Annual Lecture on Reproduction (Event is fully booked)
The URPP "Human Reproduction Reloaded" is delighted to announce that Prof. Alfonso Martinez Arias from the Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, will deliver the 2025 Annual Lecture on Reproduction, titled "The human embryo and its models: hope, hype and regulation"(Download flyer (PDF, 268 KB)).
The lecture will take place on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, 6:15 pm (RAA-G-01), followed by an apéro.
About the talk
The development of a human embryo is a most important and poorly understood period of our existence. Despite the existence of collections and detailed histological studies of normal and abnormal specimens, the molecular and cellular engines behind the changes in morphology that shape the embryo and transform it into a fetus and later into a newborn remain unknown. The reasons are simple: human embryos are, understandably, held in high moral estimation and experiments are not allowed on them. Even if this was possible, their emergence and growth inside the maternal womb, coupled to the low brood of the spring would limit what can be done.
Over the last ten years and on the wake of research with pluripotent stem cells, a number of multicellular models have been created in the laboratory that track, and often mimic, the early stages of human development. These models, called “Stem Cell based Embryo Models, have generated high expectations about their possibilities to act as a source of organs and tissues for repair. They have also created fears of what people would call artificial life. Beyond the hype and the hope, these structures have led to questions about the definition of human embryo and to the need for regulation of this new field.
In the talk, Prof. Martinez Arias will explore the biology, history and ethical considerations of this new research.