Project Grant R01HD120294

Project Grant Award Summary

The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc. received a $639,854 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), effective July 15, 2026, with completion targeted for April 30, 2031. The award supports research into mechanically sensitive regulators governing human amnion and primordial germ cell (PGC) formation from a common progenitor population. The research aims to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying infertility cases associated with defective amnion formation—a critical component of fetal membranes that develops within the first two weeks after fertilization. The project employs human pluripotent stem cell–based three-dimensional gel systems and single-cell transcriptomic analyses to identify and characterize bi-potential progenitor cells that give rise to both amnion and PGC-like cell lineages, with particular focus on cells marked by CLAUDIN 10 expression at the amnion-epiblast boundary in developing primate embryos.

Deliverables under this award include mechanistic insights into the bone morphogenetic protein signaling cascades and mechanical cues that initiate amnion specification, characterization of the shared progenitor population governing lineage divergence, and identification of molecular markers and regulatory pathways controlling amnion and germ cell formation. These findings are intended to advance understanding of reproductive pathology and inform clinical approaches to infertility management, addressing a condition affecting approximately one in ten couples of reproductive age in the United States. The research is conducted at the awardee's location in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.