Last Update: 08/18/2008 Printer Friendly Printer Friendly   Email This Page Email This Page  

Specialized Cooperative Centers Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research (SCCPIR)

Science and Doctors in O.R.Since it began in 1998, the main objective of the SCCPIR was to establish a national network of centers aimed at improving human reproductive health through accelerated transfer of basic science findings into clinical practice. The SCCPIR is a research-based centers program, supported through the NICHD Reproductive Sciences Branch, designed to promote multidisciplinary interactions between basic and clinical scientists, with the ultimate goal of improving human reproductive health. Administered as a cooperative agreement, center investigators work with the NICHD staff in facilitating research collaborations and interactions within and between centers, as well as with private foundations and industry. The first SCCPIR request for applications was issued in 1996, and the first four awards were issued on April 1, 1998.

Centers supported by the SCCPIR are currently located at the following sites:

  • Baylor College of Medicine
  • Harvard University
  • Johns Hopkins University (2)
  • Northwestern University
  • Oregon Health Sciences University
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Virginia
  • University of Washington
  • Yale University

The breadth of research covered by the SCCPIR is commensurate with the broad research mission of the Reproductive Sciences Branch. The University of Washington, University of North Carolina and Johns Hopkins University focus primarily on reproduction in the male. Other centers, including the University of Virginia, the University of California, San Diego, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Yale University focus on diseases/disorders of the female reproduction system including polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis. The Oregon Health Sciences University (through the Oregon National Primate Research Center), the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois at Chicago utilize non-human primates as models to study the physiology and pathophysiology of human fertiltiy regulation.

In order to promote interactions among SCCPIR investigators from different centers, research focus groups were established in the areas of male reproduction, endometrial biology, ovarian physiology, and reproductive neuroendocrinology.

Another focus group was established to monitor the technology/informatic needs of the SCCPIR, and of the reproductive sciences community at-large. The group’s recommendations resulted in the establishment of human tissue banks, now located at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, San Diego, and one non-human primate tissue bank located at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. A microarray facility that serves the gene expression-profiling needs of the SCCPIR is located at the University of Washington; the University of North Carolina offers proteomic services for use by SCCPIR-supported investigators.

The SCCPIR also supports the development and maintenance of Internet-based genome/proteome databases for the ovary, mammalian genetics, and endometrium that are available for use by the scientific community.

For additional information on the SCCPIR, please contact Dr. Louis DePaolo. You can also visit http://www.sccpir.org/ for more information.