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Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences OB/GYN
  1. Department of OBGYN & Reproductive Sciences
  2. Education & Training
  3. Fellowships
  4. Reproductive Sciences

Postdoctoral Training in Reproductive Sciences

Program Director: Pamela L. Mellon, Ph.D.

Co-Directors: Alexander S. Kauffman, Ph.D., H. Irene Su, M.D., M.S.C.E.

About the Fellowship

This training program for Ph.D. postdoctoral fellows aims to provide outstanding training for future academic faculty or biotechnology leaders with a concentration on research in reproductive biology. It is coupled with training for M.D. clinical fellows in obstetrics and gynecology that qualifies them for subspecialty boards to produce highly qualified physician scientists with a commitment to clinical and basic research. This integrated basic, translational, and clinical research training program is designed to provide PhD, MD, MD/PhD trainees for successful careers with well-rounded training and a foundation for leadership in reproductive sciences.

Research opportunites range from computational and molecular to patient-oriented research utilizing bioinformatics, in vitro analyses, cell culture models, whole animal, and clinical research methodology. The breadth of the research opportunites for our trainees covers the lifspan: germ cells, placental growth and function, gonadal physiology and development, pituitary/hypothalamic development and neurophysiology, puberty, pelvic floor muscle biology, vaginal, urinary, and gut microbiome, metabolism and stress, and epidemiology of infertility and preterm birth. Faculty mentors are carefully selected for their research focus and commitment to reproductive sciences, their substantial funding record, their experience in training postdoctoral and clinical fellows, and their willingness to participate in mentoring and training activities of the program.

Program History

A training program for postdoctoral fellows in basic, translational, and clinical Research in Reproductive Sciences, this program has been continuously funded by NICHD/NIH since 1982 via the T32 training mechanism to support postdoctoral fellows at the UC San Diego School of Medicine with a commitment to research in reproduction. This grant has been consistently renewed and has been funded now for more than 40 years, first under the leadership of Dr. Samuel S.C. Yen, M.D. (with Dr. Pamela L. Mellon as Co-Director 1993–1998), and renewed in 1998 under the leadership of Dr. Mellon, Ph.D. This program received the highest honor conferred by NIH for a T32 program, a Mentor Award, in 2003. This award cited our program for excellence and extended the funding for a full 10 years. This grant was renewed for 2013–2018 with a perfect score of 10. We were recently awarded another five years in 2023, extending the grant through 2028, which will be year 45 of this exceptional training program. 

Faculty

This cohesive group of faculty members provides a conducive academic environment to pursue high quality and contemporary training. The faculty mentors and their expertise are listed below:

  • Marianna Alperin , M.D., M.S. – Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Impact of pregnancy, birth injury, and aging on the structure, function, plasticity, and regenerative potential of the female pelvic soft tissues. Alperin Laboratory
  • Kellie Breen Church, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Utilizes powerful in vivo and in vitro models to unravel the intricate, integrative mechanisms and neural loci whereby stress diminishes reproductive function. Breen Church Laboratory
  • Heidi Cook Andersen, MD, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Post-transcriptional Mechanisms Driving the Oocyte-to-Embryo Transition. Cook-Andersen Laboratory
  • Kathleen Fisch, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Translational Genomics in Maternal-fetal Medicine. Fisch Laboratory 
  • Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, M.D. – Professor and Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Preterm Birth, Obstetric Complications, Perinatal Epidemiology. Gyamfi-Bannerman Profile
  • Alexander (Sasha) Kauffman, Ph.D. – Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Co-Director T32 Training in Reproductive Sciences. Neuroendocrinology of reproductive physiology, puberty, and fertility; sex steroid actions on reproductive neural circuits in females and transgender men. Kauffman Laboratory
  • Louise Laurent, M.D. – Vice-Chair for Translational Research, Co-Director Center for Perinatal Discovery, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Stem cell biology, molecular, and genomic approaches to discover the molecular events that occur during early human development. Laurent Laboratory 
  • Mark Lawson, Ph.D. – Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Signaling in the Pituitary. Lawson Laboratory
  • Amanda Lewis, Ph.D. – Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center. Glycobiology and the Vaginal Microbiome. Lewis Laboratory
  • Pamela Mellon, Ph.D. – Vice-Chair for Research, Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Neurosciences, Director T32 Training in Reproductive Sciences. Molecular and genetic mechanisms in the neuroendocrine regulation of mammalian reproduction. Mellon Laboratory
  • Mana Parast, M.D, Ph.D. – Professor of Pathology, Co-Director Center for Perinatal Discovery. Trophoblast Differentiation and Placental Development. Parast Laboratory 
  • David Schlaepfer, Ph.D. – Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Signals Controlling Reproductive Development and Tumorigenesis. Schlaepfer Laboratory 
  • Francesca Soncin, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Pathology. Trophoblast Cell Identity in Placental Development. Soncin Laboratory
  • H. Irene Su, M.D., M.S.C.E. – Professor Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Co-Director T32 Training in Reproductive Sciences. Epidemiology, Clinical Trials, Implementation Science, Oncofertility, and Ovarian Aging. Su Laboratory
  • Varykina Thackray, Ph.D. – Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Host/microbe Interactions Regulating Sex Steroids and Reproduction. Thackray Laboratory
  • Nicholas J.G. Webster, Ph.D. – Professor of Medicine. Metabolic effects in reproduction and signaling in the pituitary. Webster Laboratory
  • Miles Wilkinson, Ph.D. – Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Spermatogenesis and transcriptional regulatory pathways that control embryonic stem cell and germ cell development in vivo. Wilkinson Laboratory

Training Resources

Application Process

This NIH T32 training program requires applicants have U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residence for stipend support. To apply, please send a curriculum vitae and cover letter to Dr. Mellon: pmellon@health.ucsd.edu