Dr. Andy Babwah’s Research

The Babwah laboratory studies the regulation of female fertility through a better understanding of pubertal development and early pregnancy events.

 It is estimated that in the US alone, 10% or over 6 million women of reproductive age suffer from infertility. Infertility is caused by many defects that may arise before or after the onset of puberty. To better understand the regulation of fertility, the Babwah laboratory has focused its attention on the uterus. Here they study the roles of several estradiol- and/or progesterone-regulated factors in regulating the preimplantation and early post-implantation periods of pregnancy in both mice and women. Their studies specifically test how these factors regulate the acquisition of uterine receptivity, embryo implantation, decidualization, decidual function and early placentation. Among their findings, they have identified critical roles for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in regulating progesterone receptor signaling and demonstrated that a lack of GPCR signaling blocks the acquisition of uterine receptivity. Their work has also focused on understanding the negative impact of gonadotropin-dependent ovarian stimulation, an important aspect of in vitro fertilization, on embryo implantation.

Dr. Babwah is committed to the training of highly qualified personnel through research mentorship and teaching, particularly in the area of continuing medical education. He currently holds appointments in the Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, The Child Health Institute of New Jersey, and several Rutgers Graduate School Programs (Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences, Molecular Biosciences and The Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology).

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Our Research Team

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Jennifer Schaefer

Jennifer is a Ph.D, candidate from the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology (JGPT) completing her thesis research under the supervision of Drs. Andy Babwah and Sally Radovick. In the lab she investigates the role of Gαq/11-coupled receptors (KISS1R & GPR83) in female fertility status and early pregnancy events from uterine receptivity to placentation using transgenic mouse models.