A Summary of the Symposium on "Gamete Dialogue in Fertilization: From Sea Urchin to Human"—in Memory of Alberto Monroy

Abstract

Alberto Monroy's scientific passion was to understand that initial interaction resulting in the union of sperm and egg and concomitant activation of development. He was an internationalist who involved scientists from around the world in intense conversation and experimentation around this phenomena. In recognition of his personal contributions to this understanding, and for his critical sparking of interest of so many other scientists in gamete interaction, more than 200 scientists gathered in Woods Hole for a two-day symposium to honor the memory of this remarkable person. The symposium was titled Gamete Dialogue in Fertilization: From Sea Urchin to Human. Appropriately, the meeting sparked that open scientist-to-scientist dialogue that so marked Alberto Monroy's persona. The title also reflected the two recurring themes of the program. The first was the reciprocal dialogue between sperm and egg and egg and sperm during the fertilization process and the second was the similarity of the fertilization process in sea urchins, tunicates, amphibians, and humans. To be sure, differences exist, but one came away with the generalization that there were common principles, even though the principals or agents involved in the fertilization process were variable.