For many couples, conceiving an own child is an indispensable part of completing their family. However, often this wish remains a dream - for example when the man is infertile. To bring light in 'unexplained' (male) infertility diagnoses, Dr. Corinna Friedrich aims to unravel underlying genetic causes at the Institute of Reproductive Genetics. In 2020, the team identified a likely reason for spermatogenic failure in seven genes and thus described a potential cause for male infertility in some patients. This was recently rewarded with the Best Publication Award 2020 by Andrology, a journal covering both basic scientific and clinical areas of the field.
 

The award recognises the best publication of the previous year and is presented by the European Academy of Andrology and the American Society of Andrology. A seven-month cooperation between Münster and the University of São Paulo in Brazil, examined genetic aberrations in a group of 16 infertile men. 'In our study, we analysed 37 genes which we assume to promote or even cause fertility disorders. In seven of them, we were able to identify rare variants that are possibly responsible for the infertile phenotype of those men,' C. Friedrich explains.
 

CRU326 PI C. Friedrich is not only outstanding on a professional level - she also manages the balancing between career and family impressively: In 2020, the mother of 3 children received the Ursula-von-Euch scholarship and thus gets a monthly grant of 400€ for personal support. In 2021, the scholarship was extended for another year. In addition, she was recently supported by our equal opportunity measurements as part of the LabAid programme. This allows for the funding of a student research assistant who supports daily lab work.
 

The CRU326 congratulates to this great success! For more information about the news, take a look at the website of the Medical Faculty. Details about the publication can be found here.