Faculty · Saturday 17 October 2026

Our speakers

An international faculty alongside experts from ART Fertility Clinics, delivering 19 talks across four scientific sessions.

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Prof. Dr Human Fatemi

Prof. Dr Human Fatemi

Group Medical Director, ART Fertility Clinics

Group Medical Director for the UAE, holding a PhD in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and a clinical professorship at the University of Brussels. Recognised as a subspecialist by EBCOG and ESHRE, with over 200 peer-reviewed publications and more than 300 international conference presentations.

Presenting (3 sessions)
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 08:30 – 08:35Welcome speech
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 08:35 – 09:00Endometrial receptivity: science, myth, or marketing?
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 13:00 – 13:25Merck symposium
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Prof. Dr Baris Ata

Prof. Dr Baris Ata

Medical Director, ART Fertility Clinics Dubai

Full Professor and Chairperson of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Koç University School of Medicine, Turkey. He completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at McGill University and holds a Master’s in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has overseen more than 5,000 IVF cycles.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 10:30 – 10:50Unconventional ovarian stimulation protocols
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Laura Melado

Dr Laura Melado

Medical Director, ART Fertility Clinics Abu Dhabi

Specialist in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Endocrinology/IVF, licensed by HAAD and DHA. She graduated from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and completed a four-year fellowship at Hospital Universitario La Paz. Her PhD, awarded cum laude, examined AMH during ovarian stimulation.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 10:50 – 11:20From ovarian reserve to ovarian responsiveness: redefining the low responder
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Prof. Dr Barbara Lawrenz

Prof. Dr Barbara Lawrenz

Scientific Director, ART Fertility Clinics Abu Dhabi

Specialist in gynaecology and obstetrics, prenatal medicine, and gynaecological endocrinology and reproductive medicine, with a PhD in fertility preservation before cytotoxic therapy. Formerly Head of the IVF Department at Women’s University Hospital Tübingen and now a guest professor at UZ Gent.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 09:25 – 09:50A weighty matter – obesity in reproduction
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Laura Marqueta

Dr Laura Marqueta

Specialist, Reproductive Medicine and Infertility

Specialist in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Endocrinology/IVF working under HAAD and DHA. She trained at Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid and holds a master’s in Reproductive Medicine from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Her main area of interest is the role of the endometrium in achieving a successful pregnancy.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 09:00 – 09:25It’s not all about the embryo – the role of the immune system in pregnancy
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Francisco Ruiz

Dr Francisco Ruiz

Specialist, Reproductive Medicine and Infertility

Specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, with a Master’s in Human Reproduction from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad. He previously practised at IVI Mexico and IVI Madrid. His research interests include endometriosis and male infertility.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 09:50 – 10:15Adenomyosis: from enigma to evidence
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Ibrahim ElKhatib

Ibrahim ElKhatib

Group Director, Embryology
Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 15:45 – 16:10Basics of eggs and sperm
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Mina Popovic

Dr Mina Popovic

Scientific Director, Eugin Group

Global Scientific Director of the Eugin Group in Barcelona and Professor in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at Ghent University, where she took her PhD. She co-directs the MHART master’s programme at Pompeu Fabra University and is Immediate Past-Coordinator of ESHRE’s Special Interest Group on Stem Cells. Her research spans early human embryo development, preimplantation genetic testing and chromosomal instability.

Presenting (2 sessions)
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 13:25 – 13:50Chromosomal instability and the limits of embryo selection
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 14:40 – 15:05From counting chromosomes to reading genomes: the future of embryo genetic assessment
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Denny Sakkas

Dr Denny Sakkas

Chief Scientific Officer, Boston IVF

Chief Scientific Officer at Boston IVF. He trained at the University of Melbourne and completed his PhD at Monash University. He was previously Chief Scientific Officer at Molecular Biometrics and Associate Professor at Yale University School of Medicine, directing the Yale Fertility Center’s ART laboratories.

Presenting (2 sessions)
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 14:15 – 14:40Future of AI in reproductive medicine
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 17:00 – 17:20IVF laboratory automation: is it coming or just hype?
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Ayse Seyhan

Dr Ayse Seyhan

Associate Professor, American Hospital Istanbul

Associate Professor in gynaecology, obstetrics and reproductive health, and an attending physician in the Women’s Health and IVF Unit at American Hospital, Istanbul since 2014. She trained at the King’s College Harris Birthright Research Centre and McGill University, and specialises in the ultrasonographic diagnosis of endometriosis.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 11:20 – 11:45Endometriosis and endometrioma – diagnostics and treatment approach in 2026
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Cesar Diaz

Dr Cesar Diaz

Chief Medical Officer, IVI RMA Global Northern Europe

Chief Medical Officer for IVI RMA Global Northern Europe, with international experience across Spain, the UK and the Nordics. Formerly Medical Director of IVI London, he was part of the team behind the UK’s first successful womb transplant, and researches premature ovarian insufficiency and poor response in IVF.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 11:45 – 12:10Stem cells in low ovarian reserve patients – the light at the end of the tunnel?
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Raquel Del Gallego

Dr Raquel Del Gallego

Head of Clinical Data Management, ART Fertility Clinics

Head of the Clinical Data Management Unit at ART Fertility Clinics and a Visiting Scholar at New York University Abu Dhabi. She holds a BSc in Biology and a PhD in Medicine, awarded magna cum laude, from the University of Valencia, and has authored over 80 peer-reviewed papers and abstracts.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 13:50 – 14:15Whole-brain dynamics across the menstrual cycle
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Salma Selim

Salma Selim

Data Analyst, ART Fertility Clinics

Data Analyst and a member of the ART Research Team at ART Fertility Clinics, Abu Dhabi. She is first author of a 2026 paper in Reproductive BioMedicine Online on structured counselling and its association with IVF cycle cancellations and patient adherence.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 16:10 – 16:35Supporting the journey: patient awareness and counselling in IVF
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort

Prof. Dr Christophe Blockeel

Medical Director, Brussels IVF

Medical Director of Brussels IVF, the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at University Hospital Brussels, and a visiting professor at the University of Zagreb. He chairs ESHRE’s Special Interest Group on Reproductive Endocrinology and was president of the Belgian Society for Reproductive Medicine from 2017 to 2020, with more than 180 peer-reviewed papers.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 15:20 – 15:45Improving live birth rates in IVF – potential benefits of hCG-driven LH bioactivity
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort
Dr Shahrzad Ansari

Dr Shahrzad Ansari

Senior Gynaecologist and Infertility Specialist, ART Fertility Clinics

Senior gynaecologist and infertility specialist with over two decades in reproductive medicine and minimally invasive surgery, known for her work on the “shaver” hysteroscopic technique for intrauterine pathologies. She completed a fellowship in reproductive medicine and minimally invasive surgery in Belgium and has been a faculty member of the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy since 2017.

Presenting
  • Sat 17 Oct 2026 · 16:35 – 17:00The uterus matters: hysteroscopy and the quest for implantation success in IVF
The Regal Ballroom, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort