MS-RSM Thesis Students Celebrate Their Defense

By Maddie Perry and Anika Schipma, 2nd Year MS-RSM Students, April 1, 2025

2nd year students celebrate their thesis defense In February 2025, second year students in the Reproductive Science and Medicine Master’s (MS-RSM) program presented and defended their theses on the research they accomplished throughout the program. Listed in further detail below, master’s students presented work ranging from fertility preservation, uterine biology, to reproductive aging. Their work marks a tremendous achievement in their academic careers and research pursuits.

To celebrate their final milestone within the program, the MS-RSM community came together to host a Defense Celebration Party. The event was marked by smiles, laughs, excitement, and pride for the success of the second years in their research accomplishments and project deliverables.

Immense effort, determination, and grit was exhibited by all MS-RSM second years and their performance was reflected in their final theses and defense presentations. The dedication of the second years to their projects marked substantial growth within the research field and reproductive sciences and offers excitement and confidence in the expansion of the reproductive science field and CRS community.

Taylor Hicks, MS

Mentor: Mazhar Adli, PhD

Thesis Title: “Utilizing large-scale, high-content chemical screening to discover chemical modulators to target MED12 mutant uterine fibroids”

Bria King, MS

Mentor: Mary Ellen Pavone, MD

Thesis Title: “Does the BRCA Mutation Influence Ovarian Stimulation and Embryo Morphokinetics”

Maddie Perry, MS

Mentor: Aubrey Converse, PhD

Thesis Title: Age-associated ovarian macrophage-derived multinucleated giant cells share transcriptomic signatures with age-associated non-regressed corpora lutea”

Natasha Salpeter, MS

Mentor: Elnur Babayev, MD

Thesis Title: “Modulation of ovarian gene expression using adeno-associated viruses”

Anika Schipma, MS

Mentor: Monica Laronda, PhD

Thesis Title: “Toughs, Tubules, and the Testis: Engineering 3D Testicular Tubules to Support in vitro Spermatogenesis"

Janavi Thyagraj, MS

Mentor: Monica Laronda, PhD

Thesis Title: “Innovations for Insufficiency – Precursor to an in vitro assay to predict adrenal cortex function using human induced pluripotent stem cells”