Sunday, September 7, 2025

2:15 PM - 2:45 PM

Hall C

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Overview

Fathers in Focus: How Paternal Health and Biology Shape the Next Generation

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Details

The intending father’s contribution to reproductive success is often overlooked – the male is assumed to do little more than provide sperm to fertilize oocytes. This view is changing with new understanding of the biological processes surrounding conception, that reveal hitherto overlooked roles for sperm and seminal plasma in influencing uterine receptivity and embryo implantation. This presentation will discuss how seminal fluid contact initiates a female tissue immune response that affects several aspects of female reproductive function to ultimately maximize the chances of a male producing healthy offspring. Emerging evidence that environmental exposures and health conditions can alter the composition of seminal fluid signalling agents and exert epigenetic effects to program the developmental trajectory of the embryo and fetus, will also be discussed. Understanding the full biological functions of seminal fluid will shed new light on infertility disorders and is critical to defining how events at conception influence pregnancy progression and offspring health.

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Speaker