Participant from ReProForce Partner Center Jena: Prof. Dr. Udo Markert, Head of the Placenta Labor - Department of Obstetrics, Universitaetsfrauenklinik, Friedrich Schiller Universitaet, Jena, Germany.

Duration: 28 March – 31 March 2012.

Aim of the visit – Elaboration of common line of research between partner laboratories, discussions on research topics, meetings with PhD students and young researchers.

On March 29th during a welcome meeting organized in the premises of the Institute by Dr. Margarita Mollova, the efforts and enormous activity of Prof. Markert in supporting new scientific developments at the Bulgarian Center for Reproductive Immunology were accordingly underlined and gratefully acknowledged by all IBIR representatives attending the meeting. During a comprehensive informal discussion in the presence of

Аssoc. Prof. M. Mollova, Assoc. prof. Elena Kistanova, Assoc. Prof. Tzvetelina Oreshkova, Assoc. Prof. Milena Mourdzheva and Dr. Volodya Georgiev the partners decided that they are going to continue their collaboration by trying to submit joint project proposals to European and national grant schemes under the topic: Toxicity in reproduction.

Afterwards, the first day of the visit was devoted to plenty of other small meetings with different researchers in the Institute. Dr. Markert visited laboratories and had talks with scientists from the Departments of Immunobiology of Reproduction, Molecular Immunology and Immunoneuroendocrinology. They presented to Dr. Markert results from their studies and discussed perspectives of bilateral collaboration with the partner laboratory in Jena. The main topics were focused in the field of reproductive immunobiology and concentrated on possible project proposals to be submitted to various sources for funding. He confirmed his readiness for support of the new actions undertaken to propose expansion of the center at IBIR with facilities for high-throughput genomic and proteomic studies.

On March 30th a country-side trip east from Sofia was organized to let Dr. Markert get familiar with national culture, country life and long-lasting ethnographic traditions. The town of Koprivshtitza was visited in the company of Assoc. Prof. R. Konakchieva, Assoc. Prof. M. Murdjheva and Dr. Georgi Georgiev. The group was welcomed in Koprivshtitza at the Guest-house of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from Ms. Katya Bancheva, who introduced the history of town and ancient life-style of Koprivshtitza old-time habitants.

Dr. Konakchieva and Dr. Markert expressed further their willingness to support and develop the started mutual line of research on granulose cell biomarkers with role in shaping germ cell interactions.

Both sites showed their amends that concerted action from both Institutes in the last 8 Months enabled the recent award of 3-month training research grant from DAAD, Germany to Dr. G.Georgiev. Mutual belief was expressed that the fellowship training will allow Mr. Georgiev to pursue his project started in Jena during his first visit in June – July 2011 and to gain more experience and skills in international settings in the Placenta lab headed by Dr. Markert. The research training awarded by DAAD should be commenced in academic 2012-2013 and will focus on glucocorticoid-sensitive responses to insulin in human ovary by scrutiny cellular responses to ligand-stimulated signal transduction and expression of target intracellular proteins.
The short senior visit of Assoc. Prof. R. Konakchieva to the Partner center in Jena was also discussed. It was decided to postpone the visit for the last quarter of 2012.

On 31 March all guest-visitors from IBIR Partner centers arrived for the event in Bulgaria attended a seminar on Advances of assisted reproduction technologies which was held in IBIR. Professor Udo Markert was contented by the contacts made during his stay in Bulgaria and departed back to Jena on March 31st.