Haploid gametes (sperm and eggs) are generated by meiosis and are essential for sexual reproduction. In females, meiosis is highly error-prone as ~5-20% of a young, healthy woman’s eggs contain an abnormal number of chromosomes (aneuploid). Aneuploidy is the leading cause of infertility, miscarriage and, in the case of live birth, developmental disorders such as Down Syndrome. Little is known, however, about how meiosis in females is regulated and why it is so prone to chromosome segregation mistakes. Research in our group aims to determine how protein kinase signaling controls egg quality, how human genetic variants can alter egg aneuploidy at an early age, and how egg quality is connected with embryo development.
Program Faculty
- Karen Schindler
- Professor
- Department: Department of Genetics
- Graduate Program(s): Cell and Developmental Biology | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Major Research Interest(s): Aging, Cell division / Cell cycle, Chromosome Biology, Cytoskeleton, Reproduction and Gametogenesis
- Research Techniques: Cell Biology, Fluorescent and super resolution microscopy, Genetics, Imaging
- Research Organism(s): Mice
- Phone: 1.8484452563
- Email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - School of Arts and Sciences
- Division of Life Sciences
- Life Sciences Building, Room 222
- 145 Bevier Road
- Piscataway, NJ 08854
- Key Words: oocyte, aneuploidy, infertility, meiosis, mouse, aging
- Lab Site URL
- News Items: Rutgers M.D.-Ph.D. Candidate Wins American Medical Association’s National Research Competition, Why Do So Many Pregnancies and In Vitro Fertilization Attempts Fail?