Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
6-1016-1 - 25 Orde St.
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 3H7

Mailing Address:
60 Murray Street
Box 42
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 3L9

Tel.: 416-586-4800 ext.2052

Fax: 416-586-5993

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► Web of Science Researcher ID
E-4580-2013

► Publons ID
2649349

► Publications

Dr. Andrea Jurisicova

SENIOR INVESTIGATOR

Dr. Andrea Jurisicova, Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital and an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto, seeks to improve understanding of the genetic and biomolecular factors underlying female infertility.

She is using new imaging techniques to explore embryo quality with the goal of improving the outcome for couples suffering from infertility.

Dr. Jurisicova trained in Slovakia as an embryologist, and then completed her graduate and PhD training under Dr. Robert Casper in Toronto. She conducted post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School, and has been working at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum since 2007.

That year, in recognition of her past efforts and future promise, Dr. Jurisicova won a $100,000 federally funded Canada Research Chair, so she and other Lunenfeld researchers can expand their search for genes linked to female infertility. Within the next few years, Dr. Jurisicova hopes to identify genes tied to repeat failures of in vitro fertilization and, ultimately, boost the success rate of embryo development for childless couples.

Dr. Jurisicova is also conducting research into how toxins affect a woman's fertility and that of her offspring. Her research has showed that when females are exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust, fumes from wood stoves and in charred and smoked foods), the number of eggs in their offspring's ovaries is reduced by two thirds. In addition, these compounds can trigger early embryo loss (miscarriage) as well as retarded embryo growth.

In addition to early embryo development Dr. Jurisicova is also interested in understanding genetic and environmental pathways that may trigger premature ovarian failure. She is working to determine how exposure to radiation therapy impacts the genes determining the fate of eggs (or oocytes) and how damage to oocytes incurred by radiation can be prevented, which would ultimately benefit women undergoing radiation therapy for cancer.

Dr. Jurisicova, in collaboration with Dr. Casper, is investigating the process of mitochondrial activity in oocytes of older females. By studying the quality of oocytes (in an animal model) in older versus younger mothers, they found that mitochondria (the energy-producing power stations of cells) become less metabolically active with age, which puts the offspring at greater risk of developing obesity and metabolic syndrome, and predisposes them to diabetes. However, administration of coenzyme Q10 (a vitamin-like substance found in mitochondria) can reverse the effects of mitochondrial changes in oocytes, improve fertility, and reduce the risk of chromosomal abnormalities.

Dr. Jurisicova is working to translate these findings to the clinic to improve the chance of pregnancy in older women, while preventing genetic abnormalities including Down syndrome in infants.

Through research using animal models of disease, Dr. Jurisicova is also investigating abnormalities in the placenta that occur during embryonic development (which may lead to pre-eclampsia and/or miscarriages), as well as intrauterine growth restriction.