Cybec Foundation funding for Associate Professor Katie Ayers

A Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)-led project to better understand the origins of reproductive organ development has obtained a funding boost.

Associate Professor Katie Ayers received support from the Cybec Foundation to investigate what genetic variations lead to differences of sexual development (DSD), a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs.

Image: Associate Professor Katie Ayers

Despite DSD disorders impacting up to one in 100 children, knowledge gaps remain about how genetic variations cause these conditions, with over 50 per cent of patients not having a definitive diagnosis.

Associate Professor Ayers, who co-leads MCRI’s Reproductive Development Group, said she would model reproductive organs out of engineered stem cells in the lab to explore what changes lead to DSDs.

“This funding will allow my team to study the effects of specific gene variations in a controlled environment and bridge critical gaps about the drivers that influence reproductive organ development,” she said.

“The better we understand this process, the closer we get to improving diagnosis rates and providing personalised care for children with rare and complex DSDs.”

The funding builds on existing support from the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia and earlier funding from the Cybec Foundation, cementing Associate Professor Ayers’ leadership across developmental genetics and reproductive biology.

Read more about MCRI’s Reproductive Development research.