Women’s Reproductive Health Focus


of Collaboration with Merck The University of Virginia is working with Merck & Co., Inc. to discover novel drugs for women's reproductive health.


“The research findings that have emerged since the first mapping of the human genome in 2003 now provide striking opportunities for contraceptive drug development,” notes John C. Herr, PhD, director of the UVA Center for Research in Contraceptive and Reproductive Health. “This alliance builds on the Center’s many years of basic research dedicated to unraveling the roles novel proteins play in fertilization.”


The collaborative preclinical research program combines expertise in reproductive cell and molecular biology within the Center with the screening resources of the drug discovery and development groups at Merck Research Laboratories in the Netherlands. The partnership will focus on oocyte development and fertilization with the potential to deliver the starting points for developing non-steroidal contraceptives.


Thomas Skalak, PhD, UVA’s vice president for research, says, “This partnership led by entrepreneur and scientist John Herr exemplifies UVA's growing global recognition as a significant source of innovation that drives economic growth and social welfare.”


Following in Jefferson’s Footsteps The UVA Division of Nephrology has established a partnership with one of the world’s leading kidney programs at St. Bartolo Hospital in Vicenza, Italy – the same city which 200 years earlier inspired UVA’s founder, Thomas Jefferson, to design his home at Monticello.


Nephrologists at UVA and St. Bartolo Hospital are developing joint research projects and physician education exchanges to highlight the strengths of the two institutions.


“We are excited about the prospect of working with the world authority on kidney dialysis and critical care nephrology,” explains Mark Okusa, MD, chief of the UVA Division of Nephrology.


Leading the effort from St. Bartolo is Claudio Ronco, MD, director of the Department of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation of the International Renal Research Institute.


The partnership focuses on four areas: training visiting faculty and fellows in techniques of renal replacement therapies; developing collaborative clinical and basic science research programs to investigate areas of mutual interest including inflammation in end-stage renal disease and acute kidney injuries; publishing peer-reviewed collaborative publications in the previous areas; and developing novel international training programs in Nephrology.


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