Oocyte Biology
Research Leader: Dr Robert Gilchrist
The Oocyte Biology group is interested in ovarian biology and the regulation of mammalian oocyte development, the development of oocyte maturation techniques, and particularly oocyte-somatic cell paracrine signalling.
The research program of the group spans basic discovery research through to applied research and clinical trials. A key objective of the discovery research program is to understand the dynamic cellular signalling between the oocyte and somatic cells of the ovary, and the significance of this signalling on the quality of the oocyte and resultant embryo and fetus. This work has significance for the one in six couples faced with an infertility diagnosis - up to 40% due to female factors - especially those in which ovarian stimulation protocols fail or cannot be performed (such as PCOS cases).
The group works primarily in animal models but is also actively engaged in pre-clinical trials and commercial translation of research to develop new treatments for female infertility.
In 2009, Firas Albuz successfully developed a new approach to oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) named Simulated Physiological Oocyte Maturation (SPOM) and submitted his PhD on the subject. A provisional patent was lodged on the procedure and human pre-clinical trials commenced at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) in collaboration with Professor Johan Smitz.
"IVF Vet Solutions" was founded as a University of Adelaide business unit by Dr Robert Gilchrist and Associate Professor Jeremy Thompson. They were awarded Commercial Accelerator Scheme funding from Adelaide Research & Innovation and a Commercial Development Grant from the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Research Priorities:
- To adapt and validate our new approach to oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM), Simulated Physiological Oocyte Maturation (SPOM), to mouse oocytes and human oocytes
- To characterise the interactions in cumulus cells between intracellular GDF9 and EGF signalling
- To generate new GDF9/BMP15 constructs, cell lines and purified recombinant proteins
- To adapt and validate the SPOM system to veterinary field conditions
