CLINICAL
REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY (Project Leader: Dr. Eduardo Motta)
We are interested in how hormone imbalance during IVF treatment may influence clinical outcomes. One of our research projects focuses on evaluation of the effect of testosterone pretreatment of women with low ovarian reserve women on their reproductive outcomes (Project Coordinator: Dr. Claudia Gomes Padilla). Another project in this line seeks to correlate progesterone serum levels of oocyte donor on hCG trigger day with reproductive outcomes of oocytes recipients in an egg-banking program (Project Coordinator: Dr. Thais Domingues).
ENDOMETRIOSIS (Project Leader: Dr. Paulo Serafini)
Around 25% to 50% of infertile women are affected by endometriosis (Bulletti et al., 2010). Causes of infertility related to endometriosis may include pelvic adhesion, ovulatory dysfunction, disturbed folliculogenesis and defective implantation. Our main goal is to investigate how different clinical interventions may influence in IVF treatment outcomes for patients with endometriosis. One of our research projects is to evaluate clinical outcomes of patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis submitted to surgery before IVF.
ONCOFERTILY (Project leader: Dr. Mauricio Chehin)
Every year, approximately 70,000 women under 45 years of age are diagnosed with cancer in the USA. It is estimated that 70% of these patients will survive for more than 5 years, due to the improvement in cancer treatments (Waimey, et al., 2015). The increase of survival rates demand strategies to improve patients long-term quality of life, including the possibility of achieving a successful pregnancy. Cancer treatments may negatively affect reproductive organs, specially the ovary. Pelvic radiation and chemotherapy can compromise the development of oocytes follicles, causing a significant reduction in ovarian reserve. This project focuses on oocyte quality markers in granulosa cells using transcriptomic approaches in oncologic patients undergoing oocyte cryopreservation before oncological treatment (Project Coordinator: Dr. Aline Lorenzon). Our goal is to determine if the systemic inflammatory response in patients with cancer (Roxburgh & McMillan 2014) affects oocyte quality markers.
LABORATORY
EXPANDED EMBRYO CULTURE AND BIOPSY (Project Leaders: José Roberto Alegretti and Ana Luiza Rossi)
Selection of good quality embryos is crucial for IVF success. Expanded embryo culture and biopsy are techniques that help the embryologist in the selection process. Advances in embryo culture media in the last decade have routine in vitro culture of embryos to the blastocyst stage, allowing for improved embryo selection. Transfer at the blastocyst stage improves embryo-uterine synchrony and increases reproductive success. In addition, embryo selection is improved by trophoectoderm biopsy, increasing implantation rates and minimizing the incidence of multiple pregnancies. In particular, we are interested in how morphology scores affect interaction among embryos when two blastocysts are transferred into a recipient.
ONCOFERTILY (Project Leaders: Joyce Fioravanti and Bruna Barros)
As a laboratory counterpart of our clinical oncofertility line, we are developing improved cryopreservation methods of ovarian tissue with the aim of preserving fertility of oncological patients diagnosed in reproductive age. We have designed a training program for embryologists which covers ovary cryopreservation in order expand the use of this technique to our entire group.
TIME LAPSE (Project Leaders: Mariana Nicolielo and Mariana Piccolomini)
Evaluation of embryo development and embryo selection are crucial for IVF success. Time-lapse technologies have been developed in recent years that allow improved assessment of embryo quality and provide a potential prediction for IVF outcome. We are enrolled in multicentric studies to improve data analysis for this new technology.