About Our Society and Its Activities

The Society for Reproduction and Development (SRD) was established in 1948 to encourage the study of reproductive biology in wild, domestic, laboratory, and companion animals. This was two years before the establishment of the British Society for Reproduction and Fertility and 19 years before the US Society for the Study of Reproduction. Members of our Society have contributed to the cutting edge of research in reproductive biology in this country, which promotes the use and establishment of a high level of biotechnology.
Previously, members of this society have played a key role in developing techniques for artificial insemination, fertilized egg transfer, and in vitro fertilization to increase the productivity of animals. Currently, members are actively involved in developing new technologies, such as transgenic techniques and cloned animals. They are also involved in the research of endocrine disruptors.
The society has about 950 members from academic, governmental, and business institutions as well as veterinary clinicians. Interests of the members are necessarily diverse including sexual maturation, oogenesis, spermatogenesis, ovulation, gestation, and lactation. There is also research on practical themes such as the reproductive failure of dairy cows and in vitro fertilization. Several cloned cows have been produced by members of this Society.
The Society holds an annual fall meeting at locations throughout the country at which members and guests make presentations and hold symposiums. Special lectures by foreign researchers are a highlight of the meetings. The Society has been publishing an official journal, the Journal of Reproduction and Development since 1955. This bimonthly journal is currently at volume number 56. Both the abstracts and full-text articles are accessible online at: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/jrd
On January 1st, 2009, the Society changed its official name from the Japanese Society of Animal Reproduction (JSAR).