Methodologies for Investigating Oocyte and Ovarian Function Across Species

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Kathryn Grive

Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island; The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Dr. Kathryn Grive, PhD, is an assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She earned her doctorate in Molecular Biology at Brown University as a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Predoctoral Fellow, where she investigated transcriptional regulatory networks in developing oocytes. She then trained as the Hartwell Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University, focusing on dynamic gene expression programs in first-wave versus steady-state spermatogenesis.Dr. Grive joined the Brown University faculty in 2019. Her research explores the molecular mechanisms governing ovarian reserve establishment and maintenance. Her work includes identifying novel ovarian reserve regulators, developing strategies to protect ovarian function during chemotherapy, and examining the impact of ovarian reserve regulation on female lifespan and health span. Currently, her lab is characterizing a proteostasis regulator in mammalian oocytes and studying its role in reproductive lifespan and systemic health.In recognition of her research innovation, publication record, and contributions to the scientific community, Dr. Grive was recently named the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR)'s 2025 Rising Star.

Collection Overview

The ovary is a highly dynamic organ composed of somatic cells as well as developing gametes, with intricate bidirectional communication between these cellular compartments essential for female reproductive function. In mammals, these coordinated communications allow the ovary to recruit and mature follicles through each cycle, ultimately resulting in successful ovulation, remodeling of the ovulatory follicles and ovarian tissue, and a start of a new cycle. While the ovary is critical for both reproductive and systemic health, functional and physiological studies have historically been challenging due to difficult primary cell culture of somatic cells, as well as the post-mitotic identity of oocytes, meaning that they cannot be expanded in culture for the majority of mammals. Several novel techniques have made significant in-roads to the study of ovarian physiology and oocyte biology including in vitro gametogenesis and whole follicle culture, though experimental barriers remain a hurdle for the field of reproductive science. This methods collection will bring together expertise in this technically challenging system to probe both oocyte and ovarian functions from a variety of mammalian species, as well as novel methodologies which can be adapted to other diverse systems.