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SUMMARY:TALK: Defining the cell and molecular origins of the primate ovari
 an reserve - Dr. Sissy Wamaitha\, HHMI Leading Edge Fellow and University 
 of California 
DTSTART:20250626T120000Z
DTEND:20250626T130000Z
UID:TALK233734@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:120118
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Sissy Wamaitha\nHHMI Leading Edge Fellow and University of
  California Presidents Postdoctoral Fellowship\, UCLA\n\nHodgkin Huxley Se
 minar Room.\n1pm Thursday 26th June \n\nThe seminar will operate as a hybr
 id\, please find the zoom link below:\nhttps://crick.zoom.us/j/9507984643?
 pwd=c3Q4WG1sTVRoOTRxa0JNZkp4cG9Tdz09 \n  \nMeeting ID: 950 798 4643 \nPa
 sscode: 39409 \n\n*Abstract*\n\nThe primate ovarian reserve is established
  during late foetal development and consists of quiescent primordial folli
 cles in the ovarian cortex\, each composed of granulosa cells surrounding 
 an oocyte. Increasing knowledge of human ovary development and follicle fo
 rmation has implications for understanding and treating infertility\, vari
 ations in sex characteristics\, germ cell tumour formation\, and endocrine
  diseases. However\, as late stages of foetal development are not routinel
 y accessible for study with human tissue\, we exploited the evolutionary p
 roximity of the rhesus macaque to investigate primate follicle formation u
 sing single cell and spatial transcriptomics. Similarly to human prenatal 
 ovaries\, the rhesus also develops multiple types of pre-granulosa (PG) ce
 lls\, with the majority of primordial follicles derived from PG2 with smal
 l variable contributions from PG1. We also observe that activated medullar
 y follicles recruit foetal theca cells to establish a two-cell system for 
 sex-steroid hormone production prior to birth\, providing a cell-based exp
 lanation for mini puberty.\n\n*Biography*\n\nDr Sissy Wamaitha is a stem c
 ell biologist whose research interests centre on mapping cell fates in ear
 ly human development. She completed her PhD in Developmental and Stem Cell
  Biology with Dr Kathy Niakan at the Francis Crick Institute in London\, s
 tudying signalling pathways in the early embryo and in pluripotent stem ce
 lls. Dr Wamaitha’s postdoctoral research in Dr Amander Clark's lab at UC
 LA uses human and nonhuman primate models to investigate ovarian developme
 nt during foetal life. Her work investigates the origins of ovarian somati
 c cells and how they support the nascent germline in early follicle format
 ion\, establishing foundational knowledge required to improve infertility-
 related stem cell-based therapies.\n
LOCATION:Hodgkin-Huxley Seminar Room\, PDN\, Downing Site 
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