Faculty, Students Team Up for Infertility Research

Jennifer Schisa, Ph.D., received a grant from the National Institutes of Health and the United States Department for Health and Human Services to research RNA binding in immature eggs.

Jennifer

Schisa, Ph.D., a professor in the biology department, received a grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and the United States Department for Health and Human Services for her project ERK-Medicated Regulation of RNA Binding Protein Condensation During Female Germ Cell Development. This is the fifth grant Schisa’s lab has received from the NIH since 2006.

This 3-year-long research project looks into ways to allow oocytes, or immature eggs, to maintain their viability throughout development. In human ovaries, there is mRNA inside of the developing oocytes long before the actual fertilization of the egg. This mRNA is necessary for oocyte growth and the development of the embryo; however, unregulated mRNA has the potential of leading to birth defects and infertility.

When the mRNA is unregulated, granules of RNA can form, ultimately leading to infertility. Schisa’s research studies the use of a protein to regulate the granule formation in oocytes. This research is done on C. elegans, or roundworms, and will provide an understanding of mRNA that can be used to maintain egg quality.

Schisa prides herself on having an educationally innovative lab, as this research allows several student researchers to get involved, and integrates genetics, cell biology, and microscopy. This research will be done with a team of two Ph.D. students, two master’s students, and at least nine undergraduate students, allowing opportunities for students to present their work and co-author research articles.

“We know getting students involved in cutting-edge research has many positive outcomes,” said Schisa. “Our results will provide a foundation for future biochemical studies so we can eventually design novel interventions for infertility.”

Jason Keeler, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has been working with undergraduate student Brian Rakoczy to develop an algorithm that automatically detects and tracks gust fronts and thunderstorm outflow in a series of idealized simulations. Thunderstorm outflow is the spreading out of air that has been cooled by evaporating rain and melting hail in the storm. The rush of cool air that is experienced at the leading edge of the outflow is the gust front. These simulations are working to determine what factors make it more likely for there to be a storm, specifically when there was a storm previously in the day.

The favorability of the atmosphere for thunderstorms is referred to as instability. The more unstable the atmosphere, the more likely there is to be a storm. Keeler’s simulations test several different factors, such as soil moisture or solar radiation, to see how the air on the cool side of the gust front changes due to alterations in these factors. It is usually assumed that when the air is cooler, it is less favorable for storms. However, other factors can increase instability levels.

This research is part of a 3-year grant funded by the National Science Foundation. Central Michigan University is the lead institution on this research, working in collaboration with scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The goal of running these simulations is to determine what conditions favor development of instability in outflow so that in the future, meteorologists can better determine the likelihood of a second storm following the first.