IFPA Meeting 2013 Workshop Report II: Use of ‘omics’ in understanding placental development, bioinformatics tools for gene expression analysis, planning and coordination of a placenta research network, placental imaging, evolutionary approaches to understanding pre-eclampsia

Workshops are an important part of the IFPA annual meeting as they allow for discussion of specialized topics. At the IFPA meeting 2013 twelve themed workshops were presented, five of which are summarized in this report. These workshops related to various aspects of placental biology but collectively covered areas of new technologies for placenta research: 1) use of 'omics' in understanding placental development and pathologies; 2) bioinformatics and use of omics technologies; 3) planning and coordination of a placenta research network; 4) clinical imaging and pathological outcomes; 5) placental evolution.