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Frank F. Bartol, PhD |
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Professor of Reproductive Biology |
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- Skip Bartol - Meeting with the ‘steakholders’ |
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Teaching / Research |
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Appointment: Teaching (15%), Research (45%), Administration (40%) Courses Taught: Undergraduate: Graduate: Research Focus: Development of the mammalian female reproductive tract (FRT) begins prenatally, but is completed postnatally. Morphogenesis (structural patterning) and cytodifferentiation (functional programming) of epithelial-mesenchymal tissues derived from the Müllerian ducts, including both the uterus and cervix, are coupled processes supported by the progressive generation of increasingly complex and specific cellular relationships and interactions. Over time, these interactions drive the evolution of organizationally critical, temporally and spatially unique morphoregulatory gene expression domains. This defines microenvironmental conditions which, in turn, direct and specify cell fate, dictate patterns of development, and determine cell and tissue identity and function. For a given tissue, this complex sequence of events defines the developmental program and, in so doing, establishes a developmental trajectory for cells and tissues that will eventually dictate phenotype. A wealth of evidence indicates that exposure to organizationally disruptive conditions during perinatal life can have lasting effects on both the form and function of FRT tissues. Factors required to establish a normal developmental program and to insure an optimal developmental trajectory for FRT tissues remain incompletely defined. However, it is clear that such factors have profound effects on reproductive efficiency and health. Therefore, Goals of research in this laboratory are to identify: (1) lactocrine, cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating growth, morphogenesis and cytodifferentiation of uterine and cervical tissues; and (2) biologic markers of normal and aberrant FRT development that may be used to assess or predict endometrial and cervical integrity and functional uterine capacity in domestic ungulates. Support has come from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES), the United States Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (USDA-NRICGP), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Federal Republic of Germany through the ‘AIF - Otto von Guericke’, and the Anne S. Upchurch Fund for Excellence in Animal Sciences. |
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