Reproduction Abstracts

The research in my laboratory is focused on defining the essential factors that regulate the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis in women and men. To investigate this axis, we have been using multiple in vitro and in vivo strategies. In particular, we have created over 60 knockout mouse models, have begun to study over a dozen conditional knockout mouse lines, and have produced several important recombinant growth factors and small molecules. In the process, we have uncovered interesting genes and small RNAs in germ cells and somatic cells of the ovary and testis as well as key proteins in the pituitary, oviduct, and uterus that have important implications for fertility and reproductive cancers. Our approaches have lead us down exciting paths and in fascinating directions, allowing us to identify candidate targets for infertility, contraception, and cancer treatments. A major translational goal is to create therapeutics for clinical use.

Studies in the Matzuk Laboratory have been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research.