Guest Lecture: Bridging In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches to Model Embryo-Maternal Communication 

Speaker: Professor Dimitrios Rizos Babalouka  

Affiliations: Department of Animal Reproduction, The National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology Spanish National Research Council, Spain 

Date: 19th May 2025 

Time: 14:15-15:00 EET

Location: Auditorium A-124, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences / Online

Zoom link: Join here

Bio: Professor Dimitrios Rizos Babalouka is a leading expert in animal reproduction and currently serves as Director of the Department of Animal Reproduction at National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology in Spain. His research focuses on early embryonic development in mammals, both in vivo and in vitro, with particular interest in the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms regulating preimplantation development, embryo quality, and embryo-maternal interactions. Since 2006, he has led the "Preimplantation Embryology" laboratory and heads the "Assisted Reproduction and Preimplantation Embryology in Bovine" research group. His pioneering work has advanced reproductive biotechnology, improving the quality of in vitro embryos and reducing risks such as large offspring syndrome. His group has been a pioneer in evaluating the role of reproductive fluids and their extracellular vesicles (EVs) in enhancing the development and quality of bovine embryos produced in vitro. Professor Rizos’s contributions continue to shape the field of animal reproduction and offer practical solutions to improve fertility and embryo viability in livestock.