CHR is proud to announce a research collaboration agreement with University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (URSMD), to better understand how dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) improves female fertility.
The team plans to explore the process of follicle maturation, and especially the role of androgens in female reproduction.
Lead investigators are Aritro Sen, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, and Stephen R. Hammes, MD, PhD, Professor, both in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at URSMD, who have published pioneering work on the subject in a rodent model.
They are joined by two other lead investigators: Norbert Gleicher, MD, CHR’s Chief Scientist, and David H. Barad, MD, MS, Senior Scientist at CHR, who revolutionized infertility treatment for women with low ovarian reserve worldwide through the introduction of DHEA.
“The goal of this research collaboration is to combine complementary animal and laboratory expertise at URSMD with clinical expertise at CHR,” explains Dr. Gleicher. “By combining research in URSMD’s unique animal model and CHR’s large clinical human experience, we aim to better understand how DHEA, as well as other androgens, improve female fertility.”
“This is a very exciting development,” adds Dr. Barad. “We have known for years now that DHEA improves pregnancy chances but only very recently learned that this very likely occurs through conversion of DHEA to testosterone. For all practical purposes, this means that the process very likely involves the androgen receptor (AR) on granulosa cells.” Dr. Barad continues: “For this kind of work our colleagues at URSMD have the ideal mouse model.”
Dr. Sen, who will become a Visiting Assistant Scientist at CHR, adds: “we are very much looking forward to this collaboration, which should be very beneficial for both institutions.”
