The Future Conceived

This season we’ve been exploring the concept of mechanism in reproductive biology. We’ve chatted with scientists from across disciplines who are working to better understand how sperm, eggs, and embryos work. Over the next three episodes, we’ll be exploring the idea of mechanism itself. We’ll learn how the historical practice of biology has shaped the way we think about mechanisms today, how computing metaphors might supercede the machine metaphors that dominate in molecular biology, and how the fields of biology and physics might be on course to collide in the coming decades.   
Today, I have the pleasure of chatting with the renown philosopher of biology, Dr. Dan Nicholson of George Mason University. Dan is a talented science communicator and recent author of the book “What is Life, Revisited”, in which he analyzes the motivations of Erwin Shrodinger’s famous 1944 lecture series and its impact on the nascent field of molecular biology. Dan’s introspective writing has changed the way I think about biology. It was a real joy to get to have this conversation with him. Our far-reaching conversation covered the role of philosophy in the practice of science, how and how not to think about organisms as machines, and the role of random variation in biological systems. 

Link to SSR Website: https://ssr.org/
Link to Dr. Nicholson's Faculty Page: https://philosophy.gmu.edu/people/dnicho
Book Link: "What is Life, Revisited": https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/what-is-life-revisited/E6B3EA136720CF50C9480ADB8F41A6F4

What does it take to transition from a curious undergraduate to an award-winning Assistant Professor? In this episode, host Dr. Pam Monahan (Northwestern University) sits down with Dr. Camilla Hughes, Assistant Professor of Reproductive Biology at Penn State and the 2025 recipient of the Janice Bahr Junior Scientist Travel Award.

Dr. Hughes dives into the "through-line" of her research: the fascinating and often under-explored relationship between immune cells and the ovary. From the prenatal establishment of the ovarian reserve in cattle to the complex signaling that regulates the corpus luteum, Dr. Hughes explains why understanding the immune system is key to unlocking new insights in reproductive physiology.

Beyond the bench, we discuss the power of the SSR community. Dr. Hughes shares the profound impact of the late Dr. Janice Bahr’s legacy, her experiences in the world-renowned Frontiers in Reproduction (FIR) course, and practical advice for junior scientists on how to "be a sponge" at scientific meetings.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:
The Janice Bahr Legacy: The importance of supporting junior faculty and the impact of long-term mentorship within the SSR.
Ovarian Physiology: A deep dive into bovine and ovine models, prenatal development, and the role of immune resident cells.
The "Frustration" of Learning: Why the most difficult moments in the lab often lead to the most significant scientific breakthroughs.
Conference Networking 101: Concrete tips for trainees on how to navigate large meetings, find collaborators, and move past "imposter syndrome."
About the Guest:
Dr. Camilla Hughes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Penn State University. Her lab focuses on ovarian physiology, specifically the role of immune signaling in the establishment of the ovarian reserve and the function of the corpus luteum. She is a proud alumna of the FIR course and a dedicated member of the Society for the Study of Reproduction.

This podcast is sponsored by the Virtual Education Committee of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR). Our mission is to highlight member careers, share technology updates, and bring you the latest scientific advancements in reproductive biology.
Learn more about the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) at www.ssr.org.
Note: AI tools were utilized in the generation of the transcript and summary for this episode. All content has been rigorously reviewed by the Future Conceived team for accuracy.

In today’s episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Colm Kelleher, a physicist in the Bioinspired Institute at Syracuse University. 
During cell division, the chromosomes that contain the genetic material must be copied and segregated. Failure to segregate correctly has dire consequences for cell viability and is a common problem during IVF and pre-implantation embryo culture. 
The spindle apparatus that segregates the chromosomes is comprised of ~1000 distinct types of proteins with many thousands of copies of each type. With that in mind, we can imagine the spindle as an extremely complicated molecular machine with millions of parts that each need to be in the right place at the right time for the spindle to carry out its essential functions. This kind of description raises some serious questions. 
For example, how can we know which parts are the most consequential when there are so many, and the relative importance of different parts changes over time or depends on the molecular details of the cellular environment? 
Dr. Kelleher argues that there is another way to think about it. He is working to apply intermediate scale models from materials physics to describe spindle formation in a way that minimizes that number of things that need to be measured in the lab. In other words, how should we describe spindle formation, if we can’t rely on knowing everything about the molecules that make it up? As it turns out, the spindle apparatus has more in common with a handful of dried spaghetti than you might think. 
Check out our website: https://ssr.org/
Link to Dr. Kelleher's faculty page: https://artsandsciences.syracuse.edu/people/faculty/colm-kelleher/#Biography

In this episode of the Future Conceived podcast, Dr. David Pepin, recipient of the Roger V. Short Medal, shares a candid and inspiring look at his non-linear path from a "failed" postdoc to a leader in reproductive biology. He details how a accidental discovery—finding that anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) could "pause" ovarian activity—transformed into a decade-long mission to revolutionize contraception and oncofertility.
To learn more about Dr. Pepin's lab site, visit https://www.pepinlab.com/david-pepin
Learn more about the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) at www.ssr.org.

In today’s episode, we have the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Kosta Simintiras, Assistant Professor of Reproductive and Developmental Biology at Lousiana State University. Dr. Simintiras studies mechanisms of communication between maternal and embryonic tissues that are essential for establishing early pregnancy in mammals. His lab uses a combination of model systems including cattle, transgenic rodents, and organoids grown from human cells, with the ultimate goal of understanding of how pregnancy works both when it goes well, and when it doesn’t. 
Learn more about SSR here: https://ssr.org/
Learn more about the LSU Simintiras Lab here: https://faculty.lsu.edu/csimintiras/index.php
Link to some of Dr. Simintiras' relevant work in SSR's flagship journal The Biology of Reproduction: https://academic.oup.com/biolreprod/article/114/1/134/8239143?guestAccessKey=