Listen to the audio recording of this call (MP3 Format)

Websites mentioned on the call:

* Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (also link to Shaping Our Legacy)
* Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)
* Breast Cancer Fund (BCF)
* Women's Health and Environment Initiative (WHEI)

How far have we come since the groundbreaking 2007 UCSF-CHE Summit on Environmental Challenges to Reproductive Health and Fertility, where over 400 leading professionals came together from a variety of disciplines to discuss the latest science (and implications of the science) on fertility, reproductive health, and the environment? The scientific findings that were highlighted at the Summit - in addition to the implications of these findings for policy, medicine, education and public health - were outlined in the recently released report, Shaping Our Legacy: Reproductive Health and the Environment. Shaping Our Legacy was produced by the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) at the University of California, San Francisco, a program which itself was a result of the 2007 Summit.

By looking at the calls to action outlined in the report and by assessing some of the major collaborative projects that were inspired by the Summit, we can evaluate how much ground we have covered and what new opportunities lie ahead.

The January 13 call featured representatives from research, clinical care, and policy, who discussed some of the major post-Summit developments they have been involved with, in addition to what to expect in 2009. We heard about cutting edge research that crosses disciplinary lines; Planned Parenthood's efforts to educate its clinicians and patients about environmental contaminants; and about recent legislative successes (such as the federal phthalates bill) and future opportunities for chemicals policy reform in the new year.

This call was moderated by Dr. Tracey Woodruff, who is the Director of PRHE and Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF.

Featured speakers:

·      Dr. Patricia Hunt, Meyer Distinguished Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University

·      Rivka Gordon, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)

·      Janet Nudelman, Director of Program and Public Policy, Breast Cancer Fund