The mission of the CRS is to promote high quality, cutting edge research in the field of reproductive sciences; to facilitate the transfer of concepts developed in the laboratory to clinical applications; and to provide an integrated interdisciplinary training program for future leaders in the field of reproductive sciences.
The CRS faculty crosses departments, and currently comprises basic science researchers and physician scientists drawn from the departments of OBGYN/RS, Pediatrics, Urology, Anatomy and Physiology, Biochemistry, Surgery, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the General Clinical Research Center, the Cancer Center, and the Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research.
The faculty uses state of the art techniques to expand our knowledge of reproductive processes. Molecular, cellular and genetic approaches are used to address fundamental aspects of reproductive sciences, and results are translated to our understanding and treatment of reproductive disorders in the clinic. Each CRS member is dedicated to ethical scientific discoveries.
Principal investigators (PIs) within the CRS act as mentors for scholars in several University-based training activities including the Biomedical Sciences (BMS), Developmental Biology and Stem Cell (DSCB) and Tetrad graduate programs, the Molecular Medicine Program, two national NIH training programs—the Medical Scientist Training Program and the Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career Development Center, and a CRS NIH T32 Training Grant for postdoctoral fellows.
To continue as a global leader in reproductive sciences, the strategic vision of the CRS will focus on:
- Innovative Research Expansion
- Enhanced Clinical Integration
- Mentorship & Opportunity
- Sustainable Growth
CRS research spans reproductive endocrinology, developmental and implantation biology, reproductive oncology, and fetal origins of adult disease. Although mammalian models are primarily and widely adopted for these research programs, model organisms such as yeast, Drosophila, zebra fish, and frog models of reproduction are also used to elucidate specific aspects of gamete development and function. State of the art technologies in cell and molecular biology, nucleic acid and protein biochemistry are currently in use in CRS laboratories. A large number of engineered mouse models, as well as cultured cells, including human stem cells, are also available and exchanged among the CRS members.
The Center for Reproductive Sciences at UCSF has a tradition of more than 30 years of pioneering discoveries in the field of reproduction. Our overarching goal is to provide an environment where new concepts are developed at the bench by applying the most advanced tools of genomics, epigenomics, and quantitative cell biology. Through interactions between basic and clinician scientists, our goals are to develop new diagnostic tools as well as new treatments.
