Research

The department has strong research activities. Presently, there are several basic, clinical, and translational projects going on. 1. Reproductive Immunology and Molecular Biology Research Laboratories. Dr. Naz’s research interests are in the area of testis-specific gene expression, contraceptive vaccine development, fertilization, and infertility. His laboratory focuses on delineating sperm-specific antigens that have a role in antisperm antibody-mediated infertility, and can be used for the development of contraceptive vaccines for men and women. Various advanced techniques of molecular biology, immunology, cell biology, reproductive biology, proteomics, and genomics are employed. Over ten genes that are specifically expressed in human testis, ovary, and prostate have been cloned and sequenced in the laboratory.

Dr. Rajesh Naz, Professor, Vice Chair for Research, Dept. Ob/Gyn, WVU SoM

Novel genes are actively being searched that have a role in gamete (sperm/oocyte) function and signal transduction pathways. Recombinant, DNA, and peptide vaccines are developed based upon these novel genes/recombinant proteins/bioactive peptide epitopes for contraceptive vaccine development. Another approach for immunocontraception is using preformed recombinant human antibodies of defined specificities. Human recombinant antibodies against defined sperm antigens that cause infertility are being engineered by the recombinant technology for immunocontraception. There are other projects related to immunopathology of pregnancy, endocrine disruptors, and prostate cancer going on it the lab.
Several undergraduate, masters, graduate (Ph.D., M.D./PhD., D.V.M./PhD.), post-doctoral fellows, and residents work on various projects. The findings of these projects have been extensively published. Dr. Naz has trained over 60 students, residents and fellows. He has published over 165 peer- reviewed full length articles in reputed journals including Science, PNAS, and JCI, authored/edited 6 books, served on several study sections of the NIH, DOD, and various international funding agencies, and is presently in the editorial boards of seven journals including Human Reproduction, Molecular Reproduction and Development, and Journal of Andrology. The research activities are funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Child Development (NICHD/NIH). Some of the articles published in 2005/2006 are listed below:

• Naz, R. K. Antisperm vaccine for contraception. Am. J. Reprod. Immuol. 54, 1-6, 2005.
• Naz, R. K. Search for peptide sequences involved in human antisperm antibody-mediated male immunoinfertility by using phage display technology. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 72, 25-30, 2005.
• Naz, R. K., and Preeti, R. Novel testis/sperm-specific contraceptive targets identified using gene knockout studies. Front. Biosci. 10, 2430-2446, 2005.
• Naz, R. K., and Changanamkandath, R. Gene knockouts that cause female infertility: search for novel contraceptive targets. Front. Biosci. 10, 2447-2459, 2005.
• Lebovic, D. I. and Naz, R. K. Premature ovarian failure: Think ‘autoimmune disorder’. Sexuality, Reproduction, & Menopause, 2, 230-233, 2005.
• Naz, R. K. Contraceptive vaccines. Drugs, 65, 593-603, 2005.
• Naz, R. K., Gupta, S. K., Gupta, J. C., Vyas, H. K., and Talwar, G. P. Recent advances in contraceptive vaccine development. Hum. Reprod. 20, 3271-3283, 2005.
• Naz, R. K., and Changanamkandath, R. Passive immunization for immunocontraception: lessons learned from infectious diseases. Front. Biosci. 9, 2457-2465, 2005.
• Naz, R. K. Antisperm immunity for contraception. J. Androl. 6, 153-159, 2006.
• Naz, R. K. Effect of sperm DNA vaccine on fertility of female mice. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 73, 918-928, 2006.
• Naz, R.K., and Aleem, A. Effect of immunization with six peptide vaccines on fertility of female mice. Reproduction, 2006, in press.

2. Nationally-Designated Center of Excellence in Women’s Health

West Virginia University, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences, is one of the 20 national Centers for Excellence in Women’s Health awarded by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women’s Health. It is an interdisciplinary program focused on developing strategies for identifying and treating gender-related health issues. It provides comprehensive health care for women, promotes research on women’s health, educate health care providers, and reaches out to improve women’s health. Barbara Ducatman, M.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pathology is the director, and several faculty members of Obstetrics and Gynecology are a part of the center. The details can be found at http://www.wvhealthywomen.org/

3. WV Healthy Start/HAPI Project

WV Healthy Start/HAPI (Helping Appalachian Parents and Infants) Project is a Healthy Start program federally funded through Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is one of the 96 healthy start programs in the nation. The department recently received a second four year cycle of funding. The goal of the project is to improve pregnancy/birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality by serving low income prenatal and post-partum/interconceptional women. Penny Womeldorff is the project director and several faculty members are part of this comprehensive project.

4. March of Dimes Grant on Prevention of Prenatal Substance Abuse-A Model for Screening, Education and Referral

The department recently received this grant to develop prenatal substance abuse screening. This project supplement the HAPI project that is described above.

5. Prochieve Progesterone Gel Study

This is a phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Prochieve® 8% progesterone gel in preventing preterm delivery in pregnant women at increased-risk for preterm delivery. Michael Stitely, M.D. is the P. I. and Donna Dorinzi, M.D., Roger Toffle, M.D., Mary Beth Mandich, and Susan Lynch are the co-investigators, and Jodi Rhodes is the coordinator of the study.

6. Immunopathology of Pregnancy Symposium

On June 7, 2006 a symposium entitled, Immunopathology of Pregnancy, was held through the WVU Center for Immunopathology and Microbial Pathogenesis. Several students, residents, researchers, and faculty members participated. The invited speakers were experts in this field, and included Professors Surendra Sharma, M.D., Ph.D. from Brown University, Gil Mor, M.D., Ph.D. from Yale University, Mary Brown, Ph.D. from University of Florida, and Donald Dudley, M.D. from University of Texas at San Antonio. The aim of the symposium was to initiate interdepartmental collaborative projects and formulate translational research endeavors.

7. Resident Research Day / 18th Annual Palladino Lecture

Our 18th Annual Palladino Lecture / Resident Research Day will be held on March 19, 2010. Dr. Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, will be our guest speaker this year. He plans to speak on "Recurrent Early Pregancy Loss". Dr. Lockwood is the Anita O'Keefee Young Professor of Women's Health and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale University School of Medicine, and he is Cheif of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Yale - New Haven Hospital.

We will have five residents presenting their research cases during our Resident Research Day.

1. "Surgical Glove Perforations Using Blunt Versus Sharp Surgical Needles During Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Trail". Jessica Close, DO - PGY4
2. "The Impact of Endometrial Thickness on Fecundity in In-Vitro Fertilization Cycles at West Virginia University". Mark Behnam, MD - PGY4
3. "Chronic Postpartum Uterine Inversion Treated by Abdominal Replacement and Cerclage: A Case Report". Sheli Garrett - Albaugh, DO - PGY3
4. "Initial Experience with the Use of Vitrification and Tissue Engineering as Tools to Improve the Future Outcome of Ovarian Tissue Preservation and Tranplantation". Amr Kader, MD - PGY1
5. "An Initiative to Reduce Scheduled Induction of Labor Without Medical Indications: An Achievable Goal". Suwan Mehra, MD - PGY4

Information for human subject research training and IRB submission is available at the following sites:

Human Subjects Research Training:
http://orc.research.wvu.edu/human_subjects_research_and_the_irb/human_subject_training

IRB online submission:
https://ecomp.wvu.edu/