The University of Alabama at Birmingham Departments of Pathology and Surgery attended this year’s International Society of Uterine Transplantation (ISUTx) 4th State-of-the-art meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, from September 5-6, 2024. This year’s meeting celebrated the 10th year anniversary of a special and historic event – the birth of the first baby born from a transplanted uterus. The now 10-year-old Vincent opened the meeting and welcomed the clinicians and scientists from around the world who are working hard to promote growth of the field.

UAB Division of Women’s Health Valeria Dal Zotto, M.D., Assistant Professor, represented the Department of Pathology on a panel discussion of modification of rejection grading. Meanwhile, UAB Division of Transplantation Associate Professor Paige Porrett, M.D., Ph.D. and Assistant Professor Muhammad Rabbani, M.D. represented the Department of Surgery. Dr. Porrett is the president-elect of the ISUTx and was invited to speak on UAB’s deceased donor uterus transplant program. Of note, UAB’s deceased donor uterus transplant program is the largest active program in the world. At the completion of the meeting, Drs. Porrett and Rabbani attended the post-meeting workshop on robotic uterus donation and transplantation.

Members of Dr. Porrett’s laboratory team also attended the event, including staff scientists (Rebecca Asiimwe, Emma Wright) and research coordinator Samanatha Fry. In addition, MD-PhD and PhD immunology graduate students in the Porrett laboratory (Morgan Greene and Brittney Knott) also attended the historic meeting. Attendance by members of the Porrett laboratory was made possible by the Vera Hauptfeld-Dolejsek Endowed Professorship, which was generously established for research advancements in immunology and transplantation science.

“It was such a joy to connect with fellow researchers and physician-scientists on an international scale and collaborate on current research that could continue to improve our institutional programs and patient outcomes,” says Porrett. “Celebrating this milestone anniversary in our field made the occasion even more special.” 

Last year, UAB hosted the ISUTx International Congress in Birmingham, Alabama. Attendees discussed the forefront of uterine transplantation research from across the globe – including conference-goers from Sweden, France, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany, Korea, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico. The meeting marked the first in-person convening since the COVID-19 pandemic and only the second stateside meeting for the ISUTx.