Abstract: My lab investigates the role of Reproductive homeobox X-linked (RHOX) transcription factors in gonad development and fertility. The somatic-cell expressed RHOX factors regulate enzymes, ligands, and receptors associated with metabolism. This has led us to our present work examining ablation of insulin receptors in the gonads and reproductive tract that have unmasked novel roles in ovulation and implantation.

My lab uses transgenic mouse models to investigate the role of Reproductive homeobox X-linked (RHOX) transcription factors in gonad development and fertility. I have extensive experience in reproductive biology and gene regulation, having initially trained with Mike Roberts in maternal / trophoblast interaction as a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri and with Miles Wilkinson as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. While at MD Anderson, I initiated and completed the first Rhox5 regulation studies in the ovary. However, there were two unexpected outcomes from my post-doctoral stint. First, because the phenotype of the Rhox5-null was predominantly testis and epididymal defects, I expanded my expertise into the realm of male reproductive physiology. However, the most significant development was that I discovered that Rhox5 was not alone on the X chromosome but part of a large homeobox gene cluster, whose members all appear to be relevant specifically in tissues associated with reproduction. The majority of the Rhox genes are restricted to germ cells, but our work focuses on the two that are expressed in the somatic cells of the gonad, Rhox5 and Rhox8. We have found that these two RHOX factors regulate enzymes, ligands, and receptors associated with metabolism. This has led us to our present work examining ablation of insulin receptors in the gonads and reproductive tract that have unmasked novel roles for insulin signaling in ovulation and implantation