The US DOHaD Society hosted a successful 9th Annual Society Meeting this past week at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. The meeting theme was “Beyond 1000 Days.” We had 94 registered attendees, nearly half of which were trainees! This group brought energy and engagement while representing research groups and institutions from across the nation!
We were honored to collaborate with OHSU’s Summer DOHaD Course to host Trainee Day this year! Participants attending the DOHaD Course as well as the Annual Meeting participated in a full day of professional development sessions. In the morning, we heard from Dr. Patricia Hunt (Washington State University) on Elements of an Effective Presentation, a thoughtful and inspiring session for our trainees to practice their communication and presentation skills! Leah Payne from Portland State University and our own Trainee Representative, Kyle Siemers, led participants through conversations and activities about branding and developing virtual networking tools. The afternoon session was packed with concurrent presentations and panels covering grant writing, career paths, advocacy, and science communication! We’re so thankful to our many presenters who took the time to connect with DOHaD trainees: Dr. Kurt Albertine (Children’s Mercy), Dr. Leslie Myatt (OHSU), Dr. Kaela Varberg (Children’s Mercy), Dr. Larry Reynolds (North Dakota State University), Dr. Jerry Heindel (HEEDS), Dr. Nicole Marshall (OHSU), Dr. Diane Stadler (OHSU), Kelly Lenox, Dr. Kiki Sanford (Association of Science Communicators), and Dr. Jess Hebert (OHSU), Dr. Sathish Kumar Natarajan (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), and Dr. Alina Maloyan (OHSU).
After the conclusion of Trainee Day, the US DOHaD Society attended OMSI After Dark: Wild West! Among the fantastic science exhibits at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry were ponies, baby goats, lasso demonstrations, and country themed laser shows, and a beautiful sunset to wrap up the night. We’re especially grateful to Dr. Terry Morgan for supporting our trainees attending this event!
The meeting theme, “Beyond 1000 Days” included keynote and abstract-selected oral presentations that were organized into four sub-themes: 1) Preconception Health and Paternal Influences, 2) Maternal and Placental Health, 3) Child Health Outcomes, and 4) Adult Health Outcomes and Interventions. The topics covered by the keynote and abstract presentations represented the breadth of DOHaD research and resulted in engaging, multi-disciplinary discussions from participants across the US. We had a poster session held in the OHSU Auditorium full of interesting projects and phenomenal presenters. Trainee presenters were judged and awarded based on their presentations. Our awardees were guaranteed US DOHaD Society Membership Fees and half-off registration fees for 2026! The award for top abstract went to Rebecca J. Schmidt, PhD and the top two poster presentation awards went to Dalisa Kendricks, PhD and Kyle Siemers, PhD who will receive full registration and membership for 2026!
This year we recognized Dr. Folami Ideraabdullah as a recipient of the US DOHaD Leadership Recognition award, Dr. Kent Thornburg as a recipient of the US DOHaD Scientist Award, Dr. Linda Adair as the awardee of the US DOHaD Team Science Award, and Dr. Jamie Lo and the Oregon National Primate Research Center as the first awardees of the Resilience in DOHaD Science Award. We look forward to seeing you at our next 10th Annual Meeting which will be held July 8-10, 2025 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. Lastly, please continue to engage in the US DOHaD community by registering as a Society member to receive newsletter news and updates throughout the year.
The success of our 9th Annual Society Meeting was made possible by the tireless efforts of our Trainee Representatives (Drs. Megan Beetch and Kyle Siemers), ECHO representative (Dr. Linda Adair), Faculty Representatives (Alina Maloyan and Satish Kumar Natarajan), our Secretary (Dr. Erin Madriago), our Treasurer (Serena Gumusoglu), our Vice President (Dr. Kaela Varberg), and our President (Dr. Danielle Christiafno). Importantly, we are grateful for the financial support from the ECHO program, and additional funding through a generous grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. We thank our members, who served as session chairs and poster judges who energetically engaged in the research presented by our trainees, junior faculty, and keynotes. We extend a special thanks to Mandy Burns, Bernadette Battilega, and OHSU Moore Institute for Developmental Health Staff the for their generous support in planning, coordinating, and executing the Annual Meeting.
