"Rethinking Fertility: Why the Oviduct Matters"

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Description

Few experiences are as emotional—or as unpredictable—as the journey to conceive. About 20% of women have difficulty becoming pregnant during the first 12 months of trying, while among those who do become pregnant, nearly half of those pregnancies are unintended. These two realities—infertility and unintended pregnancy—highlight the central challenge of reproductive biology: finding a balance that allows conception when people want it to and prevents it when they don’t.

Joy Winuthayanon, an associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health at the University of Missouri, studies this balance “from both sides of the coin.” Her research focuses on understanding the causes of infertility while also developing new, non-hormonal contraceptives.

Winuthayanon’s path to science began in Thailand, where she trained as a nurse and midwife before earning her Ph.D. “Pregnancy is something magical,” she recalls, “I delivered babies as part of my midwife training, and that experience made me want to keep working in reproductive biology.” Additionally, it was through this experience that she was confronted with the stigma surrounding the topics of infertility and miscarriage.  

“Compassion and understanding motivate me,” Winuthayanon explains. “Miscarriage is something women often don’t talk about, and it shouldn’t be stigmatized.” That empathy now drives her scientific curiosity. In her lab, Winuthayanon studies the oviduct—also known as the fallopian tube—the reproductive organ that transports the egg from the ovary to the uterus. She and her team suspect that this often-overlooked stage of reproduction may hold key factors contributing to infertility.

But infertility is only one side of the coin. On the other, Winuthayanon’s lab explores how to prevent pregnancy—specifically through the development of novel non-hormonal contraceptives. The goal is to block semen liquefaction—the process that allows sperm to move freely. By inhibiting the activity of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an enzyme that normally breaks down seminal fluid, the semen remains in a gel-like state that traps the sperm in place. Unlike hormonal birth control, this approach acts only locally, offering a promising new alternative that may help avoid the side effects some people experience.

By studying fertility and contraception together, Winuthayanon bridges two deeply personal experiences that shape countless lives. Her work blends scientific precision with empathy, reflecting her belief that the future of reproductive biology depends not just on discovery, but on communication and compassion.  

Dr. Winuthayanon's, research involves the multiple types of cells in the female reproductive tract that work in concert to provide an optimal microenvironment for gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos to establish a successful pregnancy. At Winuthayanon Lab, they focus on studying how ovarian steroid hormones (estrogen and progesterone) affect fertility during sperm migration, fertilization, embryo development, and embryo transport within the female reproductive tract. Dr. Winuthayanon's research uses genetic-engineered mouse models to dissect the molecular mechanisms and functional requirement of estrogen and progesterone signals through their classical nuclear receptors (estrogen receptor; ESR1 and progesterone receptor; PGR) during early pregnancy. Her research aims to provide fundamental knowledge in reproductive biology during early pregnancy as well as potential contraceptive targets for women and therapeutic approaches for infertility in humans.

About the Discovery Series

The NextGen Precision Health Discovery Series provides learning opportunities for UM System faculty and staff across disciplines, the statewide community and our other partners to learn about the scope of precision health research and identify potential collaborative opportunities. The series consists of monthly lectures geared toward a broad multidisciplinary audience so all can participate and appreciate the spectrum of precision health efforts. 

For questions about this event or any others in the Discovery Series, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.