Anne Z. Steiner, M.D., M.P.H., Charles H. Hendricks Distinguished Professor and Fellowship Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has received a multi-year (2026–2031), multi-million dollar award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The funded project, Menstrual Effluent and Fecundity, will explore how menstrual effluent can be used as a non-invasive measure of uterine receptivity and fertility. Co-investigators include Kristina De Paris, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology at UNC, and Anne Marie Jukic, Ph.D., of the NIH/NIEHS.
The study aims to better understand how changes in the endometrium affect the ability to conceive and the risk of miscarriage. Researchers will enroll 695 women attempting pregnancy and follow them over 12 months, collecting and analyzing menstrual effluent alongside ovulation tracking and pregnancy outcomes.
By identifying patterns in menstrual volume, bleeding characteristics, and immune activity, the research team hopes to develop new, non-invasive approaches to assess fertility and improve diagnostics and treatments for infertility and pregnancy loss.
Uterine receptivity is crucial for successful embryo implantation and the maintenance of pregnancy. This project will explore how menstrual effluent can be used to assess uterine receptivity, with the goal of developing a non-invasive fertility test and expanding understanding of menstrual health as a marker of reproductive health.