Professor Rebecca Robker

All aspects of women’s health are 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.

Research History:

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 (Nature 1996; Mol Endo 1998) and identified long sought proteases that control ovulation (PNAS 2000). 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 (Obesity 2004; AJP- Cell Physiol 2006).

In 2003, Dr Robker re-located to the University of Adelaide in order to join its unparalleled concentration of leaders in the fields of Reproductive Medicine and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DoHaD). Here her work demonstrated that ovarian somatic cells and oocytes are affected by obesity (Endocrinology 2008, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2009). Dr Robker’s team has further discovered the mechanisms by which lipid metabolism and lipid excess affect oocyte developmental potential (Biology of Reprod 2010, Mol Endo 2010), and most recently found that obesity-induced alterations in oocyte mitochondria persist into offspring tissues (Development 2015), revising our understanding of developmental origins of health.

Research Team:

Dr Robker’s Ovarian Cell Biology group is a talented, enthusiastic and cohesive team. Current members of the ovarian cell biology team are: postdoctoral fellow Dr Linda Wu and postgraduate students Siew Wong, Macarena Gonzalez, Thao Dinh and Yasmyn Gordon. The group is also currently accepting new students to work on a number of exciting projects relating to nutritional control of oocyte quality and molecular mechanisms of ovulation.

Research Interests and Current Projects:

Discovering how oocytes mature within the ovary and how nutrition affects their embryonic capacity.

Discovering mechanisms within the oocyte that set offspring mitochondrial inheritance and how obesity, age and Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART) influence this biology.

Identifying therapies, both pharmaceutical and lifestyle, to reverse the detrimental effects of obesity on early embryo development.

Identifying how in vitro environments influence embryo metabolic profile and mitigating these changes to prevent future disease risks from Assisted Reproduction Technologies.

Identifying the oocyte’s role in connecting maternal and offspring physiology, to transform our understanding of maternal influences on offspring health.

Determining why maternal obesity and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) impair ovulation and diminish oocyte developmental competence.

Investigating how immune cells influence ovarian function.

Identifying the molecular mechanisms that control ovulation.