UCL CENTRE FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH

Research Summary

How does an oocyte develop and then make the transition into a viable embryo? This is the basic question that research in our lab is aimed at understanding. To tackle this problem we use techniques in cell and molecular biology combined with live cell imaging to understand the processes that underlie oocyte and embryo development. Moving from the earliest stages to the latest, the specific problems we are working on in the laboratory include: 1. What determes the number of primordial follicles that form in the ovary? 2. The initiation of oocyte growth. 3. The control and role of mitochondrial fission, migration and metabolism during oocyte growth and maturation. 4. Control of the meiotic cell cycle and assymmetric cell division. 5. Role of signalling in cell proliferation and cell death in the preimplantation embryo. 6. Development of optimal culture conditions for oocytes and embryos.