Inmaculada MORENO (Spain)
She graduated in 2002 in Biochemical Sciences at the University of Valencia and obtained her PhD at the same University in 2007 with the highest grade "Cum Laude". During her PhD studies she specialized in Molecular Microbiology and performed a stay at the Heinrich Heine Universitat in Dusseldorf, Germany. Her European PhD was awarded the best PhD thesis in 2008.
She performed her first postdoctoral fellowship (2008-2009) in the Centre for Biomedical Research at UCLM in Molecular Oncology, studying molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways leading to different types of cancer in human cells. This knowledge gave her the opportunity of a second post-doctoral fellowship (2010-2011) in the laboratory of Prof. Lako in a mixed unit created between the University of Newcastle and the Prince Felipe Research Center in Valencia (CIPF). During this time, she completed her knowledge of molecular and cell biology working with human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. During 2012 and 2013, she participated in InnovaLiv, a Regenerative Medicine project funded by the European Commission, under the supervision of Prof. Burks.
In 2014 she moved to the Reproductive Medicine field under the supervision of Prof. Simon, first as a researcher at IVI Foundation. She was a Torres-Quevedo researcher at the Research & Development department of Igenomix from 2014 to 2017, where she is currently the Research Manager. From 2015 she is a research collaborator at the Reproductive and Stem Cell Biology lab at Stanford School of Medicine, where she is a Visiting Scholar from 2016. During this period, Dr. Moreno has focused her research in the role of the reproductive tract microbiota in infertility and obstetrical complications.
She has published 25 scientific works in international journals such as Cell Research, Genes & Development, Cell Death & Differentiation and in renown journals on Reproductive sciences as American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Human Reproduction. She has participated in international meetings and research projects and is currently supervising two doctoral thesis.
Abstract
Endometrial Microbiome, a New Piece in Endometrial Factor
The discovery of microbial communities inhabiting the whole female reproductive tract has challenged the traditional view of human fetal development in a sterile environment. Technical advances have facilitated the study of the bacterial microbiome in the upper and lower genital tract, as well as the role of such bacteria in women’s health and fertility. The microbiota in the urogenital tract of healthy reproductive age women is mainly composed of bacteria from the Lactobacillus genus; however, structural or compositional variations of this microbiota, that could occur throughout a women’s life in response to intrinsic and extrinsic factors may impact the function of reproductive organs leading to infertility or other pathological conditions. For example, low levels of Lactobacillus in the uterine cavity before in vitro fertilization have been associated with poor reproductive outcomes, by increasing implantation failure and miscarriage. For this reason, assessment of the endometrial microbiome is a new factor to be considered in infertile patients to improve our understanding of the reproductive function and develop personalized medicine in assisted reproductive technologies.