD, MRCOG, a reproductive immunology fellow, participated in a session called “Myeloid Cells in Genital Inflammation, Immune Protection and Reproduction” with a talk on “dose-dependent effects of sex steroid hormones on cytokine production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.”
• Khaliun Dashdeleg, MPH, MD, a reproductive immunology fellow, gave a talk on “immunotherapy outcomes in diminished ovarian reserve versus normal ovarian reserve patients with recurrent pregnancy loss: a single-center retrospective study” during the session called “The Fallopian Tube Immune Microenvironment: Implications for Infertility, Ectopic Pregnancy and Ovarian Cancer.”

“The pioneering work conducted and presented by our Reproductive Immunology and Clinical Immunology Laboratory researchers reflects RFU’s position as a global leader in the field,” Dr. Urban said.