Dr Julie Merriman-Jones
In mammals, females are born with their entire life times supply of eggs that they will ovulate during their reproductive years. During those reproductive years, the quality of eggs that are ovulated start to deteriorate as the maternal age increases. It is widely accepted that in humans, women over 35 years of age, have a dramatic increase in risk factors for having children with chromosomal abnormalities, that could lead to a variety of diseases or disabilities, some of which are fatal. This also contributes to infertility problems that are also observed in women of the same age.
In Australia, 1 in 6 couples are infertile: 40% female problems, 40% male problems, 10% both and 10% unknown causes. The current trend in Australian society means that couples are delaying having children until their mid to late thirties. Fertility problems strike 1 in 3 women over 35 years old.
My research focuses on using aged mouse models, and looking at egg quality and levels of aneuploidy, which could ultimately lead to a decrease in infertility. I am interested in trying to discover the reasons for the cause of aneuploidy, and the intrinsic causes of why there is a sharp dramatic rise with increasing maternal age.
One external factor that also leads to infertility problems is smoking. In Australia, 27% of women in the reproductive age (25-34 years) smoke. It is generally recognised that smoking is detrimental to fertility (males and females) and to their reproductive organs in general. Therefore I am looking at the effect of smoking using a mouse model.
 1 month old mouse ovary – showing the various stages of oocyte and follicular growth. |
 Aged oocyte - normal |
 Aged oocyte - abnormal (fragmented) |
Dr Julie Merriman-Jones