Control of pig reproduction XI

11th International Conference on Pig Reproduction

5th – 7th June 2023

Ghent Belgium

The 11th International Conference on Pig Reproduction (ICPR) was held in the beautiful city of Ghent, Belgium, on June 5-7 in 2023. Former ICPR meetings had always taken place at 4-year intervals, but the worldwide epidemic of Corona-19 forced us to a 2-year delay, and we are thankful that we could again meet to discuss pig reproduction. The program of the meeting was developed by the International Organizing Committee. The contributions of 26 invited speakers focused on new insights into specific reproductive processes in female and male pigs and their gametes, and on genetic, environmental or management factors influencing these processes. A total of 74 posters were presented, of which 14 were selected to deliver an oral presentation, and 26 gave a flash presentation, which was a first at an ICPR meeting but represents a continued commitment of ICPR to trainee and student development.

The success of the 11th ICPR was due to the hard work and commitment of the local organising committee, chaired by Dr Dominiek Maes. The conference ran smoothly and was enjoyed by the delegates, providing a forum for stimulating scientific exchange with colleagues old and new. The conference attracted over 130 delegates from at least 18 countries, and was funded, in part, by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2021-67015-33405). An outstanding meeting was further made possible by many industry and academic sponsors. The detailed program can be found at https://icpr2023.be.

Proceedings of previous ICPR meetings 1 through 9 can be found at www.biosciproceedings.org. Proceedings of the 10th ICPR were published as a special issue of Molecular Reproduction and Development (MRD) and are available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/10982795/2017/84/9. The ICPR is happy to again partner with MRD for the current proceedings entitled Control of Pig Reproduction XI. It contains review articles accompanying the invited lectures that have been internationally peer-reviewed, and abstracts of the posters and oral presentations that were peer-reviewed by the local and international organizing committees. Sincere thanks are due to the many external scientific reviewers, MRD editorial board members, and ICPR co-editors Inma Parrilla and Agnieszka Waclawik. The ICPR thanks Harvey Florman, Eunice Precious Jasmine D and Ekta Kumar at MRD for their hard work and commitment. We are confident that this Special Issue will provide a valuable resource for everyone interested in pig reproduction and fertility.