$342,000 – Awarded January 2021
$150,000 – Awarded April 2018
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy
Minneapolis, MN
About
Dr. Gunda Georg is a Regents Professor, Department Head, and Endowed Chair at the University of Minnesota. She is also the co-Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. Her group has published over 200 scientific articles on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of biologically active agents. In addition to male contraception, her lab investigates areas of cancer and female contraception.
Our Grant
With MCI’s support, Gunda’s lab is investigating multiple avenues of male contraception. One is the testis-specific serine kinase (TSSK) family, where she is looking for inhibitors of TSSK1 and TSSK2. These proteins are expressed post-meiotically, and are likely involved in multiple steps that could make them excellent contraceptive targets. The other target, Na, K ATPase is involved in sperm motility, and could potentially be targeted for either male or female contraception. MCI’s support for Dr. Georg’s work comes in the form of grants as well as a program-related investment.
With their focus on translational research, Gunda and her lab are focused on developing these targets for contraception, and moving them towards the clinical side. Recently, Dr. Georg said, “Reversible, effective male birth control is within sight. World Health Organization numbers suggest that reducing sperm motility by 50 percent or less is sufficient to temporarily make a man infertile. Our ongoing research brings us one step closer to expanding the options for male birth control, providing the world’s 7.6 billion people with a much-needed option for safe and reversible contraception.”