MENTORING IN RESEARCH ON ENDOMETRIOSIS

Dr. Ana A.墨菲是埃默里大学医学院妇产科教授，生殖内分泌学和不孕不育系主任。 Murphy博士在埃默里大学发起、设计和实施了生殖内分泌学和不孕症奖学金，该奖学金目前已获得美国妇产科委员会的批准。 墨菲博士于1997年成为第一任主任，并于1998年接受了她的第一位研究员。 目标是帮助学员发表和认可，并获得独立的研究支持。 成功的导师必须提供关于发展原创和有价值的假设的指导，测试假设的实验工具，帮助学员确定有价值的调查领域，并保持专注。 用于培训学员的研究方向将是子宫内膜异位症和平滑肌瘤的病理生理学研究。 她一直致力于指导和培训以病人为导向的研究。Murphy博士的研究重点是子宫内膜异位症，其病理生理学以及手术/药物治疗。 我们的假设集中在氧化应激作为激发剂，导致腹腔液的变化和巨噬细胞的激活，介导不孕症和疼痛，在这些患者中看到。 在第一年，我们已经积累了重要的基础和临床数据，以支持我们的假设，即一个显着的氧化应激发生在妇女子宫内膜异位症。目标1的招募工作已经完成，数据正在分析中。正在为目标2、3进行征聘。我们已经使用RU 486作为生物探针来研究在体内低剂量下观察到的子宫内膜和平滑肌瘤的体内调节。 初步数据显示，平滑肌瘤和子宫肌层对glycodelin免疫染色。 反过来，glycodelin已被证明降低自然杀伤细胞（NK细胞）的活性，这也是减少妇女与平滑肌瘤。我们推测RU 486具有通过其抗氧化活性介导的直接抗增殖作用和通过降低glycodelin水平的间接免疫调节作用。 Glycodelin可增加NK细胞活性，从而降低肿瘤生长。

Dr. Ana A. Murphy is a professor in Gynecology and Obstetrics and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Murphy initiated, designed and implemented the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship at Emory University that is currently approved by the American board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Inc. Dr. Murphy became first Director in1997 and accepted her first fellow in 1998. The goal is to help the mentee became published and recognized and to achieve independent research support. The successful mentor must provide instruction on development of hypotheses that are original and worthwhile, the experimental tools to test the hypotheses, help the mentee identify a worthwhile field of investigation, and to remain focused. The line of research used to train the mentees will be the study of the pathophysiology of endometriosis and leiomyoma. She has demonstrated continued commitment to mentoring and training in patient-orientated research. The main focus of Dr. Murphy's research has been endometriosis, its pathophysiology as well as its surgical/medical treatment. Our hypothesis focuses on oxidative stress as the inciting agent that results in peritoneal fluid changes and activation of macrophages that mediate the infertility and pain seen in these patients. In the first year we have accumulated significant basic and clinical data in support of our hypothesis that a significant oxidative stress occurs in women with endometriosis. Recruitment for Aim 1 is complete and the data is being analyzed. Recruitment is underway for Aims 2,3. We have used RU486 as a biologic probe to study the in vivo regulation of endometrium and leiomyoma seen with low dose, in vivo. Preliminary data, has shown that leiomyoma and myometrium immunostain for glycodelin. In turn, glycodelin has been shown to decrease natural killer cell (NK cell) activity which is also decreased in women with leiomyoma. We hypothesize that RU486 has direct antiproliferative effect mediated by its antioxidant activity and an indirect immunomodulatory effect by decreasing glycodelin levels. Glycodelin may increase NK cell activity thus decreasing tumor growth.