SAN ANTONIO – A University of Texas at San Antonio assistant professor of biology has received a $1.5 million grant to study male infertility.
Brian Hermann received the grant from the National Institutes of Health to help him with his stem cell research.
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With cutting-edge technology, Hermann is examining cells that make male fertility possible in new ways that haven’t been studied.
“What we’re looking at is the formation of stem cells that support sperm production in the testes. For a man to be fertile, he has to have those cells. If a man is infertile, the reason is often because these cells never formed or they formed and later died out,” Hermann said.
The spermatogonial stem cells Hermann is studying are essential for male fertility.
Theories have been proposed about why these stem cells don’t form properly but they’ve never been tested until now.
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The grant money allows Hermann to study single cells instead of larger groups of cells.
“By singling out a cell, we’re able to sort out the potentially healthy cells from the less viable ones. Previously, we couldn’t look at them individually. And when you work that way, you wash out the differences between the cells,” Hermann continued.
Hermann’s research could lead to more accurate diagnoses and more effective treatment to remedy infertility in males.
“It is exciting because there are many ways we could apply this information to help men have their own children,” he concluded.
Learn more about the Hermann laboratory here.
