Division of Reproductive Biology | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The Division of Reproductive Biology was established at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in 1972 within the Department of Population Dynamics and became a formal division of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1998.

The division focuses on the study of the biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology, cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology of a wide range of biological processes involved in reproduction. This research has broad applications in public health, medicine, and agriculture, including contraception, infertility, reproductive toxicology, animal science, and oncology.

Like the Department, the Division places a premium placed on research devoted to the cellular, biochemical, and molecular bases of normal and abnormal cellular processes, and on training highly qualified scientists who provide new understanding of biomedical issues that have an impact on public health, but with a specific focus on reproduction.

The research of division faculty is both basic and applied, often extending from the molecule to the individual patient to the population. Another major goal of the division is to foster interaction among the reproductive biologists at Johns Hopkins University through teaching, seminars, collaborative research, and joint education programs.

Areas of Research Emphasis

Regulation of testosterone production in the mammalian testis
Molecular mechanisms of androgen action in target tissues
Aging of the reproductive tract
Hormonal, cellular, genetic, and molecular regulation of mammalian spermatogenesis
Molecular mechanisms of meiotic maturation
Regulation of testicular and ovarian stem cells
Impact of nutrition on germ stem cells and fertility
Oocyte maturation
Sperm-egg interactions during fertilization
Development of methods for contraception
Infertility: causes and cures
Effects of environmental toxicants on the reproductive tract

Current Division Members

Arthur Burnett, Professor, Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Daniela Drummond-Barbosa, Professor, Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Philip Jordan, Associate Professor, Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Sabra Klein, Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Erika Matunis, Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Geraldine Seydoux, Professor, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

William W. Wright, Professor and Head, Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Barry R. Zirkin, Professor, Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health