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ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The IRM Program in Reproductive Medicine brings together investigators from the School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and the Epigenetics Program to investigate mechanisms governing sperm and egg biology and function.

INNOVATIVE RESEARCH

Current research efforts within the program focus on preservation of germ cells for cancer patients, specifically, in pre-pubescent boys and women who are treated for cancer. Researchers are trying to find a way to preserve their fertility by harvesting germ cells and eggs and preserving them for later use. 

Researchers are also studying infertility, its causes, treatments and potential risks of treatment. Their work may one day give new options to couples that wish to have children with medical assistance, or help identify therapies that may prevent or treat genetic disorders in children conceived with assisted reproductive technologies.

The program seeks to:

  ♦ Understand how male and female germ cells form and function
  ♦ Develop new technologies to study, manipulate and propagate germ cells
  ♦ Educate the public about the science and promise of stem cell biology

ADVANCEMENTS IN MEDICINE

Faculty members within this program are world-renowned researchers in the area of germ cells and early embryo formation.  Other researchers within the program have made discoveries that have informed and educated physicians and couples about the potential risks and outcomes of in vitro fertilization.  Researchers within the program have uncovered a basis for differential inheritance, or how sex is determined in males and females.

	“Our research may lead to preventive therapies and measures that can decrease the incidence rate of rare genetic disorders. Together, we can give a voice to, and advocate for pregnant women and babies at risk.”
	Marisa S. Bartolomei, Ph.D., Director, IRM Program in Reproductive Medicine.  Dr. Bartolomei is a world leader in understanding the basis by which genes in male and female germ cells can gain different characteristic patterns of activity.
	Ralph L. Brinster, V.M.D, Ph.D., Richard King Mellon Professor of Reproductive Physiology.  Dr. Brinster was a founding Co-Director of the IRM and is a member of the Program in Reproductive Medicine.  His work in developing ways to add human genes to mice in order to study human disease is considered to have revolutionized the field.