Professor Erin Greaves & Dr Wolfram Gruhn - Warwick Medical School
Centre for Early Life (CfEL) Inaugural Symposium: From Gametes to the First Five Years
The project supported the organisation and delivery of the inaugural Centre for Early Life (CfEL) symposium, From Gametes to the First Five Years. The event brought together researchers, clinicians, early career researchers and postgraduate students from across the University of Warwick to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations in reproductive and early life research.
The intended outcomes were to increase the visibility of the Centre for Early Life, foster new collaborations across departments, provide networking and presentation opportunities for researchers at all career stages, identify strategic priorities for the Centre, and position CfEL for future interdisciplinary funding opportunities and external partnerships. These objectives aligned closely with the University’s Health Spotlight priorities of interdisciplinary collaboration, research culture and capacity building.
Summary of project outcomes
The symposium was successfully delivered as a face-to-face event and attracted strong interest from across the University. Registration was oversubscribed, demonstrating significant demand for an interdisciplinary forum focused on reproductive and early life health.
The programme included keynote lectures from internationally recognised researchers, presentations from early career researchers, a poster session and dedicated networking opportunities. A strategic discussion session was also held to define future priorities for the Centre.
The symposium achieved its principal aims by:
- bringing together researchers from multiple disciplines working across the early life continuum;
- facilitating new interdisciplinary connections and identifying opportunities for collaborative research;
- providing a platform for early career researchers to showcase their work;
- strengthening the identity of the Centre for Early Life as a University-wide interdisciplinary research community; and
- establishing priorities for future activities, including an external conference, seminar series and support for the new MSc in Reproductive Science.
Has the project supported further interdisciplinary work
The symposium strengthened interdisciplinary links between researchers working across biomedical sciences, clinical medicine, psychology, mathematics, physics and computer science. Several new research discussions and collaborations emerged following the event, particularly around reproductive disorders, developmental biology and AI-enabled reproductive research.
The event also helped define the Centre’s strategic priorities for future funding and partnership development. Planned next steps include developing an external-facing conference, establishing a regular seminar series, supporting the MSc in Reproductive Science as the Centre’s educational home, and developing future centre-scale funding applications.
