Concordiensis

Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Sci/Tech

Media Credit: Ajay Major Genevieve St. Hilaire in Biology

Millions of women worldwide experience difficulties with pregnancies or infertility. Many of these women, especially in the United States, will attempt some sort of assisted reproductive technology (ART) to improve their chances of successful pregnancies. ART includes a wide variety of reproductive treatments including in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a process by which egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the womb, in vitro, and are transferred to the patient's uterus to establish a successful pregnancy. While these treatments can be very effective, they are expensive, difficult, and often require the use of potentially harmful medications.

Genevieve St. Hilaire, a senior in the biology department, is doing research on a fertility hormone known as Anti-Müllerian hormone, or AMH, and is looking to find a correlation between expression levels of AMH in developing embryos and the pregnancy success of women undergoing in vitro fertilization. It is believed that AMH levels can be used as a means of assessing fertility and 'forecasting' future pregnancy success.

"I took endocrinology as a sophomore, and I had always been interested in medicine, but it was the first time I had ever had a solid direction for research. Professor Cohen mentioned AMH in class, and I looked up more about it and found out that it is involved in the process of egg maturation in women, a completely different context than we had talked about in endocrinology. I thought that the fact that it has multiple roles depending on developmental stage was really interesting."

Through Professor Cohen and her contacts at a previous lab, Genevieve was directed to Albany IVF and Infertility, a clinic specializing in fertility and reproductive services. "I met with my advisor at Albany IVF and Infertility over the summer, and they were really receptive to my interests."

Although the role of AMH in the maturation of ovarian follicles is well known, its impact on overall ovarian function, especially with respect to IVF and pregnancy is less understood. Although it is too early to make a definitive conclusion, Genevieve believes that average levels of AMH in developing embryos lead to the best reproductive success.

Continued...

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