

In vitro oocyte maturation consists of carrying out the last step of oocyte maturation in vitro in an IVF laboratory, rather than in vivo in the intraovarian follicular environment. After attending several courses organized by IVI Vigo, I discovered that I really liked it, and I applied for the Master's Degree in Biotechnology of Assisted Human Reproduction at the University of Valencia. Assisted reproduction was a subject that we had barely addressed, but it caught my attention as soon as I looked into it. During the last year of my degree, I had not yet decided what I wanted to do given such a wide range of options. It came to me both by chance and intuition. And this is one of embryology's upcoming challenges.” How did you discover reproductive medicine? An understanding of the cytoplasmic maturation process will enable us to develop new approaches that can improve oocyte quality and, therefore, reproductive success. Evaluating oocyte quality in the laboratory is, to a certain extent, subjective. In Cristina's words: "it is still a rather unknown field, in comparison with other branches of embryology. In this interview, the researcher explains that there is still much progress to be made in the improvement and evaluation of oocyte quality. On this occasion, we asked her to explain why she chose the topic of her thesis. As an active investigator, she is involved in both IVF laboratory projects and others related to pre-treatment gynecological work. With her broad area of expertise, Cristina Rodríguez contributes to a multitude of ongoing projects. She is currently completing her PhD on in vitro oocyte maturation and the improvement of oocyte quality, under the tutelage of Dr. Cristina Rodríguez, a researcher at IVI Valencia, left Galicia where she trained as a biologist to further her education in assisted reproduction.
