Gerald P. Schatten, Ph.D.

Director, Pittsburgh Development Center
Deputy Director, Magee-Womens Research Institute
Professor & Vice Chair of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Pittsburgh
Director of the Division of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

University of California, Berkeley A.B. Zoology, 1971
University of California, Berkeley Ph.D. Cell Biology, 1975
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Reproductive Biology, 1976
Postdoctoral Fellowship, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany, Cancer Biology
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Reproductive Biology 1977

Research Interests

Dr. Schatten's research focuses on understanding human reproduction and development and making contributions to molecular medical therapies by determining stem cell potentials and accelerating gene therapy. Utilizing gametes, embryos and stem cells, Dr. Schatten and his research colleagues are aiming to answer questions regarding:

Human Reproduction (gametogenesis, contraception, assisted reproduction, genetic basis of infertility, male and female meiotic cell cycle regulation, and reproductive aging)
Human Development (Pre- and post-implantation development, body axis specification, somitogenesis, organogenesis, imprinting, extra-embryonic membrane allocation, pluripotency, dynamic noninvasive imaging of transgenic reporters)
Cloned Transgenic Disease Models (breast and ovarian cancers; inborn errors of metabolism; arteriosclerosis; infectious diseases; cognitive and mental disorders; Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases; polycystic kidney disease; blindness, deafness and sensory disorders; storage diseases, cystic fibrosis)
Stem Cell Potentials (diabetes; liver and kidney cells; wound healing; muscle and nerve)
Genetic versus Epigenetic (or environmental causes for human diseases)

Dr. Schatten is a founding course director of Frontiers in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (FrHESC) – an intensive laboratory and lecture-based introduction to this emerging research field. He was also a founding course director of Frontiers in Reproduction at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, another program of modern bioscience techniques for beginning investigators in reproductive sciences. He is the only American on the executive committee of UNESCO’s International Cell Research Organization. Along with extensive funding from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Schatten is the recipient of a MERIT award and was recently honored by the Czech Academy of Sciences with the Purkinje Medal. His numerous authored and co-authored papers on fertilization, cell biology, development, infertility, and assisted reproductive technologies have appeared in premier journals such as Fertility and Sterility and Science. Dr. Schatten is also an eloquent advocate for research in reproduction, development, and stem cells and has testified to the US Senate and the President’s Council on Bioethics.

Professional Affiliations

Reproductive Biology Study Section, NIH 1998-2002

Recent Publications

Toppings M, Castro C, Mills PH, Reinhart B, Schatten G, Ahrens ET, Chaillet JR, Trasler JM. Profound phenotypic variation among mice deficient in the maintenance of genomic imprints. Hum Reprod. 2008 Apr;23(4):807-18. Epub 2008 Feb 13.

Navara CS, Mich-Basso JD, Redinger CJ, Ben-Yehudah A, Jacoby E, Kovkarova-Naumovski E, Sukhwani M, Orwig K, Kaminski N, Castro CA, Simerly CR, Schatten G. Pedigreed primate embryonic stem cells express homogeneous familial gene profiles. Stem Cells. 2007 Nov;25(11):2695-704. Epub 2007 Jul 19.

Hermann BP, Sukhwani M, Lin CC, Sheng Y, Tomko J, Rodriguez M, Shuttleworth JJ, McFarland D, Hobbs RM, Pandolfi PP, Schatten GP, Orwig KE. Characterization, cryopreservation, and ablation of spermatogonial stem cells in adult rhesus macaques. Stem Cells. 2007 Sep;25(9):2330-8. Epub 2007 Jun 21.

St John JC, Amaral A, Bowles E, Oliveira JF, Lloyd R, Freitas M, Gray HL, Navara CS, Oliveira G, Schatten GP, Spikings E, Ramalho-Santos J. The analysis of mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA in human embryonic stem cells. Methods Mol Biol. 2006;331:347-74.

Sackett G, Ruppenthal G, Hewitson L, Simerly C, Schatten G. Neonatal behavior and infant cognitive development in rhesus macaques produced by assisted reproductive technologies. Dev Psychobiol. 2006 Apr;48(3):243-65.

Moreno RD, Palomino J, Schatten G. Assembly of spermatid acrosome depends on microtubule organization during mammalian spermiogenesis. Dev Biol. 2006 May 1;293(1):218-27. Epub 2006 Mar 15.

Ahrens ET, Srinivas M, Capuano S, Simhan HN, Schatten GP. Magnetic resonance imaging of embryonic and fetal development in model systems. Methods Mol Med. 2006;124:87-101. Review.

Rawe VY, Payne C, Schatten G. Profilin and actin-related proteins regulate microfilament dynamics during early mammalian embryogenesis. Hum Reprod. 2006 May;21(5):1143-53. Epub 2006 Jan 20.

Ben-Yehudah A, Reinhart B, Navara C, Kotzuk J, Witchel S, Schatten G, Chaillet JR. Specific dynamic and noninvasive labeling of pancreatic beta cells in reporter mice. Genesis. 2005 Dec;43(4):166-74.

Dominko T, Ramalho-Santos J, Chan A, Moreno RD, Luetjens CM, Simerly C, Hewitson L, Takahashi D, Martinovich C, White JM, Schatten G. Optimization strategies for production of mammalian embryos by nuclear transfer. Cloning. 1999;1(3):143-52.

Complete Publication Listing