Supporting the career development of young researchers ensures the research and development of male contraception continues well into the future.
MCI provides support for young researchers looking to attend conferences, workshops, and professional development courses that allow them to promote their career. Our investment in the youth of the field ensures that exciting research programs can be fostered, connections can be made, and new ideas will always have the support they need to flourish. This page shares testimonials from previous Trainee Success recipients about their experience with the program.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis for any activity or need that advances the career of a trainee interested in the field of male contraception. Applications are evaluated based on relevance of the proposed activity, applicant strength and available funds. Applicants are encouraged to contact [email protected] for questions regarding eligibility.
"I sincerely appreciate the support provided through the Success Grant in Male Contraception Research, which facilitated my participation in this event and has enriched my trajectory as a researcher."
- Hiram Pacheco Castillo
“This experience will definitely positively influence my career as it inspired me to further my research in the field of andrology and possibly in the development of male contraception.” |
“I would like to thank MCI for providing me with a travel grant without which I could not attend this prestigious conference. This was the first international conference I presented my PhD work, and it was an incredible opportunity to improve my communication and networking skills.” |
“I would like to thank the Male Contraceptive Initiative for funding the expense of attending the conference, which has not only helped to broaden my knowledge and experience, but also to promote my own research and advance my academic career.”
- Haiqi Chen
“Our lab found that autophagy core protein ATG5 is required for normal male fertility, especially for the sperm individualization, acrosome formation and sperm structure development in mice. Many people were amazed and very interested in the abnormal sperm individualization caused by Atg5 knockout after I introduced them about my work. The major phenotypes in the mutant mice occurred in the later phase of spermatogenesis, indicating that ATG5 is a potential target for male contraceptives. Through the study and communication at this meeting, I have gained more understanding of the current research progress on male contraception.” |
“I was given the chance to present a talk at the “sperm-egg-communication” session, covering my data on TRPV4 in human sperm. Not only that I am highly honoured by this opportunity, I also received valuable input from other scientists in the sperm field, took part in a lively discussion afterwards and became internationally visible. My work was also acknowledged with a “Best International Abstract” award by the SSR, which I am especially proud of…Finally, I was able to make new connections and expand my scientific network, which will be advantageous for my postdoc application phase next year and brought up some ideas about what field and route might be right for me.” |
“The financial support offered by MCI allowed me to attend the Course Advanced Sequencing Technologies and Applications held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (Long Island, NY) in November 2018. This intensive two-week course was focused on the study and understanding of massive parallel sequencing technologies essential for modern biology practices. In this regard, by taking the Advanced Sequencing Technologies and Applications course I learned the basis of sequencing methodologies, which provided me the essential tools for the design of proper experiments and the application of specific data analysis. The basis of novel technologies as RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, ATAC-seq were instructed, as well as the detailed procedures for library construction and data analysis. Attending this course had a direct impact on my postdoctoral research work.”
- Maria Gracia Gervasi
“The greatest experience as a young scientist was the presentation of my own data. I was given the opportunity to give a poster presentation at the first poster session. During the session I received positive feedback concerning both my presentation and my data. I was able to discuss my data and network with a lot of PhD students and principal investigators. I might even start a cooperation with some of these labs.” |
“The opportunities and knowledge I gained through this conference helped revitalize my passion for reproductive health, and I am very blessed to have assistance from the Male Contraceptive Initiative to have attended ASRM. (American Society for Reproductive Medicine)” |
“I was able to present my own data. I was given the opportunity to give a flash-talk on the second day of the conference. After the session I received positive feedback concerning both my presentation and my data. I also promoted my poster during my flash talk. This way, a lot of scientists, both PhD students and principal investigators, attended my poster session. I was able to discuss my data and network with them. I might even start a cooperation with some of these labs.”
- Justine Fischoeder
“I express my sincere gratitude to the MCI for the opportunity to believe in the work that I did until now, the experience gained during this endeavor have not only deepened my passion for scientific inquiry but have also instilled in me a sense of purpose to make meaningful contributions to male contraception research. I'm almost totally sure that I want to dedicate my career to this important area of study, with the goal of contributing to the development of safe and effective male contraceptive methods.” |
“Thanks to the Male Contraceptive Initiative through the Trainee Success Program I had the opportunity to cross the Atlantic ocean and perform a one month stay in the Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Fertilization (Dr. P. Cuasnicu) of the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (IBYME, Argentina). This stay was rewarding both on the academic and personal level…Overall, this stay has been a milestone for my thesis because the techniques and the knowledge I acquired there will allow me to carry out the experiments that, I hope, will highlight the human oocyte receptor of CRISP2.” |
- “The opportunity to explore this topic has been eye-opening. First, I have a better grasp of male reproductive autonomy like never before. This is a sensitive area in African Society and one that I enjoyed working on. Secondly, this project has challenged me to do more. Becoming a lawyer was always a dream based on doing good and upholding human rights and I believe I have found a niche. Not many legal professionals are interested in this, in fact I haven’t heard of lawyers fighting for reproductive health issues. I want to change that, and this has been the first step in the right direction. I would say my career has taken a completely different path, thanks to MCI’s Trainee Success Program... I wish to extend my gratitude to Male Contraceptive Initiative for unlocking this dream and hope that we walk this journey together. Reproductive health is a human right and should be treated as such.”
- Fidel Olexa Oyato
“I am very happy to receive this MCI Trainee Success Award to support my research stay. . .This will help me publish my research in international high impact journals, which will ultimately have a large impact on my future chances of securing competitive research grants and positions. Importantly, we are planning to implement this technique in my project on the discovery of novel non-steroidal CatSper inhibitors, which could form the basis of novel non-hormonal male contraceptives.” |
My experience in the three-month fellowship in Dr Darzson ́s Laboratory was overall very positive. I was able to use of the cutting-edge technology that the laboratory in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has to offer. This fellowship really helped me in the development of my PhD project because I performed experiments that otherwise I would not be able to perform in Argentina due to the lack of the appropriate microscope…I believe that during my stay I generated many results that will help us understand such an important event in the fertilization process as it is the AR. Mouse sperm is an excellent model to study human sperm function and as such, I truly think that the results obtained in Mexico will enlighten the knowledge of the human sperm physiology so that a male contraceptive agent could be developed.” |
- “I want to say thank you to the Male Contraceptive Initiative for assisting me the opportunity to learn and network with well-known scientists, physicians, and health care professionals during the 2018 ASRM Congress & Expo. I am very grateful for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to see where this path takes me.”
- Krista M. Symosko
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“I attended the annual meeting of British Andrology Society on 20th September 2019 in London. I was invited to give an oral presentation on the Effect of low affinity bromodomain inhibitor N,N- Dimethylacetamide (DMA) on spermatogenesis…For the concluding ceremony of the meeting, I also received the Iwan Lewis-Jones Young Scientist award for best oral presentation. This boosted up my confidence. I am grateful to the Male contraceptive initiative who provided me a travel grant to attend the Annual meeting of British Andrology Society and I look forward to further support.” |
