Northwestern Center for Reproductive Science

CRS faculty Dr. Mazhar Adli is part of the team establishing a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Genome Intelligence Engineering (GENIE) Center.

GENIE stems from the diverse expertise of P*s from multiple institutions. This Science and Technology Center will integrate experts in physics, biology, engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and medicine to unlock a new regulatory layer in genome regulation.

Northwestern to launch $30 million center to unlock genome’s hidden code The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Northwestern University $30 million over five years to establish a new center aimed at uncovering a hidden layer of information within the human genome.

Deadline Extended!

Applications for the Shaw Innovation Awards will now be accepted until September 15. Shaw Innovation Awards provide funding for sex-inclusive research, focusing on sex-based mechanisms and determinants of health and disease. Every award cycle, two projects will be funded at $10,000 each in direct-cost support over a 12-month period.

Learn more and apply today! https://www.crs.northwestern.edu/awards-scholarships/shaw-innovation-award.html

For our colleagues interested in aging and healthspan science:

Dr. Francesca Duncan and collaborators at Potocsnak Longevity Institute are launching a new Geroscience Academy Human Healthspan Series to learn about the exciting geroscience research happening at Northwestern across body systems. Each month, a Northwestern colleague will share cutting-edge work spanning cardiovascular health, neuroscience, reproductive aging, dermatology, infectious disease, AI/data analytics, proteomics and more.

The series kicks off September 1st with a lecture from the PLI Director Dr. Doug Vaughan.

Learn more and register: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/sites/longevity/education/index.html

Scientists led by CRS Co-Director Dr. Julie Kim have developed a novel stem cell platform that provides a new way to study the biology of endometriosis in humans.

Learn more:

Novel Stem Cell Platform Improves Study of Endometriosis - News Center Scientists led by Julie Kim, PhD, have developed a novel stem cell platform that provides a new way to study the biology of endometriosis in humans more accurately than current model systems, as detailed in a recent study published in Science Advances.

Congratulations to Dr. Francesca Duncan who was named one of TIME’s 2026 Longevity Leaders! This list includes 12 trailblazers on a mission to help us live longer, healthier lives. TIME Northwestern Duncan Lab
https://time.com/collection/longevity-leaders/2026

CRS will host a talk this Thursday, August 20 from Yash Sharma. Yash is a PhD candidate at the University of Florida and a visiting trainee in the Duncan Lab. He will present on "Ovarian Microenvironment Drives CD8+ T Cell-to-DNT Reprogramming." Join us in the CRS Suite at 3:00pm. Light refreshments will be provided.

CRS faculty members Dr. Francesca Duncan, Dr. Kara Goldman, and Dr. Elnur Babayev were featured in a Northwestern News article on ovarian aging. Check out the article!

Northwestern scientists are reshaping how we think about the o***y A unique collaboration among Northwestern physician-scientists and basic researchers, including Francesca Duncan, Kara Goldman and Elnur Babayev, is bringing those perspectives together to study the o***y more wholistically.

Just one week until our CRS Book Club Event with Dr. Cat Bohannon! We're thrilled to learn more about her work and discuss her book "EVE: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution."

CRS Book Club members met this month to discuss Eve but there's still time to read the book before this event! Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to connect with a New York Times best selling author!

August 18 at 3:00pm on Zoom. This event is open to all CRS members. Please message for the link!

As reproductive science and medicine programs train an increasingly important workforce at the MS level, we have had little data on who these students are or how they shape the field after graduation — until now.

Check out our latest publication in Human Reproduction: "Mastering reproduction across the globe: the growing and sustained impact of master's degree programs in reproductive science and medicine."

Mastering reproduction across the globe: the growing and sustained impact of master's degree programs in reproductive science and medicine - PubMed Not applicable.

Congratulations to Ria Marathe (MS-RSM Class of 2023) on receiving the College of Medicine Dean's Biomedical Sciences Scholar Award at UIC. Ria is currently a PhD candidate in the Veiga-Lopez Lab. Well done Ria!