Improving artificial insemination

Since it was introduced more than 40 years ago, in vitro fertilisation, a form of artificial insemination, has been a source of hope for infertile couples. The success rate is, however, only about 30 percent and in vitro embryos may show reduced developmental competence or exhibit epigenetic changes. Little is known so far about how this can be prevented – as a Sofja Kovalevskaja award winner, Marcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz wants to change that.

In order to study the embryo-maternal dialogue between the embryo, the oviduct and the endometrium during pre-implantation, that is, the period from fertilisation to implantation in the womb, Ferraz has developed a unique in vitro model. Using oviduct-endometrium-cells-on-a-chip she will explore the factors that can influence an embryo’s epigenetics. Ferraz is particularly interested in extracellular vesicles, particles of membrane that transport information from one cell to another and that are released in great quantities by the maternal reproductive tissue. So far, little research has been done on their role in the maturation of the gamete and development of the embryo. Ferraz will work on clinically relevant species of large animals. She not only intends to demonstrate unknown aspects of the embryo-maternal dialogue but also potential techniques to assist reproduction and improve pregnancy success.


Marcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz was born in Brazil where she studied veterinary medicine at the University of São Paulo. After periods of research in London and the United States, she took a Master’s at the Universities of Barcelona and Valencia, Spain, in 2013. She completed her doctorate at Utrecht University, Netherlands, in 2018 and, since 2017, has been working as a postdoc at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, United States.


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