Researchers at the Center for Global Health and Disease at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine were selected for a five-year Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant R01 award in reproductive health and fertility.
The research team is composed of Douglas Brubaker and Christina Farr, assistant professors of pathology, and Alicia Berard, instructor of pathology.
Their study is titled “The role of the female and male reproductive microenvironment in fertility fitness” (the THRIVE-fertility study).
About the study
In vitro fertilization (IVF) has increased the likelihood of pregnancy for couples facing infertility, but it is unknown why up to 40% of embryo transfers with genetically normal embryos do not result in a pregnancy. This project will study the female and male urogenital microenvironment in couples undergoing IVF treatment to identify host-microbiome interactions underlying infertility and IVF success.
This project is a partnership between CWRU and University of Manitoba, Canada.