Project Grant R01HD121496

Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded a $584,626 Project Grant to The Regents Of The University Of Colorado (University of Colorado-Denver) on July 8, 2026, under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865). The grant, with a completion date of March 31, 2031, funds research into the mechanisms regulating functional regionalization of the mammalian ovary, specifically focusing on how the ovary establishes and maintains the ovarian reserve—the finite pool of ovarian follicles necessary for female fertility and endocrine health. The research addresses a critical gap in reproductive biology, as over 70 percent of spontaneous primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) cases lack a known etiology and lead to subfertility and early menopause.

The research employs three-dimensional imaging, computational analyses, and single-cell-scale spatial transcriptomics to investigate structural remodeling of the ovary during fetal and perinatal development and its influence on medullary versus cortical follicle cell fate determination. Preliminary findings indicate early, localized expression of thrombospondin 1 (THBS1/TSP1) in the ovarian medulla as a potential regulatory mechanism. The project is performed at the University of Colorado-Denver's Aurora, Colorado campus and represents foundational research aimed at elucidating the mechanisms underlying ovarian reserve establishment, with implications for understanding and potentially preventing infertility and reproductive disorders in women.