Capital Markets Day 2023

Bronwyn is the CEO of the Vitrolife Group. Prior to joining Vitrolife Group she served as the Global President for the Immunodiagnostics Division of Thermo Fisher Scientific based in Uppsala, Sweden. She previously held the role of President EMEA covering the entire Thermo Fisher portfolio of businesses for the region.

Bronwyn has over 25 years experience in the Medtech industry having also worked for Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson in a number of senior roles around the globe covering businesses including general surgery, women’s health, gastroenterology, cardiology and oncology.

She has been a member of the board of Medtech Europe for a number of years and served as the Vice Chair (IVD) of the OMC (Operations Management Committee) Bronwyn holds a BA in International Business & Languages (Spanish, French) and an MBA from Dublin City University. She is currently studying for an advanced diploma in Sustainability.

Carlos Simón is Professor of Ob/Gyn at the University of Valencia, Spain; Senior Lecturer PT, BIDMC Harvard University, USA; Adjunct Clinical Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, USA; Invited Professor at University of California San Francisco and President of Carlos Simon Foundation.

His main clinical and scientific interest is in the understanding of the human embryonic implantation process, a critical process to the survival of the species, considering as key elements the embryo, the maternal endometrium, and the cross-communication between them.

In human endometrial research, his group identified the transcriptomic signature of human endometrial receptivity using microarray technology (PMID: 20619403) and its confirmation by single-cell RNA seq (PMID: 32929266). Clinical translation of this work resulted in the creation of the endometrial receptivity analysis (ERA) for the diagnosis of the personalized window of implantation in infertile patients. His team provided evidence of a decidualization defect in the endometrium of women with severe preeclampsia, a pathology detectable at the time of delivery and persisting for years (PMC: 5635883), further discovering the footprint encoding this defect (PMC: 8553341). Also, they demonstrated that the human uterine cavity is not sterile, by identifying the existence of the endometrial microbiome (PMID: 27717732)) and its functional implications in pregnancy outcome in infertile patients (PMC: 8725275).Further, they investigated the existence and the functional proof of concept of human endometrial stem cells. Today, these findings are being translated to the first advanced cellular therapy of Asherman Syndrome ((PMID: 27005892)(EudraCT Number: 2016-003975-23)).

For the human embryo, he has created a prediction model for aneuploidy in early embryo development revealed by single-cell analysis (PMID: 26151134), deciphered the clinical impact of embryo mosaicism (PMCID: PMC8715143), and discovered the origin, and composition of human embryo-cell free DNA (PMID: 29471395) and its clinical translation (PMID: 32470458)). His team derived, characterized, and registered 10 human embryonic stem cell lines in the Spanish National Stem Cell Bank. (PMID: 20018958). His pioneering work in this field made possible the creation of the Valencia Node of the Spanish Stem Cell Bank in 2004. Finally, the cross-communication between maternal endometrium and the embryo (PMID: 29390102) has been addressed by discovering that maternal microRNAs (miRNAs) that might act as transcriptomic modifier of the pre-implantation embryo (PMID: 26395145).

His commitment to excellence in research is demonstrated by the publication of 538 papers (Pubmed) in peer-reviewed journals. His papers have received a total of 50,121 citations. His Google Scholar is 127. He is editor of 22 books in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and supervisor of 41 PhD Thesis. His work has been awarded by several scientific societies including SGI/SRI and institutions including the Rey Jaime I Medical Research Award 2011, the ASRM Distinguished Research Award 2016, and the Lilly Foundation Biomedical Research Award 2021.

Pubmed Publication List: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/simon_c
ResearchID: G-2186-2014. http://www.researcherid.com/rid/G-2186-2014
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=nA_MhRMAAAAJ&hl=es

Trained in Science and Embryology at the University of Valencia, Spain, Dr Carmen Rubio specialized in cytogenetic studies in human reproduction, partly at the University of Barcelona. She completed her PhD in the field of Reproductive Genetics and post-doctoral research included research in male and female meiosis at the laboratory of Drs. Patricia Hunt and Terry Hassold (Washington State University, USA). She has published more than 100 papers in the main peer-reviewed specialist journals in the field, books chapters as well as numerous lectures at conferences worldwide. She is appointed as lecturer in post-graduate courses in Reproductive Genetics, supervising PhD students, and she is an active member of ESHRE, ASRM and board member of the PGDIS society. Currently she is the head of the Research & Development department at Igenomix (Vitrolife group). Her main current research interests after 30 years working in this field, are non-invasive approaches of genetic testing, being particularly active in the study of chromosomal abnormalities in the cell-free DNA released into the culture medium as a non-invasive approach for the assessment of embryo viability.

David is a Pioneer in human IVF. He is the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF, Virtus Health Director of ART, Scientific Innovation and Research and a Distinguished Professorial Fellow in the School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Australia. 

He completed his PhD (1987) at the University of York, with Henry Leese. In 1988 he moved to Harvard Medical School to work with John Biggers, after which he moved to Monash, Australia, in 1989 to work with Alan Trounson. In 1997 became the Scientific Director of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Denver, where his work on human embryo culture conditions and blastocyst transfer revolutionised how human IVF is performed today.

In 2007 he was appointed Professor and Chair of the Zoology Department at the University of Melbourne and promoted to the level of Distinguished Professor, School of BioSciences in 2018.

In 2016 he became the Scientific Director of Melbourne IVF.

In 2017 in recognition of his many significant contributions to reproductive sciences he was elected as a Fellow into the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and further was the recipient of the Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

In June 2022, he was on Queen Elizabeth II Birthday Honours list and was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant contributions to reproductive medicine.

He has published over 300 papers and chapters and has edited 16 books on IVF and embryology, culminating in over 35,000 citations and an H index of 104, making him one of the highest cited scientists in reproductive medicine & biology in the world today.

His current research is focussed on the metabolepigenetic regulation of mammalian development, how the blastocyst signals the endometrium, the role of antioxidants in ART, how AI can be used to select sperm, the development of microfluidic devices for sperm preparation and analysis, and how 3D microfabrication can be used to create novel devices to improve ICSI, culture and cryopreservation.

Dr. Keiichi Kato is a board certified specialist in reproductive medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. Currently, he is the general director of Kato Ladies Clinic in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. He advocates the use of Natural cycle and Minimal Stimulation IVF to deliver safe, effective and patient-friendly ART.

Dr. Kato graduated from the School of Medicine of Kanazawa University in 2000 and had his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Kanazawa University Hospital. In 2004, he had further training in ART at the New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York, USA before he went back in 2005 to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Kanazawa University Hospital as a Consultant. In 2009, he joined Kato Ladies Clinic as a practicing infertility specialist.

Dr. Kato has several publications in the field of reproductive medicine and is board of director for the Japan Society of Fertilization and Implantation (JSFI) and Japan Association of Private Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinics and Laboratories (JAPAN A-PART).

Jørgen Berntsen completed a M.Sc. in biology and a B.Sc. in computer science from Aarhus University. He was part of the FertiliTech team which developed the first commercial EmbryoScope time-lapse system. Currently, he is the team leader of the AI group within Vitrolife Technology in Denmark. His current work focuses on the use of artificial intelligence to improve IVF treatment. The focus has especially been on embryo evaluation through guided annotation and embryo selection with the iDAScore model. He has published 35 reviewed articles and has more than 10 patent applications within embryology.

Nationality: British
Date of initial appointment: January 2011

Dr Larman has been in the field of embryology and IVF for over 20 years. Prior to joining the Vitrolife Group, Dr. Larman performed R&D activities in the laboratory of Prof. David Gardner who has developed several Vitrolife products. He has held the position of Chief Scientific Officer, Media Development Manager and Senior Scientist at Vitrolife Group. He also held the position of Senior Director for Clinical Product Management at Progyny.

Dr Larman holds a PhD from the University of Newcastle (UK). His research career focused on the cellular processes of fertilization and early embryo development.

Nationality: Swedish
Date of initial appointment: October 1, 2022

Mr Ericsson has been the SVP Global Sales & Marketing of the Vitrolife Group since October 1, 2022.

Since January 1 2015 to September 2022, Mr Ericsson was heading up Vitrolife’s Sales & Marketing organisation globally, and took responsibility of Igenomix Sales & Marketing global functions as well as from October 2022.

Prior to joining Vitrolife, Mr Ericsson was the European Market and Business Development Director of Essity Health Care division with focus on Incontinence Management. He has also held other senior Customer and Business Development positions as well as Sales and Marketing leadership roles within Essity during 13 years. Prior Essity, Mr Ericsson was a Management Consultant with focus on E-Business strategy development for larger European clients.

Mr Ericsson holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Nationality: Italian and Spanish
Date of initial appointment: September 1st, 2022

Sabrina Ritossa Fernandez is Vitrolife Group Sustainability Business Partner.

Sabrina is coordinating sustainability efforts within the Vitrolife Group and is part of the global HR management team. Prior to joining us, Sabrina was based in Paris and worked in the investment banking and fund management industry as an ESG professional within global financial institutions such as BNP Paribas, Allianz Global Investors and Sycomore AM, a boutique specialized in responsible investing part of the Generali Group.

Sabrina holds an MBA degree from Nova School of Business and Economics, with a specialization in corporate social responsibility. Sabrina is also an EFFAS certified ESG analyst.

Dr. Mitchell Rosen is an expert in reproductive endocrinology and fertility. He is director of the UCSF Fertility Preservation Program, which helps patients with cancer secure the ability to conceive in the future, despite the effects of aggressive cancer treatment.

Rosen earned his medical degree at Saint Louis University and completed residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. During his training, he was named best resident twice and received an award as best resident teacher. He completed fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at UCSF. Also, he completed training in the UCSF embryology laboratory to qualify as a high complexity lab director.

In addition to caring for patients, Rosen teaches UCSF medical students, residents and fellows.

Education
St. Louis University School of Medicine, 1998

Born 1963. Employed in 2016.

Previous assignments
Wellspect / Astra Tech

Education
High School Engineer

Born 1968. Employed in 2020.

Previous assignments
Chief Commercial Officer in Igenomix. Commercial Director EMEA and Latin America at C&C Group Plc and various senior Business Development and General Management positions within Diageo Plc.

Education
M.B.A. ESADE Business School