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Early Career Researchers
Posted 26 March 2009
Two early career researchers, working on male and female fertlity have been recognised by the National Health and Medical Research Council
Dr Eva Dimitriadis, who leads the Embryo Implantation laboratory at PHI, has received significant National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding to commence in 2009. A NHMRC Career Development Award enables investigators such as Eva to establish themselves as independent and self-directed researchers. Eva also secured additional NHMRC funding for new research projects.
Eva's research interests focus on the signalling molecules, cytokines, which are critical in the earliest stages of pregnancy.
Eva recently published a significant research paper in one of the highest ranked science journals, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Her research has identified a potentially new biological approach to female contraception which would not rely on modifying the body's hormones for its effectiveness.
In August Eva was also interviewed on SBS Television World News about her research to develop a new non hormonal female contraceptive.
Dr Mai Sarraj is a Senior Research Officer at PHI and recently received a NHMRC New Investigator Award. Mai is teasing apart the roles of a key signalling molecule in the critical days in our reproductive development.
Early events in the embryo affect both male and female fertility. Together with her colleagues Mai is studying the action of a molecule, betaglycan, that plays a key signalling role in both the male and female development pathways.
Mai has shown that this molecule is specifically present in the embryo area which goes on to form reproductive organs. She has also been able to demonstrate that if there is a problem in betaglycan production then reproductive development is seriously affected. Mai says that the discovery is strong evidence that this is a central molecule in reproductive development. “We believe that understanding the early role of betaglycan action in the embryo has clinical importance in adult reproductive health” she says.