External Advisory Committee
Robert Braun, Ph.D., Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington.
Dr. Braun received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and his Ph.D. from Tufts University in Boston. His postdoctoral research focused on male germ cell development in the mouse in which he used transgenic mice to show that the products of genes that are expressed in haploid cells pass between developing gametes via small intercellular bridges that were first described by morphologists more than 25 years earlier. Dr. Braun joined the faculty of the University of Washington in 1990, focusing his lab research on a variety of problems related to male germ cell differentiation and posttranscriptional gene regulation in haploid germ cells. A second area of research interest is in the function of the Fanconi anemia genes in genome surveillance in primordial germ cells. A third interest is in the genetic regulation of renewal and differentiation of spermatogenic stem cells. The lab is studying the spontaneous luxoid mutation that leads to a progressive loss of the spermatogenic stem cell. Spermatogonial transplants are being performed to determine if the gene encoded by the luxoid locus is required in germ cells or somatic cells. A long-term goal is to identify the gene defined by the luxoid mutation and determine its molecular function in stem cell behavior. Dr. Braun has co-authored over 50 papers and is PI of the University of Washington SCCPIR grant.
Patricia Hunt, Ph.D., Meyer Distinguished Professor, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.
Dr. Hunt received her PhD in 1983 from the University of Hawaii, where her research focused on human genetics and birth defects. She started her own lab in 1988 and shifted her focus to mouse genetics and, more specifically, to chromosome dynamics in meiosis. Research in the Hunt laboratory focuses on mammalian germ cells with a major emphasis on errors in female meiosis. More recently, the Hunt lab has made major observations concerning the effects of xenobiotic compounds on meiotic progression. The inadvertent exposure of our mice to the estrogen mimic, bisphenol A (BPA) from damaged caging materials (polycarbonate cages and water bottles) led to the realization that environmentally relevant doses of BPA cause meiotic disruption and aneuploidy in the mouse. Current studies focus on determining the reproductive effects of exposure to chemicals with estrogenic activity during different developmental time points. A co-author on over 50 papers, Dr. Hunt has several NIH-funded grants, is a course director for the Frontiers in Reproduction course at Woods Hole Marine Biology Labs, and serves on the editorial board of Biology of Reproduction.
Nanette Santoro, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, and Director of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Division, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Santoro is a Gynecologist-Obstetrician with board certification in reproductive endocrinology. She received her medical training at the Albany Medical Center in NY, followed by a residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, and a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1986. Dr. Santoro has been a full professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine since 1999 and has served as Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility throughout that time. She has been listed in New York magazine's list of the top Doctors in New York City four out the past six years. Her research focuses on menopause and reproductive aging, for which she has authored over 90 papers. Dr. Santoro has served on numerous NIH study sections and, in 2006, chaired the special review panel for the SCCPIR funding mechanism.
Richard Stouffer, Ph.D., Senior Scientist and Head of the Division of Reproductive Sciences, Oregon National Primate Center.
Dr. Stouffer obtained his PhD from Duke University, in Durham NC, before moving to the NICHD to pursue his postdoctoral research in reproductive endocrinology. He joined the faculty of the University of Arizona College of Medicine in 1977, rising to the rank of Associate Professor before moving to the Oregon National Primate Center in 1985, where he has been ever since. He was elevated to the position of professor in 1994 and became head of Division two years later. His work has focused on the development and function of the primate ovary, and he has been at the forefront of this field for many years, publishing over 160 research papers and 45 chapters/reviews. He has served on many NIH study sections, was President of the Society for the study of Reproduction in 1995, and is currently an associate editor for Biology of Reproduction. Dr. Stouffer is currently the Director and PI of the Oregon National Primate Center's SCCPIR grant, and is co-director of their NICHD-funded (U54) Contraceptive Development Research Center.