David Skerrett-Byrne
University of Melbourne, BAVARIA, Germany
- This delegate is presenting an abstract at this event.
David’s scientific journey has taken him across 4 countries and through 6 diverse labs, starting in cancer research before he ended up, somewhat unexpectedly, exploring the fascinating world of crocodile sperm with Prof Brett Nixon. This venture sparked his deeper interest in sperm biology, and he hasn’t looked back since. While he maintains a strong foothold in animal conservation, his central research is a feminist endeavour, aimed at shifting the burden of reproductive responsibility from majoritively women to men. Since May 2026, David is establishing a dual-institution research group between the University of Melbourne and Helmholtz Zentrum München (Munich, Germany), exploring male contraceptive development, what determines healthy sperm, and how our ever-changing environment remodels sperm epigenetics, which in turn shapes pregnancy, placentation and the health trajectory of the next generation. Through this, he hopes to usher reproductive medicine into a more impactful, molecularly driven era where men play an equal part in family planning and fertility care.
Presentations this author is a contributor to:
The role of sperm miRNAs in the paternal inheritance of diabetes and obesity development (#248)
9:15 AM
Katharina Laurent
SRB Orals: Sperm Under Pressure: Stress, Signalling and Male Fertility
A phyloproteomic lens on socially transferred materials reveals what is conserved and what matters for fertility (#43)
9:30 AM
Adria C LeBoeuf
SRB Orals: Reproductive Beginnings: From Germline and Gonadal Development to Pregnancy
How paternal diet remodels the epididymal sperm proteome and programs offspring phenotypes (#220)
4:30 PM
David Skerrett-Byrne
The HMRI Reproductive and Family Health Program Emerging Research Leader Award Lecture