Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The annual Oncofertility Conference aims to gather leaders in the fields of disease, reproductive health, and oncofertility to disseminate emerging basic and clinical research on strategies to counteract damage to reproductive health and fertility caused by disease treatments. This grant funding is intended to support the Oncofertility Conferences to be held in September 2014 - 2018. Expert speakers are invited to discuss the clinical implications of this research and provide information regarding the communication, ethical, and legal considerations needed to provide care to these patients. This meeting is the only one of its kind and serves the purpose of uniting prominent researchers, scientists, clinicians, and the patient community in an interactive discussion about emerging technologies, research, and real-world options for protecting reproductive health from the negative effects of disease treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and other disease- modifying agents. Conference attendees span the fields of cancer biology, immunology, reproductive biology, biochemistry, endocrinology, cryobiology, biomedical and tissue engineering, nursing, developmental biology, ethics, law, religion, economics, communication, public health, sociology, and psychology. Additionally, patients, providers, and patient advocates are invited to share their intimate experiences regarding reproductive health in the midst of disease. We aim to broadly disseminate this cutting-edge information to scientific and medical trainees and the global community of oncofertility professionals, many of whom may not be able to travel to the conference. We have developed an innovative approach in support of this mission; we provide web broadcasting of conference lectures in real time to audiences across the globe, with the opportunity to participate in bi-directional exchanges. Furthermore, materials produced from the conference, including video recordings of lectures and publications of conference reports are available to interested audiences on the Oncofertility Consortium website (oncofertility.northwestern.edu). In the past, the Oncofertility Consortium's annual conference has generated new research questions, initiated collaborations, cultivated the interests of the next-generation of oncofertility researchers and clinicians, and resulted in multiple academic endeavors. As our field continues to evolve, we remain deeply committed to our original goals of furthering research, education, and opportunities for patients and practitioners alike to access knowledge, techniques, and treatments. With advances in treatment for cancer and other diseases, survivorship issues are of increasing importance to this patient population and their providers. The Oncofertility Conference remains the leading opportunity to disseminate advances in research and clinical care to improve the reproductive health options, including fertility, of disease survivors.