President's Message

March 6, 2026

Dear Members,

With my Presidency commencing this month, I am truly honored to have served such an incredible membership the past 12 months. I set out to accomplish my goals, and am pleased to say with the support of many, have done just that. Below are highlights of the past year.

2026 Annual Meeting, March 24-28, in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Not only did we receive more regular abstract submissions than anticipated for the 2026 Annual Meeting, but we had a record-breaking number of Late Breaking Abstracts! You will not want to miss the science to be presented this month in Puerto Rico.

I very much am looking forward to welcoming our President’s Distinguished Lecturer, George Coukos, MD, PhD, supported by a grant from the NIH. Dr. Coukos, who has very recently become Director of the Ludwig Laboratory for Cell Therapy at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, will speak on Translational lessons for the development of effective immunotherapies. You will not want to miss it!

Each year the March of Dimes Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize winner speaks at the SRI meeting, and I am extremely excited to share that the 2026 winner is leading hematologist and stem cell scientist, Dr. Leonard Zon. Dr. Zon's use of developmental biology illuminates how blood forms in embryos, with direct applications to pregnancy complications and childhood diseases. Please join us on Friday, March 27 for what will be an incredible talk.

SRI Scientific Entrepreneurship Academy

The SRI SEA Academy, as I have mentioned in previous messages, has become an incredibly exciting program this past year. Thanks to an excellent line-up of speakers, SEA Fellows have listened to experts speaking on topics ranging from identifying market opportunities in research, to building a business model, to IP basics, to understanding the funding landscape for start-ups, and more. We are currently completing our five workshops, which take a deeper dive into some of these key topics. I look forward to hearing pitches from our Fellows during the Annual Meeting Shark Tank.

The program will start again in July, and I highly encourage you to consider signing up!

AI Hackathon

New this year is the SRI Translational AI Hackathon. We are challenging SRI members to - using AI - address a real scientific or clinical challenge in reproductive biology, maternal-fetal medicine, fertility, or placental research, and show it working. The winner will host a booth during the Saturday exhibit hall, at the SRI Annual Meeting. The deadline is March 20, so submit your idea today!

Thanking Our Supporters and Partners

SRI thrives because of the strong community support from a variety of areas, which allow our members to participate and lead SRI. I am deeply grateful to the Sponsors, Exhibitors, Chairs and Deans of institutions, that have pledged their support for the SRI 2026 Annual Meeting, including: University of Maryland, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Thomas Jefferson University, Eastern Virginia Medical School / Old Dominion, Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation, The Moore Institute for Nutrition & Wellness and The Center for Developmental Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Ponce Health Sciences University, Robinson Research Institute, Adelaide University, Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Seoul National University Hospital, University of California, San Diego, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, UT Health Houston, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern Florida, UT Southwestern Medical Center, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, WashU Medicine, March of Dimes, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Bayer, NIH/NICHD, Women and Infant Research Foundation, Natera, Regeneron, Carlos Simon Foundation, Perinatal Research Society, Frontiers, CellsBin, Inc., Gravitas Women's Health Solutions Inc., Medical Electronic Systems, LLC, Pregnancy Journal / Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine, SUR180, and the SRI Research Policy Affairs Committee (RPAC).

Their continued commitment strengthens our mission and ensures that SRI remains a vibrant, collaborative community of scientists advancing reproductive health.

I look forward to a very exciting program as well as an evening of dancing to the Featles, in sunny Puerto Rico!

Warmest Regards,
Irina Burd, MD, PhD
SRI President, 2025-2026