World's top aging and reproductive medicine experts to convene at Cha Hospital international conference

Cha Hospital announced it will hold the "2026 Reproductive Aging – PSRM Conference" at the Cha Bio Complex in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on July 16-17. The international academic event will bring together the world's foremost experts in aging and reproductive medicine to discuss extending reproductive longevity.

The conference is co-organized with the Pacific Society for Reproductive Medicine (PSRM), one of the world's largest academic societies in reproductive medicine. Attendees include Cha Kwang-ryul, director of the Global Comprehensive Research Institute at Cha Hospital and Cha Bio Group; Jared Robbins, CEO of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM); Uri Alon, professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel; Seo You-shin, professor at Columbia University; Brian Kennedy, professor at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in Singapore; Hwang Chung-wai, professor at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; and Park Sang-chul, president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. Participants will discuss in depth how genetics, epigenetics, oocyte aging and ovarian reserve decline — all of which profoundly influence aging — affect healthy lifespan.

A highlight of the program is a keynote by Weizmann Institute professor Uri Alon, who drew global attention for research showing that genetic factors account for 50 to 55 percent of the variation in human lifespan. He will speak on the epidemiology of menopause, drawing on a dataset of 300 million laboratory records. Columbia University professor Seo You-shin will then present on ovarian aging in reproductive geroscience. Seo was the first researcher to characterize the genetics of telomeres — the key to longevity in centenarians — and discovered that women who experience early menopause face a higher risk of conditions such as heart disease and a shorter lifespan.

At the conference, Brian Kennedy of the National University of Singapore will present on the future of gerotherapeutics and reproductive aging intervention, outlining the clinical potential of aging-modulation technologies. Rogerio Lobo of Columbia University will share the latest research on the effects of post-menopausal hormone use and whether it plays a preventive role. Jared Robbins, CEO of the ASRM, will address fertility extension, laying out future strategies for reproductive medicine from the perspectives of technological innovation, healthcare access and global health. Hwang Chung-wai of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine will present on ovarian inflammaging and its effects on reproductive and healthy lifespan, focusing on how ovarian fibrosis and inflammatory responses affect oocyte quality and women's health.

"It is hard to believe that a single domestic institution could bring together such a constellation of world-leading scholars across these fields," said Seo You-shin of Columbia University. "This will be an occasion that demonstrates Cha Hospital's strong commitment to longevity and reproductive medicine research."

Cha Kwang-ryul said reproductive medicine and longevity have been core areas of intensive research at Cha Hospital for more than 40 years. "This conference is a forum for discussing the shared human challenge of extending reproductive healthy lifespan alongside the world's top researchers, and it will serve as a starting point for next-generation longevity research collaboration using advanced biotech including K-Cell," he said. Registration is open through July 15 via the conference participation link.