NU Duncan Lab

The ovarian stroma as a therapeutic target A drug with antifibrotic properties may improve fertility

Dr. Francesca Duncan and Dr. Elnur Babayev have published a Perspectives article in Science on "The ovarian stroma as a therapeutic target." Check it out!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Congratulations to the newly minted Reva Marwah, MS, and Tania Castro Modesto, MS on expertly defending their theses projects!

We look forward to watching their career trajectories soar!

@mhr-reprodsci.bsky.social is seeking an Associate Editor for Social Media and Engagement!

This position is open to senior graduate students (MS or PhD levels), post-doctoral fellows, early career scientists

Apply by March 1

Congrats to Anna Heinrich on receiving 1st place in the 2026 International Embryo Transfer Society graduate student competition! Anna presented her work on "Advanced reproductive age is associated with changes in ovarian architecture in the South African cheetah" at the IETS meeting in Panama.

It’s Time to Give the Ovary Some More Respect

CRS Co-Director Dr. Francesca Duncan, and CRS faculty members Dr. Kara Goldman and Dr. Monica Laronda were featured in this New York Times article! Check it out!

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/h...

Congratulations to Prianka Hashim on her induction into the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society! This society pays homage to Dr. Edward A. Bouchet, the first African American doctoral recipient in the US, by recognizing outstanding scholarly achievement in doctoral education.

Production and Use of Customizable Agarose Molds for Scaffold-Free Mouse Ovarian Follicle Culture - PubMed The ovarian follicle is the functional unit of the ovary that produces hormones and gametes needed to sustain female reproductive function and health. The ability to recapitulate folliculogenesis, ovulation, and luteinization in vitro has broad basic, translational, and clinical utility. The most ad …

A new Duncan Lab publication!

Congratulations to Dr. Hannes Campo, Prianka Hashim, and Dr. Emily Zaniker-Gomez for turning their micromold technology for culturing follicles into a methods paper in JoVE to make sure this technique is more broadly accessible!

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41212809/

Happy New Year from the Duncan and Babayev Labs! We are looking forward to a terrific 2026!

Does the ‘Fertility Cliff’ Really Hit at 35?

Dr. Duncan was interviewed for this article on fertility in the New York Times! Check it out!

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/w...

The Duncan and Babayev labs wish everyone a very happy and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Physicians Committee and InSphero Announce Winners of HUMAIN Award WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit that advances human-based science, and InSphero, a global leader in 3D in vitro technology for drug safety and efficacy ...

Dr. Francesca Duncan and Dr. Hannes Campo received a 2025 Human Advanced In Vitro Model Initiative (HUMAIN) Award! 🎉

Their project aims to create the first human-based ovary–liver co-culture model to study and reverse age-related ovarian fibrosis.

www.pcrm.org/news/news-re...

@MHR_ReprodSci Associate Editors attended the Upper Midwest Summit for Reproductive Science, representing our journal!
Great science and networking opportunity! 🤩
Nardhy Gomez-Lopez Sara Pietroforte Farners Amargant Riera Francesca Duncan

WashU Medicine OBGYN Northwestern Medicine

Why Ovaries, Muscle Mass Could Be Key to Longevity for Women In the race to live longer and better, two innovators are breaking the mold and focusing on surprising new areas of a woman’s body. Maria Shriver sits down with Francesca Duncan, a top researcher at N...

Dr. Francesca Duncan was interviewed in a segment on the TODAY Show this morning, highlighting her research on ovarian aging at @nu-crs.bsky.social and @buckinstitute.org

Check out the story to learn more about longevity for women!

www.today.com/video/why-ov...

The Duncan Lab showed a strong presence at the Upper Midwest Summit for Reproductive Science, held at Northwestern on October 13 and 14. Prianka Hashim was co-chair and Caroline Kratka won an award for Best Poster.

See the full list of the posters: labs.feinberg.northwestern.edu/duncan/news/...

The mini placentas and ovaries revealing the basics of women’s health Lab-made organoids that mimic reproductive tissues could point to treatments for common conditions such as pre-eclampsia and endometriosis.

Organoid models are the way of the future! Check out the Duncan Lab's ovarian somatic organoid model that was highlighted in this exciting News Feature in Nature on the power of reproductive organoids!

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Dr. Duncan was thrilled to be in Suzhou, China attending the Cold Spring Harbor Asia meeting on Stem Cells, Rejuvenation, and Aging. She shared brand new data on how we can harness new mechanisms of ovarian aging for therapeutic potential!

Members of the Duncan Lab participated in the 19th Annual Lewis Landsberg Research Day held at NU. Dylan Hakken was shortlisted as a finalist for the Best Poster award in the Basic Science Research category.

Read more about the presentations: labs.feinberg.northwestern.edu/duncan/news/...

Congratulations to Dr. Francesca Duncan and Dr. Hannes Campo on receiving an R03 award for their project "Improving egg quality through an engineered biomimetic follicular microenvironment."

Congratulations to Prianka Hashim on receiving an F31 award for her project "Active surveillance of oocyte quality is moderated by the cGAS-STING pathway."

Women’s health: insights in research and inclusion Learn about the history and importance of the gender gap currently impacting women's health sciences

Dr. Duncan recently participated in a webinar on "Women’s health: insights in research and inclusion," presented by Chemistry World.

If you missed the live event, check out the recording: www.chemistryworld.com/webinars/wom...

Congratulations to Anna Heinrich on receiving a Cornerstone Grant from @histochemicalsoc.bsky.social! This award will support Anna's project “Functional and histological analysis of ovarian tissue from the South African Cheetah."

www.histochemicalsociety.org/2025-corners...

Women’s health: insights in research and inclusion Learn about the history and importance of the gender gap currently impacting women's health sciences - Join us on 28 August

Dr. Francesca Duncan will speak on this virtual webinar on "Women’s health: insights in research and inclusion"

Learn more and register for the event on August 28!
www.chemistryworld.com/webinars/wom...

New Molecular Mechanisms of Ovarian Aging Discovered  - News Center Investigators led by Francesca Elizabeth Duncan, PhD, have discovered new molecular mechanisms that enable specialized immune cells to cause ovarian aging and functional decline, according to a recent...

Investigators led by Francesca Duncan, PhD, @nuduncanlab.bsky.social, have discovered new molecular mechanisms that lead specialized immune cells to cause ovarian aging and functional decline, per a recent study in @plosbiology.org. news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/07/21/n... #healthspan

Single-cell and spatiotemporal profile of ovulation in the mouse ovary Ovulation is a complex process that is tightly controlled in a spatiotemporal manner, but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. This study reports single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in mouse ova...

New Publication!

Congratulations to Caroline Kratka and her collaborators on their manuscript which interrogates ovulation in the mouse at high spatiotemporal resolution!

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Multinucleated giant cells are hallmarks of ovarian aging with unique immune and degradation-associated molecular signatures Ovarian multinucleated giant cells are a unique macrophage population that arise within the aging mammalian ovary. This study characterizes their transcriptome in mice, uncovering a potential role in ...

New Publication!

Congrats to Dr. Aubrey Converse on her manuscript which uses innovative approaches to define the transcriptomic signature of ovarian multinucleated giant cells and provide novel insight into the role of this cell population in ovarian aging!

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Dartmouth-Led Study Advances Understanding of Ovulation for… A new study has for the first time revealed the details of ovulation at the single-cell level which can pave the way not only for the discovery of novel…

Congratulations to Caroline Kratka on her manuscript which interrogates ovulation in the mouse at high spatiotemporal resolution! This work features single cell and spatial datasets which will be a tremendous resource to the field!

Learn more: engineering.dartmouth.edu/news/dartmou...

Beyond fertility and menopause: See why the ovary is central to women’s health and longevity See why the ovary − often reduced to its reproductive role − menopause, age and estrogen affect a woman’s health throughout her body and lifetime.

Dr. Francesca Duncan and Dr. Kara Goldman were featured in this USA Today on ovarian aging and reproductive longevity!

www.usatoday.com/story/graphi...

Beyond fertility and menopause: See why the ovary is central to women’s health and longevity See why the ovary − often reduced to its reproductive role − menopause, age and estrogen affect a woman’s health throughout her body and lifetime.

Dr. Duncan was featured in this USA Today article about ovarian aging! Check it out!

www.usatoday.com/story/graphi...

Tomorrow‼️‼️

Register today for the first SPARK panel, "Human Biospecimen Repositories Fueling Translational Reproductive Science and Medicine Research"

Learn about panelist Dr. Toni Frolova's research: bit.ly/4l5JmfJ

Register: www.upsquad.com/event/regist...

@asrmorg.bsky.social