ECU hosts annual gathering of reproductive biology experts
East Carolina University hosted nearly 100 participants from a variety of institutions Feb. 25 for the 31st annual Triangle Consortium for Reproductive Biology (TCRB) meeting. The event was chaired by Chris Geyer, associate professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Brody School of Medicine.
The conference was held at the East Carolina Heart Institute, and attendees represented the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), ECU, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, Randolph-Macon College, the College of William & Mary, and N.C. State University. Participants had the opportunity to share their work and hear from other experts in the field of reproductive biology.
“It was a great event and a really big deal to have 90 people from the bigger research institutions come to us for a meeting,” Geyer said.
East Carolina University graduate student Emma Gilbert tied for first place for her poster presentation during the 31st annual Triangle Consortium for Reproductive Biology. (Contributed photo)
The Triangle Consortium moved to ECU last year amid lingering COVID-19 restrictions at NIEHS facilities, where the event has been held in the past.
“It went so well that everybody said, ‘Let’s do it there again this year,’” said Geyer, who has chaired or co-chaired the event for five years. “We’re really passionate about the subject matter and the consortium and want it to do well.”
ECU’s faculty cohort in reproductive biology is prolific in extramurally funded research, he added.
“It’s a really active group of investigators,” Geyer said.
The group hosted keynote speaker Mariana Wolfner, distinguished professor in molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University and member of the National Academy of Sciences, who presented the Phyllis C. Leppert Lecture in Reproductive Biology.
“She may very well be only the second National Academy member we’ve had visit ECU,” Geyer said.
ECU graduate student Emma Gilbert tied for first place and earned a Campion Fund Award for her poster presentation, “Defining the essential role of the RNA-binding protein RBM46 in preparing male germ cells for meiosis.” The research centers around male infertility and the apparent defects in germ cells lacking the Rbm46 gene and its encoded protein. The experience, Gilbert said, is helping her learn to effectively communicate scientific information to colleagues and scientists from a variety of research backgrounds.
“It was truly an honor to win an award for this research so early in my graduate career,” said Gilbert, a Ph.D. student in Brody’s Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. “I have enjoyed being part of the program that has hosted the TCRB for the past two years; hosting the TCRB here at ECU has provided me with the opportunity to represent both the university and my academic department well to the greater scientific community.”
Brody’s Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology is an essential part of the school’s teaching and research mission, training the next generation of physicians, physical therapists, physician assistants and nurses in gross anatomy, histology and neuroscience. The department educates masters- and doctorate-level graduate students to become the next generation of leaders in biomedical research. The department’s current research focus is in epithelial stem cell biology, reproductive biology and neurobiology, as well as genetic and acquired diseases intersecting with these research areas.