Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Rebecca Robker is a biomedical scientist dedicated to discovering how the female body, particularly the ovary, grows healthy oocytes, ovulates them at precisely the right time and maturity for fertilization and endows them with the molecular building blocks to generate a viable embryo.
Rebecca is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. She has held an Adjunct Appointment at Monash University since 2015, within the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology and the Biomedicine Discovery Institute. She currently supervises 3 PhD students at Monash.
Dr Robker received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Texas at Austin and her PhD in Biomedical Science from Baylor College of Medicine (Houston TX). Her PhD studies discovered novel mechanisms by which hormones control ovarian cell proliferation and identified proteases that control ovulation. Dr Robker undertook an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Leukocyte Biology (Baylor College of Medicine) where her studies revealed that leukocytes are resident in adipose tissue and activated by high fat diet.
In 2003, Dr Robker re-located to Australia where her work focused on basic science discoveries relevant to the fields of Reproductive Medicine and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DoHaD). Her team demonstrated that ovarian somatic cells and oocytes are affected by obesity, discovered mechanisms by which lipid metabolism and lipid excess affect oocyte developmental potential, and found that obesity-induced alterations in oocyte mitochondria persist into offspring tissues.
The discoveries of the Robker lab are leading to new understandings of female fertility and embryo development. They have applications for the development of infertility treatments for women, therapies for optimising animal reproduction and new contraceptives, as well as important implications for women’s health policies.
Research interests
Dr Robker’s research is primarily focused on illuminating the basic biological mechanisms that regulate ovarian function.
Female health is highly dependent upon proper functioning of the ovary, which produces essential steroid hormones as well as oocytes- precious cells which are the foundation for transmission of life. The ovary consists of highly specialised cell types, which generate a microenvironment for the oocyte that establishes its developmental potential, i.e. its ability to make an embryo. Ovulation- the timely release of an oocyte from a woman’s ovary is tightly regulated by hormones and environmental conditions to precisely synchronise reproductive events for fertilisation and the generation of new life. The egg must be of good quality and developmentally competent in order to generate a healthy embryo, capable of implantation and a continued legacy of good health. In plain terms: a good quality egg at the right time provides the fundamental basis for the healthiest start to life.
The Robker lab research is currently focused on three broad areas:
Understanding the molecular mechanisms which enable the oocyte to be expelled from the ovary into the oviduct for fertilisation; such as the essential role of the progesterone receptor transcription factor in this process.
Uncovering cellular mechanisms by which different maternal physiological signals, such as obesity and age, impair ovarian function, and early embryo development; and identifying effective therapeutics to reverse damage.
Identifying biological mechanisms by which events at conception influence lifetime health; in particular how alterations to oocytes (and sperm) endow the embryo with a molecular legacy that determines offspring phenotypes.
By working with fertility clinics our findings from animal studies are extended to examine biological mechanisms in human ovarian cells and gametes. Similarly, collaborations with agricultural scientists lead to improvements in animal production.
Supervision interests
Research Team:
Dr Robker’s research team and trainees are based at both Monash University and the University of Adelaide. Current lab members at the University of Adelaide are postdoc Macarena Gonzalez, postgraduate students Thao Dinh, Yasmyn Gordon, David Kennedy and Minnu Jayapal and research assistant Haley Connaughton. Current trainees at Monash University are Jun Liu and Abena Nsiah-Sefee (co-supervised with Prof John Carroll) and Tara-Lyn Carter (co-supervised with Damian Dowling). The group is currently accepting new students and new postdocs and each project is designed in consultation with prospective students according to their interests, expertise and skill levels.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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MitoHOPE: Introducing Mitochondrial Donation in AustraliaL The MitoHOPE (Healthy Outcomes Pilot and Evaluation) Program
Carroll, J., Herbert, M., Christodoulou, J., Thorburn, D. R., Mills, C., Zander-Fox, D. L., Robker, R., Rombauts, L., Sallevelt, S., Ludlow, K., Coman, D. J., Ellaway, C. J., Mackey, D. A., Delatycki, M. B., Yau, W. Y., Tchan, M. C., Long, J. C., Hardy, T., Adhikari, D., Choudhary, M., Hyslop, L. A., Mann, J., Ryan, M., Hodges, R., Hui, L., Kamien, B. A., Mallett, A. J., Semsarian, C., Wallis, M. J., Wall, M., Zoungas, S., Goranitis, I., Gyngell, C., Hammarberg, K., Sparrow, R., Warren, N., Fahey, M., Stutterd, C. A., Schweitzer, D., McGillivray, G., Savulescu, J., Panetta, J., Kava, M. P., Freckmann, M., Lynch, M., Lamont, P. J., Scott, R., Ware, T., Mowat, D., Jones, K. J., Green, S., Wolfe, R., Hackett, A., Bratkovic, D., Horton, A. & Blok, R.
Monash University – Internal Faculty Contribution, Australian Genomics, Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine & Cell Biology, James Cook University, Lyons Eye Institute Limited, Macquarie University, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation Limited (trading as Mito Foundation), Monash IVF Group Limited, Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science Limited, Queensland Children's Hospital, Tasmanian Clinical Genetics Service, University of Adelaide, Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA) (Victoria), Women's and Children's Health Care Network Incorporated, Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD)
1/06/23 → 31/05/28
Project: Research
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Offspring physiology following the use of IVM, IVF and ICSI: a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies
Beilby, K. H., Kneebone, E., Roseboom, T. J., van Marrewijk, I. M., Thompson, J. G., Norman, R. J., Robker, R. L., Mol, B. W. J. & Wang, R., 2 May 2023, In: Human Reproduction Update. 29, 3, p. 272-290 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access22 Citations (Scopus) -
Depletion of oocyte dynamin-related protein 1 shows maternal-effect abnormalities in embryonic development
Adhikari, D., Lee, I. W., Al-Zubaidi, U., Liu, J., Zhang, Q. H., Yuen, W. S., He, L., Winstanley, Y., Sesaki, H., Mann, J. R., Robker, R. L. & Carroll, J., Jun 2022, In: Science Advances. 8, 24, 15 p., eabl8070.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access21 Citations (Scopus) -
Female reproductive life span is extended by targeted removal of fibrotic collagen from the mouse ovary
Umehara, T., Winstanley, Y. E., Andreas, E., Morimoto, A., Williams, E. J., Smith, K. M., Carroll, J., Febbraio, M. A., Shimada, M., Russell, D. L. & Robker, R. L., Jun 2022, In: Science Advances. 8, 24, 17 p., eabn4564.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access82 Citations (Scopus) -
Maternal and paternal sugar consumption interact to modify offspring life history and physiology
Camilleri, T. L., Piper, M. D. W., Robker, R. L. & Dowling, D. K., May 2022, In: Functional Ecology. 36, 5, p. 1124-1136 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
HENMT1 is involved in the maintenance of normal female fertility in the mouse
Hutt, K. J., Lim, S. L., Zhang, Q-H., Gonzalez, M., O'Connor, A. E., Jo Merriner, D., Liew, S. H., Al-Zubaidi, U., Yuen, W. S., Adhikari, D., Robker, R. L., Mann, J. R., Carroll, J. & O'Bryan, M. K., Nov 2021, In: Molecular Human Reproduction. 27, 11, p. 1-12 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus)