Optical and genetic tools to improve fertility 

For millions of women, the interplay between the brain and fertility, the interrelationship between stress and fertility, is not just an interesting question, but it is the question. This is the question that, for many women, touches on their most sensitive points, their self-confidence, love and esteem, their perception of femininity, and their place in the world. However, fundamental aspects of the neuronal control of healthy ovulation are critically missing: from the dynamics of hypothalamic cell populations that control fertility, through the hormonal sensitivity in the central nervous system (CNS) and its plasticity, to the unclear (and for many unknown) roles of the ovarian peripheral nervous system (PNS).

In Kahan lab we decipher the reciprocal interactions and communication between the brain and the ovary at the level of system neuroscience. The overall motivation is to achieve a directed understanding of the in vivo interplay between female anatomy and neuroanatomy to secure fertility. More profound knowledge of these under-studied connections between neuroanatomy, environmental stressors, female anatomy, and sex hormones could lead to improved diagnostics and therapeutics for fertility challenges and female-related health in general, for animals, agriculture and humanity.