Embryo Transfer - Workshop at Thessaloniki, Greece

MD, PhD, MRCOG, Consultant in IVF and Reproductive Medicine, CREATE Fertility, London, UK

Dr. Malamas graduated from the medical school of Ioannina and completed his specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Alexandra University Hospital of Athens, in Greece. Following further training he obtained a diploma in Obstetric and Gynaecological Ultrasound.
He started working in the NHS in 2013 at the Whittington Hospital. He completed a fellowship in Assisted Conception at the Homerton University Hospital from 2016-2018, where he gained broad experience in the management of infertility and in assisted reproduction techniques. Since 2018 he has been working as a Consultant in IVF and Reproductive Medicine at CREATE Fertility in London and as the Lead Consultant of abc ivf in London.
He has obtained the British Fertility Society certification in Pelvic Ultrasound, Management of the infertile couple, Assisted Conception, Embryo transfer and IUI and he is a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (MRCOG).
He is very interested in research, has a PhD in Medical Physiology regarding the molecular mechanisms of hormonal actions, and has publications in international peer-reviewed journals.
Dr Malamas is particularly interested in the mild and more physiological approaches in IVF, the use of advanced ultrasound techniques in assisted reproduction and the management of patients with low ovarian reserve.

MD, Phd, Department Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, the Netherlands

Following the study medicine (Radboud University Nijmegen), Dick Schoot was trained as gynaecologist in Westeinde ziekenhuis the Hague and Erasmus University Rotterdam. He worked for several years as a staff member at the Academic Hospital in Rotterdam. Here he specialized in fertility treatments and IVF (board certificate Fertility Specialist). During this period he was working on the department ultrasound and prenatal diagnosis. His defence of his PhD Thesis was on “Follicular dynamics and Follicle stimulating hormones”. Following this period he was appointed as gynaecologist in a large University affiliated teaching hospital in Eindhoven (Catharina Hospital). He gained clinical experience and mastered in fetal medicine (Kings College 2003). Endoscopic surgery in infertility was his main working domain. He started research on uterine dynamics with TU/Eindhoven in 2012. He published 43 pear reviewed scientific articles. In 2015 he was appointed as Professor at the University of Ghent, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is co-owner of patents concerning ultrasound speckle-tracking of uterine dynamics.

PhD, Igenomix Foundation, INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Valencia, Spain 

Dr. Inmaculada Moreno graduated in Biochemical Sciences in 2002 and obtained her European PhD in 2007 in the field of Molecular Microbiology, which was awarded the best PhD thesis of University of Valencia, Spain, in 2008. During her postdoctoral training she specialized on Molecular Oncology and Regenerative Medicine.
In 2014, Dr. Moreno joined the R&D Department of Igenomix. From 2015 to 2018 she collaborated with the Reproductive and Stem Cell Biology laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine as a Visiting Scholar. From 2019 to 2022 she was the Research Director of Endometrial Microbiome department in Igenomix R&D and Igenomix Foundation.
Currently, she is Principal Investigator at Carlos Simon Foundation and INCLIVA, and leads the research on The Role of the Microbiome in Human Reproduction.
Dr. Moreno has been productive in both basic and clinical research. She is the author of more than 30 international publications in peer-review journals and has participated as invited speaker in over 80 international conferences.

Research and Development project manager – Immunology & Molecular biology engineer, Paris, France

Experiences
Research & Development engineer/project manager in charge of the automation of the UTIMPRO test by developing a RT-qPCR assay at MatriceLAB Innove, Paris, France
October 2021 — Present
Immunology & Molecular biology engineer at MatriceLAB Innove, Paris, France
April 2019 — October 2021
Microbiology Research intern at Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
January 2017 — July 2017
Microbiology Research intern at Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Châtenay-Malabry, France
Education
Master 2 Microbiology (Bacteria, Virus, Parasite): microbiota, pathogens and therapeutics for infectious diseases, University of Paris-Sud XI (Faculty of Pharmacy), Châtenay-Malabry, France
October 2016 — July 2017
Master 1 Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Paris-Sud XI (Faculty of Pharmacy), Châtenay-Malabry, France
September 2015 — July 2016
Bachelor’s degree in Life and Earth Sciences – Biochemistry, University of Saint-Joseph (USJ), Beyrouth, Lebanon
September 2012 — July 2015
Publications and communications
● Kazhalawi Alaa et al. Contribution of immunology to build precision medicine in reproduction: present and future. Explor Immunol. 2022;2:558–71. https://doi.org/10.37349/ei.2022.00067.
● Le Monnier Alban et al. One-day prevalence of asymptomatic carriage of toxigenic and non-toxigenic Clostridioides difficile in 10 French hospitals. Journal of Hospital Infection. 10.1016/j.jhin.2022.05.011.
● Invited speaker at the ESRI (The 16th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Reproductive Immunology) to give a talk about ''Uterine Immune Profiling and Recurrent Miscarriages'' Paris, March, 2022
● Kazhalawi Alaa et al. The Endometrial Immune Profiling May Positively Affect the Management of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. Frontiers in Immunology. 12. 10.3389/fimmu.2021.656701.
● Lédée N, et al. uterine immune profile: A method for individualizing the management of women who have failed to implant an embryo after IVF/ICSI. J Reprod Immunol. 2020 Nov;142:103207. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2020.103207. Epub 2020 Sep 14. PMID: 32971456.
● Lédée N, et al. Endometrial Immune Profiling: A Method to Design Personalized Care in Assisted Reproductive Medicine. Front Immunol. 2020 Jun 4;11:1032. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01032.

Consultant Gynaecologist & Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine, Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Imperial College, London, UK

Sotirios is a Consultant Gynaecologist and Accredited Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery. He is an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College London and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for several years. He has served as a Deputy of the ESHRE Reproductive Surgery Special Interest Group and has been a co-author in national and international RCOG, ESGE and ESHRE Guidelines.

MD, PhD, EFOG-EBCOG, Assisted Reproduction Gynaecologist, Visiting Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Prof. Dr. Panagiotis Drakopoulos is an assisted reproduction gynecologist specializing in infertility and assisted reproduction investigation and treatment.
Specialized for a number of years at the Center for Reproductive Medicine of the University of Brussels (CRG, UZ Brussel), since 2019 he is also a visiting Professor at the University.
He is acknowledged as a specialist in reproductive medicine both by ESHRE (European society of Human Reproduction) and EBCOG (European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynecology).
Mr. Drakopoulos has authored more than 80 articles in international journals and is a guest speaker at many international IVF conferences on an annual basis. He also contributes as a reviewer to the most important journals in the field of infertility (Human Reproduction update, Human reproduction, Fertility and Sterility, etc.).
His scientific interest focuses mainly on reproductive endocrinology and strategies for improving the outcome of patients with poor prognosis.
What characterizes him profoundly is his emphasis on the "human being", the individualized approach to the problem (individualized medicine) and the application of only evidence based medicine (evidence based medicine). His medical approach is perfectly expressed in the saying of Patch Adams: "You Treat A Disease, You Win, You Lose – You Treat A Person, I Guarantee You, You'll Win, No Matter What The Outcome is".

PhD, MMedSc, Sr Clinical Embryologist, ESHRE cert., Embryolab Lab Director

Mr. Achilleas Papatheodorou is a senior clinical embryologist with an experience of more than 20.000 cycles in assisted reproduction (ART), among which a great number of cases with severe male infertility and application of embryo biopsy for Preimplantation Genetic Testing. His scientific interests focus mainly on the aspects of vitrification technique on human oocytes, embryos and the cryopreservation of human spermatozoa.

In 2004, Mr. Achilleas Papatheodorou graduated from school of Biology, in Aristotle’s University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
In 2005 he received his Master of Medical Sciences (M.Med.Sci.) degree in Assisted Reproduction Technology (University of Nottingham, UK).
In 2016 he was awarded with a PhD Degree from the Medical School of University of Ioannina. His PhD research project was the Clinical application of vitrification technique for cryopreserving human oocytes.
In 2017 he was certified by ESHRE as senior Clinical Embryologist.

Achilleas Papatheodorou has worked as a clinical embryologist in Thessaloniki, Athens, Albania and Italy. Additionally, he has worked as a scientific consultant of the IVF laboratory of San Carlo Hospital in Potenza, Italy. He has visited plenty of IVF clinics in Italy sharing his knowledge and technology with their embryology and andrology stuff. From 2019 is working in Embryolab, Fertility Clinic as Senior Clinical Embryologist.

Achilleas has done numerous oral presentations in conferences and hands on workshops and at he same time is involved in research projects and training for all the modern ART lab techniques and is the author of a number of scientific articles, posters and chapters.

He is a member of the European Society of Human Reproduction (ESHRE), the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and the Greek Association of Clinical Embryologists (PEKE) in which currently he serves as a vice-president.

Achilleas Papatheodorou enjoys to spend time with family and friends. His favourite hobbies are photography and the collection of different types of music. He recalls his first experience with the field of Assisted Reproduction Technology as an instant crush that led to an everlasting love. He is enthusiastic about innovation that could be applied in the IVF field and could help couples reach earlier their goal, to create their family.

MD, MSc, FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Clinical & Scientific Director Embryolab Fertility Clinic

Nicholas Christoforidis is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist with a sub-specialization in Reproductive Medicine and Assisted Reproductive Techniques.

He graduated the School of Medicine of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece in 1995 and trained thereafter in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the United Kingdom from 1995 until 2003. In 2001 he was appointed as a Fellow in the Imperial College, London, in the IVF Unit of Hammersmith Hospital, where he trained extensively in the investigation and management of infertility and assisted reproduction techniques.

He is the Clinical and Scientific Director of Embryolab Fertility Clinic, Thessaloniki, Greece, since 2004 with a considerable and long experience in all aspects of investigation and treatment of fertility disorders, focusing on evidence-based practices and highlighting critical aspects of risk management. He is co-founder of the Embryolab Academy, a nonprofit organization, which aims to guide Fertility specialists and IVF units to grow in a systematic, effective and safe way, through continuous training and sharing of sound practices.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstericians and Gynaecologists, UK, and a member of European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

MD, MSc, MHA, PhD, EFOG-EBCOG, Gynecologist in Assisted Reproduction, European Fellow of Reproductive Medicine ESHRE/EBCOG

Marina Dimitraki is gynecologist specializing in infertility research and assisted reproduction
΄She has research work in the field of gynecological endocrinology and assisted reproduction and her scientific work is published in Greek and international journals.
She participates in the works of congresses in Greece and abroad, with interest in gynecological endocrinology, reproductive medicine, endometriosis / adenomyosis, child and adolescent gynecology.
Marina is married and has a son. She is interested in the organization and performance of medical research protocols and supports the necessity of ongoing study, being also a graduate of the Philosophy school of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is an ambassador for person-centered medicine, and for that reason the phrase which encapsulates her is taken from Hippocrates: Ουκ ένι ιατρικήν είδέναι, όστις μη οίδεν ό τι εστίν άνθρωπος. “It is impossible for someone to know medicine when he does not know what man is’.
Marina is a member of ΕSHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology), EBCOG (European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology), of the ISGE (International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology), HSCCP (Hellenic Society for Cervical Pathology, HSGE (Hellenic Society of Gynaecological Endocrinology) and ΕΛ.Ε.Ι.Υ.Α (Hellenic Society of Assisted Reproduction Physicians).

BSc, MSc, PMI-RMP, Consultant Sr. Clinical Embryologist, Director of Embryolab Academy, Co-Founder and Board Member of Embryolab Fertility Clinic

Mrs. Alexia Chatziparasidou is a senior clinical embryologist with an experience of more than 45.000 cycles in assisted reproduction (ART). Her scientific interests focus mainly on the application of modern oocyte and embryo freezing methods and treating male subfertility and azoospermia. Since 2007 she has developed a special interest in efficient Total Quality Management (TQM) and Risk Management (RM) in ART units in the context of process optimization and standardization and the implementation of risk mitigation strategies.

In 2004, Mrs Chatziparasidou co-founded Embryolab, a well-known and modern state of the art fertility clinic, located in Thessaloniki Greece.
In 2007 she was awarded with her Master degree (MSc) on Clinical Embryology (Leeds University) and in 2008 she was certified by ESHRE as senior Clinical Embryologist.
In 2013 she co-founded Embryolab Academy and co-organized a series of international workshops on TQM and RM for ART units, cryopreservation and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGT).

Alexia Chatziparasidou travels the world as invited speaker in conferences and hands on workshops, is actively involved in research projects and training for all the modern ART lab techniques and is the author of a number of scientific articles, posters and chapters.

Her latest project is her thesis under the title: “The genetic basis of Azoospermia- The mystery that needs to be unraveled” in collaboration with the University of Thessaly. The aim of this project is to shed light in the genetic basis of azoospermia and set the basis for the development of personalized therapeutic options for men suffering from azoospermia.

She is a member of the European Society of Human Reproduction (ESHRE), the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), Scientists in Reproductive Medicine (ALPHA) and the Pan-Hellenic Association of Clinical Embryologists (PEKE), Ambassador of the EURO-GTP II Risk assessment tool for novel applications and Inspector for the ESHRE ART Center Certification for Good Clinical Practices.

Alexia Chatziparasidou enjoys to spend time with family and friends. She regards herself as very fortunate for being able to live her passion for science and be a part of all the latest scientific developments in the field of assisted reproduction but above all she feels extremely blessed for being able to serve and support men and women in their most wonderful journey. The journey to parenthood!