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BBS PhD Program

Reproductive Biology

Faculty Name and PictureResearch Area(s)
Pic of Sarah Caddy


Sarah Caddy

understanding the protective activity of non-neutralising antibodies; unravel the negative activities of antiviral antibodies; maternal antibodies - Caddy lab
Pic of Soon Hon Cheong


Soon Hon Cheong

Postpartum ovarian and uterine health; epidemiology; regenerative medicine; microfluidics and assisted reproductive techniques - Cheong lab
Pic of Paula E. Cohen


Paula E. Cohen

Etiology of spontaneous birth defects in mammals; mechanisms of meiotic recombination; DNA repair proteins in meiosis and recombination; germ cell development; ovarian development - Cohen lab
Pic of Pierre Comizzoli


Pierre Comizzoli

Reproductive physiology; fertility preservation and control for rare and endangered species; assisted reproductive techniques; cryobiology of gametes and reproductive tissues; biostabilization

Faculty member located at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute- works with Smithsonian Joint Graduate Training Program students 

Pic of Erin Daughterity

Erin Daughterity

(Minor Member) As a trained, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) board certified veterinarian, Dr. Erin Daugherity has a strong interest in animal models of disease, the humane use of animals used in teaching and research, and applying the 3 R’s (reduce, refine, replace) to the use of animals in research.
Brandon Hedrick

Brandon Hedrick

I am an evolutionary biologist, comparative anatomist, and ecologist interested primarily in questions relating to ecomorphology and macroevolutionary trends. To address these questions, the Hedrick lab works on the functional morphology of a wide variety of vertebrate groups, including sensory, musculoskeletal, and reproductive systems. We commonly use micro-computed tomographic imaging, contrast-enhanced imaging (e.g., diceCT), evolutionary and biogeographical modeling, and geometric morphometrics.
Pic of Mandi de Mestre

Mandi de Mestre

processes for a healthy pregnancy and delivery of a neonate, pathologies that compromise pregnancy. Improve diagnostics and treatments for pregnancy conditions, primarily in the mare

Picture of Arunika Das

Arunika Das

genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of chromosome inheritance and aging during meiosis and early development.
Pic of Mariana Diel de Amorim

Mariana Diel de Amorim

equine theriogenology; equine maternal recognition of pregnancy; equine endometritis
Picture of Callum Donnelly


Callum Donnelly

Theriogenology, equine genomics/ epigenomics, pregnancy/placental physiology, Vitamin E
Jongmin Kim

Jongmin Kim 

 

Gene silencing in germ cells.
- chromatin structure and transcriptional fidelity in spermatogenesis.
Pic of Siu Sylvia Lee


Siu Sylvia Lee

Molecular genetics of aging; signaling pathways of nutrient sensing; molecular basis of stress response - Lee lab
Pic of Marla Lujan


Marla Lujan

Nutritional regulation of fertility; endocrinology and metabolism; polycystic ovary syndrome; ultrasonography - Lujan lab
Pic of Motoko Mukai


Motoko Mukai

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs); neuroendocrine regulation; reproductive, developmental and metabolic health effect of toxic compounds found in food - Mukai lab
Pic of Alexander Nikitin


Alexander Nikitin

Stem cells and cancer; pathogenesis of ovarian and prostate cancers; modeling of human disease in genetically modified mice and human organoids - Nikitin lab
Pic of Kimberly O'Brien


Kimberly O'Brien

Calcium metabolism and bone health; control of maternal/fetal nutrient; partitioning and cellular mineral transport; micronutrient status in international settings; development of mass spectrometric methodology; pediatric bone health; pregnancy and mineral metabolism in adolescents - O'Brien lab
Pic of Ned J. Place


Ned J. Place

Mammalian reproductive biology with a focus on the life history of trade-offs associated with timing of hormone secretion and reproductive effort; sexual differentiation; female reproductive aging - Place lab
Pic of John Schimenti


John Schimenti

Genetics of reproduction and germ cell development; cancer genetics; meiosis; DNA repair; genome manipulation in mice; functional genomics - Schimenti lab
Pic of Vimal Selvaraj


Vimal Selvaraj

Pluripotency and stem cells; regenerative medicine; animal biotechnology; technologies for wildlife conservation - Selvaraj lab
Pic of Marcus Smolka

Marcus Smolka

Cell signaling and genome maintenance; DNA replication stress; phosphoproteomics
Pic of Nucharin Songsasen


Nucharin Songsasen

Reproductive biology; cyrobiology; wildlife conservation

Faculty member located at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute- works with Smithsonian Joint Graduate Training Program students 

Pic of Alexander J. Travis


Alexander J. Travis

Comparative biology of male germ cells; signaling and metabolism of sperm during capacitation; organization of lipid raft membrane sub-domains in sperm; applications of technologies using reproductive stem cells for wildlife conservation - Travis lab
Pic of Robert Weiss


Robert S. Weiss

Molecular mechanisms for the maintenance of genomic stability; cellular responses to DNA damage; mouse models of human cancer - Weiss lab
Pic of Mariana Wolfner


Mariana Wolfner

Genetic, molecular, developmental, and evolutionary studies of seminal proteins' functions in fertility, and of mechanisms of egg activation and initiation of embryogenesis; investigate conserved phenomena in reproductive biology, using primarily the Drosophila model system - Wolfner lab