Applied Clinical Research

Applied Clinical Research

A priority of the ASRM Research Institute will be to support APPLIED CLINICAL RESEARCH, including:

General:


  • How to apply precision medicine in clinical reproductive care
  • Study the origin of aneuploidy / meiotic vs. mitotic errors
  • Human embryo culture optimization and effects of human embryo manipulation(s) in vitro
  • “Beyond the Semen Analysis” – Develop additional diagnostics for male factor infertility
  • Single cell analytics of gametes for clinical (and research) application(s)
  • Study and define the poor-quality oocyte for application to clinical medicine
  • Studies on the derivation of human stem cell lineages in females and males
    • In vitro gametogenesis
    • Testicular biopsy of child to identify stem cells for sperm maturation
    • Clinical testing of gametes generated in the laboratory

Access to Care:


  • Low cost IVF
    • Vaginal culture
    • IVM for routine IVF (in non PCOS patients)
  • Fertility preservation (male, female, children)
    • Optimization of gamete and reproductive tissue cryopreservation
  • Socio-cultural barriers (geographic, religious, financial, educational, time away from work, etc.)
  • Practical IVF (e.g., cost saving studies vs. applications like telemedicine)

Outcomes:

  • Short and Long-term outcomes of fertility treatments (parents AND offspring)
    • Development of an expanded SART CORS database (and, potentially, with linkage to other databases)
    • Development of iPad/iPhone-type app for direct data input by patient

Other areas of possible interest and importance to the field:

  • The microbiome
  • Integration of various “-omics” findings
  • Validation of emerging biomarkers for diagnosis of reproduction-related disease(s)
  • Gene editing of germline/embryos
It is stressed that the Institute processes should be nimble enough to be in position of quickly addressing unexpected clinical needs which lead to new opportunities for research (e.g., as happened for Zika).

Note: There are other general and common areas of reproductive research for which current funding already exists, albeit at relatively decreased or low levels. These topics do not meet the criteria listed above for priority areas to fund at the present time. However, the consensus of both the Research Task Force and the Steering Committee was to keep these topics on the list for annual review and consideration. These topics’ prioritization may be changed based on a shifting research climate and potential new discoveries. These topics include:

  • Endometriosis/Adenomyosis
  • Fibroids
  • PCOS
  • The human placenta (as described in the NICHD Human Placenta Project)