College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Training Program

Norman Chamusah

Research

Norman is a PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University. Norman's current research work seeks to understand the relationship between placental histopathology and perinatal outcomes. An abundant body of evidence has revealed that the intrauterine environment has profound effects on fetal development and health across life course, for example birth weight, neurodevelopment and obesity. Even though the placenta is available from every delivery, few are routinely evaluated. As a result, we lack sufficient information on the mechanism by which placental health relates to birth outcomes, child development and adult health. He is further interested in applying machine learning methods to placental research and perinatal health.

Outreach Project

Norman fundraises and volunteers for Nyaka, an organization based in Lansing but looking after AIDs orphans in Uganda. In the past he has run the 2020 and 2021 New York Marathon to raise donations to support this impactful organization. Funds donated not only increased Nyaka's ability to provide tuitions, shoes and uniforms for its 800 students, but also help fund community library, health clinic, and robotics and chemistry labs. Additionally, 20,000 grannies who have taken in 80,000 orphans and vulnerable children have been provided with micro loans, new homes, clean water and latrines. Nyaka Global

Kelsi Morris

Research

Kelsi’s research focuses on maternal health and birth outcomes. Pregnancy is a time of increased energy needs, as well as a time of differences in hormonal balances in the body. Various diet and lifestyle factors may impact a woman’s health during pregnancy, and it is important to study how these factors may be associated with the health of the mother and her baby. Kelsi has so far worked on projects that look at diet during pregnancy and gestational weight gain, as well as projects that focus on pesticide exposure and various metabolic and inflammatory blood markers in pregnant women.

Outreach Project

Kelsi plans to volunteer at Michigan State University’s Graduate Women in Science for Girls Math and Science Day. This day is centered around working with middle school girls and giving them an opportunity to participate in different science and math-based activities that are led by students at MSU.

Hilary Skalski

Research

Hilary’s ongoing doctoral research is focused on how obesity affects the endometrial microenvironment and endometrial function in the presence of somatic Pten mutations. Obesity is a rising epidemic, with 50% of women predicted to be obese by 2030. When examining obesity’s impact on female reproductive organs, women with obesity are twice as likely to have irregular and/or lengthened menstrual cycles. Obesity is also a risk factor for endometrial hyperplasia (EH), which is characterized by the benign overgrowth of the endometrial epithelium and is considered a precursor lesion for endometrial cancer (EC). Endometrial epithelial PTEN mutations are commonly observed in both EH and EC. Neither obesity nor Pten mutation alone are sufficient to drive disease progression. With the use of genetically-engineered and obesity-induced mice, she will expand the genomic understanding and phenotypic characterization of obesity and Pten mutation-driven EH with histology, novel 10x Genomics Flex single cell RNA-sequencing, and flow cytometry. Identified pathological mechanisms can then be utilized to prevent EH progression through the potential development of disease-prediction biomarkers or treatment targets in high-risk women with EH. 

Recent Publications

• Skalski HJ, Arendt A, Harkins SK, MacLachlan M, Corbett CJM, Goy RW, Kapoor A, Hostetter G, and Chandler RL (2024) Key considerations for studying the effects of high-fat diet (HFD) on the nulligravid mouse endometrium. J Endocr Soc. 8(7):bvae104.
• Wilson MR, Skalski H, Reske JJ, Wegener M, Adams M, Hostetter G, Hoffmann HM, Bernard JJ, Bae-Jump VL, Teixeira JM, Chandler RL (2022) Obesity alters the mouse endometrial transcriptome in a cell context-dependent manner. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 20(1):163.
• Reske JJ, Wilson MR, Holladay J, Siwicki RA, Skalski H, Harkins S, Adams M, Risinger JI, Hostetter G, Lin K, and Chandler RL (2021) Co-existing TP53 and ARID1A mutations promote aggressive endometrial tumorigenesis. PLoS Genet17(12):e1009986.

Outreach Project

Hilary volunteered at the Region 12 Michigan Science Olympiad hosted by the Regional Science and Math Center at Grand Valley State University. Science Olympiad is an annual school-based team competition meant to encourage middle school and high school students into STEM fields. There are a total of 23 events, which range in topics from anatomy, chemistry, forestry, meteorology, and engineering.

Brooke Van Loh 

Research 

Brooke’s research focuses on the role of vasoactive intestinal peptide expressing neurons in female reproductive health in response to mistimed light. Light pollution is a growing problem, impacting every developed country, and has negative impacts on female reproductive health. Brooke’s work examines how vasoactive intestinal peptide neurons - which are involved in both the neurological response to light and the female reproductive system – are affected by exposure to mistimed light and how they, in turn, alter female reproductive health.

Outreach Project

Brooke’s outreach project focuses on making science accessible and interesting to elementary school students and their families through participation at elementary school science nights.

Lisa Zou

Research

Lisa's research focuses on the mechanisms of early pregnancy. Lisa is interested in the advancement of the application engineering principles and designs in medicine to develop methods to improve healthcare. In her current research projects, Lisa is developing methods for modeling the uterine environment within 3D scaffolding micro-environments to study early pregnancy embryo movement before implantation, as well as studying the nature of uterine contractions at this stage.

Outreach Project

Lisa plans to volunteer at Michigan State University (MSU) Science Festival 2024. The MSU Science festival celebrates how science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) touch everyday lives and shape the future. This event is about broadening public access to educational opportunities and promoting science literacy in our communities.