By Marla Paul

A new gentler chemotherapy drug in the form of nanoparticles has been designed by Northwestern Medicine® scientists to be less toxic to a young woman’s fertility but extra tough on cancer. This is the first cancer drug tested while in development for its effect on fertility using a novel in vitro test.

The scientists designed a quick new in vitro test that predicts the toxicity of a chemotherapy drug to fertility and can be easily used to test other cancer drugs in development as well as existing ones. Currently the testing of cancer drugs for fertility toxicity is a time and resource intensive process.

“Our overall goal is to create smart drugs that kill the cancer but don’t cause sterility in young women,” said Teresa Woodruff, a co-principal investigator of the study and chief of fertility preservation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The paper was published March 20 in in the journal PLOS ONE.

The scientists hope their integration of drug development and reproductive toxicity testing is the beginning of a new era in which chemotherapy drugs are developed with an eye on their fertotoxity (fertility toxicity). As cancer survival rates increase, the effect of cancer treatments on fertility is critically important to many young patients.

Read more…

Yesterday, April 26th, was Take Your Kids to Work Day and as always, the Woodruff Lab opened its doors to the future generation of white coats!  Woodruff Lab members brought their children in to take part in a day of activities to help them learn more about the research we do at the Oncofertility Consortium (and have a ton of fun while doing it)!  The kids ranged in age from 2 to 7, and we even had a 3 month old nearby refusing to nap as she could not keep her little eyes off of the fun experiments taking place around her.

Our morning activities included:

What is Alginate?

Mini-scientists learned what alginate is, where you find it in your every day life, and how we use it in the lab.  They made alginate beads, wrote a recipe for what they did, and drew their results in their notebooks.

Fun with dry ice and liquid nitrogen

Mini-scientists watched as a researcher used liquid nitrogen to freeze grapes and oranges. They got to feel and see the fruit before and after the freezing process and discussed how the process changed the fruits texture.

What Do you See Under the Microscope?

Mini-scientists looked at slides of oocytes under the microscope and drew what they saw in their notebooks.

What Does a Lab Mouse Do?

Mini-scientists got to meet and learn about how lab mice contribute to science. This was hands down, their favorite activity! 

After a long morning of scientific activities, our little lab members were treated to a nutritious lunch and a PBS broadcast of Sid the Science Kid, before heading home.  It was a great day and we love getting the opportunity to show children and young adults all the dynamic things we are working on in the lab to help cancer patients. Hopefully this will plant the seed in their young minds that they too can make a difference through science and innovative thinking.

In case you haven’t heard about the Cancer Smashers, you must continue reading and get to know this fantastic group of young people banning together to raise money to eradicate cancer. Let me begin by telling you who they are and what they’re all about. Then we’ll get into all the cool things that they do to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

For starters, Cancer Smashers is a unique group of kids ranging in age from 10 years old to 19 years old who joined forces in 2011 to raise money and awareness for cancer research.  Their goal is to help promote the H Foundation, an all-volunteer group founded by businesspeople in the western suburbs of Chicago that decided they could make a difference in the fight against cancer, and the Goombay Bash, an annual cancer fundraiser held in downtown Chicago. Money raised by the Cancer Smashers and the H Foundation goes directly to cancer research and funds work being done at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Cancer Smashers help out by doing a variety of activities from assisting at events to building floats for parades or simply by being a support system to someone who is diagnosed with cancer.  Most recently, the Cancer Smashers came to the Woodruff Lab at Northwestern University to spend one-day learning about scientific research through lab exercises, such as extracting DNA from strawberries and also making alginate beads. Founder and Chair of Cancer Smashers, Beth Tischler, thought it was important for the kids to see exactly where the money they raise is going to, by visiting the Woodruff Lab and participating in some of the work the researchers do. Nadia Reynolds and Cathryn Smeyers, members of the Woodruff Lab and organizers of the Oncofertility Saturday Academy (OSA), participated in the event explaining, “The kids were really enthusiastic and excited to be a part of the research that’s being done here at Northwestern.”

What’s up next for the Cancer Smashers? For the week of January 23-27, the school’s Student Council will be selling paper “fists” for only $1.00. The buyer of the fist will personalize it by writing the name of a person who has been affected by cancer that they would like to honor. The fist will then be displayed on the walls of the school of their choice. The school district that sells the most fists is the winner!! To learn more about the Cancer Smashers and watch some videos about them, go to www.cancersmashers.com. You can also see them in action this Friday on CBS 2 news. Make sure you check it out!

Laxmi Kondapalli being interviewed by Dayle Cedars from Channel 7 news in Denver

One of the many, if not one of the most, important aims of the Oncofertility Consortium and its emphasis on fertility preservation research and clinical care, is “training the next generation.” Not only is the mission of the Consortium to improve fertility outcomes for patients undergoing cancer treatment, but it is also to ensure that future basic scientists and clinicians continue to expand current knowledge, research, clinical practice, and training in fertility preservation outcomes.  Laxmi Kondapalli, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado and Women’s Reproductive Health Research Scholar in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility is a realization of this goal. Let’s start at the beginning…

In March 2006, Laxmi was finishing up her residency training at Northwestern University in Obstetrics and Gynecology when she met Teresa K Woodruff, PhD, Director of the Oncofertility Consortium. Laxmi shared her interest in Reproductive Endocrinology (REI) with Dr. Woodruff, but expressed her desire to do basic science/bench research first, before embarking on clinical training and practice. According to Laxmi, “Meeting Dr. Woodruff changed the trajectory of my career.  She has incredible vision, particularly for someone who is not a clinician, on how to bridge science with individual care.”

Shortly after her meeting with Dr. Woodruff, Laxmi started working in the Woodruff Lab in August 2006. It was at the start of her tenure in the lab when she found out that Dr. Woodruff was one of the finalists for the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap Grant (aka, the grant that brought the “idea” of the Oncofertility Consortium to fruition). Together, they put the 1,000 page grant together over a 10 week period with help from members of the Woodruff Lab and other academics from within Northwestern and around the country. Laxmi explains, “It was being at the right place at the right time and the Oncofertility Consortium was a perfect fit for me because of my interest in REI and because it was a way for me to really see how you can translate work that we do in the laboratory to really impact clinical and patient care.”

In 2007, the Oncofertility Consortium was funded by the NIH, and Laxmi was A) not only a first-time grant writer, but a grant writer for one of the biggest grants given out (“for me, it was a valuable experience on so many levels”), B) processing and freezing A LOT of ovarian tissue in her lab work and C) navigating patients with the Fertility Preservation Patient Navigator who was receiving referrals from all over the country to do tissue freezing. By 2008, after two years in the Woodruff Lab working hands on with tissue, Laxmi was ready to embark on an REI fellowship and she had her sights set on an institution that would allow her to expand her work in fertility preservation while ideally being involved with the Oncofertility Consortium.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the amazing, fabulous Laxmi Kondapalli success story!

By Francesca Duncan

Most cancer therapies, while life-preserving, can threaten the future fertility of both males and females.  Fortunately, the menu of fertility preservation options is broad, and due to ongoing research efforts through the Oncofertility Consortium and around the globe, these options are ever-expanding.  Hydrogel-based in vitro follicle growth is one such investigational technology developed by Oncofertility Consortium researchers in which immature follicles are isolated directly from ovarian tissue and grown in alginate, a natural biomaterial derived from algae.  This system supports follicular architecture through terminal stages of follicle development and has been shown in the mouse to produce eggs that give rise to healthy offspring.  Research is now focused on optimizing this system to produce live offspring in primate species.

As interest in learning and applying such technologies to the field of fertility preservation has increased, the Oncofertility Consortium launched a new course entitled: Oncofertility 101: a training course in in vitro follicle growth using alginate hydrogels.”  This is an intense one-day course in which participants experience  hands-on laboratory exercises aimed at learning the fundamentals of follicle micromanipulation, encapsulation, culture, and quality analysis.  This course “ensures that the transmission of technical skills needed to successfully grow healthy follicles in three dimensions are acquired quickly in order to advance the pace of reproductive research” emphasizes Teresa Woodruff, PhD, Director of the Oncofertility Consortium.  In addition to the laboratory exercises, Lonnie Shea, PhD and Min Xu, MD, PhD, both pioneers of this technology, present crucial insight into the evolution of follicle culture biomaterials and the ins and outs of setting up a follicle culture laboratory, respectively.  The course is led by Francesca Duncan, PhD, a Research Associate in the Woodruff Laboratory.

The first Oncofertility 101 course, held in September 2011, was very successful.  Participants came from diverse scientific backgrounds, including basic science, embryology, endocrinology, and biotech.  Participants found the course to be “excellent” and “a great opportunity.”  One person commented: “To really understand a technology I think you need to know how it is done so while I had read considerably about the technique, until yesterday, I did not have that important insight that goes with actually doing the technology… thank you for your time and effort and especially for your patience. It’s been twenty years since I actually sat at the bench and manipulated gametes!”

Oncofertility 101 is held twice a year, and the next course is right around the corner on Monday, March 12^th.  This course is free of charge but registration is limited to five participants.  If you are interested in registering or would like more information, please click here.  The second 2012 Oncofertility 101 course will take place on Wednesday, September 26^th, to coincide with the 2012 Oncofertility Consortium Conference.

What is the role of an obstetrician/gynecologist in cancer care for young women? When you think about cancer and cancer treatment, most likely you’re thinking of oncology and what line of defense will be taken against the cancer. A new article in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology from Oncofertility Consortium members, Betty Kong, BA, Robin Skory, BS, and Teresa K Woodruff, PhD, entitled “Creating a Continuum of Care: Integrating Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the Care of Young Cancer Patients,” argues that in some cases, the OB/GYN is the key component in this game.

Kong and Skory are both Woodruff Lab members pursuing dual MD/PhDs at Northwestern University, meaning they want to be involved in both the clinical and research aspects of oncofertility. Clearly they are invested in the scientific pathways oncofertility has to offer, but from a clinical perspective, they assert that obstetrician gynecologists are the best advocates for their patients to help them make informed decisions about their future fertility. According to the authors, “obstetricians and gynecologists [are] the primary physicians to many women during their reproductive years [thus] are in a unique position to be at the forefront of the oncofertility initiative by ensuring [they receive] the proper counseling, referrals, and continuity of care for their patients before, during, and after cancer treatment.”

For many young women, once they’ve reached the pinnacle of pediatric care (18yrs old), they are no longer regularly immersed in follow-up medical care as parents, schools, etc, require. Often the physician they see the most is their OB/GYN, whether it be for birth control options, pre natal care or their yearly exams. Many young women build long-standing patient/physician relationships with their OB/GYN as they did with their pediatricians. It is with this understanding that the authors claim the responsibility for the continuum of care falls upon the OB/GYN in many cases. Thus, the more informed they are in the field of oncofertility, the less patients will encounter a gap in their comprehensive cancer care, specifically in fertility preservation.

An OB/GYN is also in a key role should a cancer diagnosis present itself during a woman’s pregnancy. More studies need to be done on the long term affects of chemotherapy regimes on fetus development and future fertility, but there are treatments that women can undergo in their second and third trimester of pregnancy to try and eradicate the disease. According to the authors, “although it is an uncommon diagnosis, cancer during pregnancy presents a critical scenario that must be carefully treated by a multidisciplinary team of obstetrician gynecologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, pediatricians, genetic counselors, and patient navigators.” Again, as the multidisciplinary field of oncofertility develops, it is imperative that clinicians and scientists from diverse fields collaborate to provide patients with the best care possible and the most options for their future fertility.

To read the article, “Creating a Continuum of Care: Integrating Obstetricians and Gynecologists in the Care of Young Cancer Patients,” please click here.

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I recently sat in on a new fall course offering at Northwestern University, the History of Reproduction, taught by Sarah Rodriguez, PhD. Over the last few years, Sarah has contributed her historical expertise to the Oncofertility Consortium, ensuring that the Consortium receives a healthy dose of the humanities. This past summer, Sarah and I shared an office space and discovered shortly thereafter, a similar background in women’s history, and randomly, a love of Iowa.  How could I not pass up an opportunity to get my history fix in and catch up with Sarah?  So off I went…

The seminar was just the right size to foster dynamic yet intimate discussion and the students hailed from a variety of academic disciplines, including Woodruff Lab member, Robin Skory, who is pursing an MD with a PhD in Reproductive Sciences. This would definitely be my first experience sharing a history course with a student of her background, but then again I work in an organization that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration. I like that this is becoming the new norm in my life!

The study of reproduction is a relatively new specialty, and developed in large part from a focus on body politics during second wave feminism in the 1970s.  It was also in the 70s, that the first IVF baby was born, making “infertility,” more of a chronic condition as opposed to barrenness or sterility. As new technological advances made it possible for increasing numbers of infertile couples to conceive biological children, more people came forward to seek assistance with reproduction.

As more advances are made in the Reproductive Sciences, we’re seeing the paradigm shift from individuals who are infertile being treated to people being treated that may become infertile due to cancer or it’s treatment.  Infertility has also become a place where people with seemingly competing interests, converge and engage with one another. In the 70s, feminism denounced reproductive techniques claiming it reinforced certain stereotypes of women as only mothers and made them victims of patriarchal medical “advances.” Today, however, we see another side of feminist thought arguing that ART has the ability to empower women because it has the potential to enable them to take control of their reproductive future. It’s based in the same ideals, but the discourse has changed.

How did your parents view reproduction and fertility? What do you think about it today and where do you think we will we be in 25 years? How has your experience shaped how you view fertility and reproduction? These are the kinds of questions that are important to discuss and explore because how we understand our history, shapes how we see our present and ultimately guides how we map out our future.

Are you a cancer survivor? Help oncofertility researchers study and prevent treatment-induced fertility loss by joining the FIRST online fertility registry for cancer survivors!

Summer Teacher Fellowship Team (L-R): Mark Prosise (Curriculum Developer), Amy Elliott, Kari Bodine, Miranda Bernhardt (Lab Coordinator), Sowmya Anjur, Kristen Perkins (Curriculum Coordinator), Nadia Reynolds (Fellowship Coordinator); not pictured: Qurrat Waheed. Photo by Eugene Galdones.

By Nadia Reynolds – The Oncofertility Summer Research Fellowship (OSRF), a program that brings science teachers and college undergraduates into the Woodruff Lab, was initiated in 2009 with the support of a two-year American Recovery & Reinvestment Act grant.  For the past three years, high school biology teachers and Oncofertility Saturday Academy (OSA) alumnae have been hired to work in the Woodruff Lab over the summer, through the OSRF program.  Two teachers and two OSA alumnae participated in 2009, and five teachers and three OSA alumnae participated in 2010.

This year, OSRF was supported by the main Oncofertility Consortium grant, and four teachers were selected to participate in the program.  The teacher fellows included: Sowmya Anjur, a veteran teacher for Illinois Math & Science Academy, Qurrat Waheed, a new teacher at Westinghouse College Prep, and Kari Bodine and Amy Elliott, both teachers at Lakes Community High School.  The teacher fellows learned about the science behind fertility preservation, the bioethical issues surrounding the field of oncofertility, and participated in the development of new high school science lab modules called the Northwestern University Biology Investigations in Oncofertility, or NUBIO.

NUBIO includes a set of labs that were developed via a collaboration between local high school teachers and researchers in the Woodruff Lab in an attempt to teach students basic biology skills and advanced biotechnology techniques through the context of cancer, reproductive science, and oncofertility.  The teacher fellows expanded upon the already developed NUBIO labs as individual summer projects, which included new units on cancer, bioethics, and patient case studies.

OSRF was a huge success this year, and we wish all of our teacher fellows the best as they return to their schools in the fall to pilot NUBIO!  And next week we welcome the OSA alumnae student fellows into the lab!

The Oncofertility Consortium often uses technical terms when discussing cancer and fertility preservation. In an effort to remove the jargon from reproductive science, Cathryn Smeyers, Program Manager of the Center for Reproductive Research, created Repropedia, which is what we link to on our blog when terms need to be defined. We asked Cathryn to tell us a little more about Repropedia and this is what she had to say:

By Cathryn Smeyers

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Education and outreach are primary goals of the Center for Reproductive Research (a Specialized Cooperative Centers Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research -SCCPIR- funded by the National Institutes of Health), and this is what drew me to the Program Manager position.  A few months ago, Dr. Woodruff and I met to discuss the development of the outreach component of the Center, and she proposed the idea of creating an online reproductive dictionary to provide the public with words and definitions they could use to understand reproductive health and biology.  Thus, Repropedia was born.

As we fleshed out the details of our initial concept, we decided to make the website more dynamic by adding images and video clips of scientists/clinicians defining various terms and eventually adding an audio component.  We also added an “Ask an Expert” link, which allows users to submit a question or solicit additional information. The questions are fielded by members of the Woodruff Lab.

Our target audience for Repropedia is the general public and students interested in learning more about oncofertility.  We want these definitions to be accessible to everyone so we avoid using jargon in the definitions. To ensure accuracy and clarity, I assembled an editorial board with members from the Woodruff Lab. Every time we add a new term,  lab members review the term before it’s officially added to the site.

Our goal with Repropedia is that it will continue to evolve and grow.  We want individuals throughout the reproductive health and science communities to contribute terms/definitions, images, and video clips. In May, the annual SCCPIR research meeting was held in Chicago, just a few blocks away from the Northwestern University campus.  This afforded us the opportunity to solicit video contributions from PIs, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from centers throughout the country.  We also ask any scientists/clinicians visiting the Woodruff Lab to make a contribution to the site.

If you would like additional information about Repropedia or are interested in contributing additional terms, images, or video clips to this important resource, please visit the website or contact me at c-smeyers@northwestern.edu for additional details.  This work is supported Award Number U54 HD041857 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

Recently, WBEZ Chicago’s Eight Forty-Eight came to the Oncofertility Consortium to interview Dr. Woodruff about fertility preservation for cancer patients.  While the interview mainly discussed new techniques that will provide hope for cancer patients facing potential infertility, the interview also discussed the Illinois Women’s Health Registry and the Oncofertility Saturday Academy.

From the WBEZ website:

Last year, Dr. Teresa Woodruff won a $21 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the Oncofertility Consortium. There she hopes to develop new fertility treatments for people who have undergone treatment for cancer. While many people can survive a cancer diagnosis, the treatments can destroy fertility. Dr. Woodruff runs The Woodruff Lab at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and also runs the Oncofertility Saturday Academy. It brings young women from a small high school on Chicago’s South Side into the lab to learn basic biology and clinical medicine.

The audio of the interview is included!

Eight Forty-Eight Interview