The ovary is largely a black box in human biology, and this study aims to open it. Reproductive health in women is drastically under-researched, partly because ovarian tissue is difficult to access across different life stages. Human genetic studies have identified many genes linked to reproductive ageing and disease risk, but without functional experiments, those links remain just correlations. The HERA study will combine human genetics with CRISPR screens in ovarian cell models and validation in mice. The team will map the regulatory genome of the ovary across development and ageing, then test which genes actually drive ovarian function. This is fundamental science—there is no immediate clinical product. But the payoff is a new knowledge portal and a set of validated tools that the entire research community can use. If successful, this work could eventually inform therapies to preserve fertility or treat ovary-centric disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome or premature ovarian insufficiency. For now, the primary impact is filling a gap in basic biological understanding that has persisted for decades.
View original technical description
Reproductive health in women is under-researched and the field lacks key experimental tools and resources to advance biological understanding. Human genetic approaches have identified many determinants of reproductive ageing and disease risk, however extracting mechanistic insight from these findings has been challenging given the inaccessibility of ovarian tissue across different developmental stages. To address this, the HERA study will integrate human genetic approaches with functional studies in model systems. We will use multi-omics to annotate the regulatory landscape of the human genome across ovarian development and ageing. Genome-wide functional CRISPR screens with relevant cellular models will identify genes influencing ovarian phenotypes. These data will be integrated with our human omics datasets to identify high confidence targets for further characterization in in vivo mouse models. Our functional models will address two important phenotypes: reproductive ageing and ovary-centric disease. This synergistic approach, bringing together lead researchers and collaborators across multiple disciplines, will overcome some of the long-standing limitations in studying the ovary. We will provide the scientific and clinical community with new and much-needed tools and resources, accessed via our HERA knowledge portal. Our findings will inform future therapeutic approaches to preserve fertility and treat ovary-centric disorders. "
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know