Teresa K Woodruff, PhD

Thomas J. Watkins Memorial Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Executive Director, Institute for Women’s Health Research
Chief, Division of Fertility Preservation
Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Physiology
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Research Interests:
An understanding of the biological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms regulate the reproductive axis is the goal of the laboratory. Hormones and locally produced growth factors of the gonads, pituitary, and hypothalamus interact to maintain reproductive cyclicity in the female and tonic sperm production in the male. The integration of endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine mechanisms provides the precision demanded by nature to maintain the germ line of the species.

The protein molecules that we are currently evaluating are inhibin and activin. While our aims are broad, the utility of the inhibin and activin hormone family is that they provide specific investigative tools. These hormones are integral factors in normal ovarian function and may be inappropriately regulated in disease states.