The Faculty in Reproductive Biology at Illinois

 

Joan S. Jorgensen

Veterinary Biosciences
Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University

To e-mail Dr. Jorgensen use: jsj2@uiuc.edu

My research focuses on embryonic development of female and male gonads. Few genes have been linked to gonad determination or differentiation; fewer yet have been shown to be part of a specific pathway that is essential for development. It has long been suggested that testes development requires an active process while ovarian differentiation is the result of a default development pathway. Several arguments have recently been raised to question this dogma, and studies suggest that the mechanisms for male and especially female gonad development have been grossly oversimplified and are in fact, highly complex. Thus, we postulate that a complex network of genes map distinct determination and differentiation pathways for male and female gonad development. Our lab uses a variety of cell culture techniques and genetically engineered mice to determine the role that specific genes play in gonad development.

Selected Publications

Chipuk JE, Cornelius SS, Pultz NJ, Jorgensen JS, Bonham MJ, Kim SJ, Danielpour D: The androgen receptor represses TGF-beta signaling through interaction with Smad3. J Biol Chem 277(2):1240-8. 2002.
Jorgensen JS and Nilson JH: AR suppresses transcription of the a glycoprotein hormone subunit gene through protein-protein interactions with cJun and Activation Transcription Factor 2. Mol Endocrinol 15:1496-1504, 2001.
Jorgensen JS and Nilson JH: AR suppresses the LHb subunit by interacting with Steroidogenic Factor-1. Mol Endocrinol 15:1505-1516, 2001.
Ramirez O 3rd, Jorgensen JS, Thrall DE: Imaging basilar skull fractures in the horse: a review. Vet Radiol Ultrasound 39:391-395, 1998.
Jorgensen JS, Geoly FJ, Berry CR, Breuhaus BA: Lameness and pleural effusion associated with an aggressive fibrosarcoma in a horse. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 210: 1328-1331, 1997.
Jorgensen JS, Drost WT, Mansmann RA: What’s your diagnosis? J Am Vet Med Assoc. 210: 1109-1110, 1997.
Jorgensen JS: The estrous cycle and its affect on performance in athletic mares. Compend Contin Educ Pract Vet. 18:692-699, 1996.
Callard GV, Jorgensen JS, Redding JM: Biochemical analysis of programmed cell death during premeiotic stages of spermatogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Dev Gen. 16:140-147, 1995.
Jorgensen JS, Abdullahi AR, King C, Benamou AE, and Mansmann RA: Emergency procedures in equine field service. California Veterinarian. 48:8-15, 1994.

 

Last updated July 23, 2003

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