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​Our Grantees

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Mariano Buffone, PhD

$150,000 / 2 years

Awarded November 2020

Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET)
Buenos Aires, Argentina

About

Dr. Buffone is a Scientific Researcher from the National Research Council (CONICET) at Argentina’s Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET) in Buenos Aires. Mariano has been working in the field of sperm physiology for two decades. His laboratory seeks to understand the complex process of mammalian sperm capacitation. To this end, his lab uses a wide range of approaches that include the analysis of signaling pathways, single cell imaging experiments, super resolution microscopy and in vivo studies. Dr Buffone has also been very active collaborating with several groups in the United States, Japan, Mexico and Argentina.

A man with short dark hair, wearing a white button-up shirt, smiles at the camera. The background shows a blurred indoor setting with grey cabinets and a pink note.
Mariano Buffone, PhD

$150,000 / 2 years

Awarded November 2020

Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET)
Buenos Aires, Argentina

About

Dr. Buffone is a Scientific Researcher from the National Research Council (CONICET) at Argentina’s Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET) in Buenos Aires. Mariano has been working in the field of sperm physiology for two decades. His laboratory seeks to understand the complex process of mammalian sperm capacitation. To this end, his lab uses a wide range of approaches that include the analysis of signaling pathways, single cell imaging experiments, super resolution microscopy and in vivo studies. Dr Buffone has also been very active collaborating with several groups in the United States, Japan, Mexico and Argentina.

Our Grant

MCI is supporting the Buffone lab and their studies on the sperm-specific calcium channel CatSper. Their proposal seeks to use novel high-throughput methods to screen drugs with the capacity to block CatSper. New compounds that inhibit this channel in this initial phase will be refined in a second phase to improve selectivity, potency and adequate drug like properties for in vivo preclinical studies.

Dr. Mariano Buffone: Decoding Sperm Capacitation for Novel Male Contraception
Novel Contraceptives Targeting Sperm Development and Function

Publications

Luque Guillermina M., Schiavi-Ehrenhaus Liza J., Jabloñski Martina, Balestrini Paula A., Novero Analia G., Torres Nicolás I., Osycka-Salut Claudia E., Darszon Alberto, Krapf Dario, Buffone Mariano G. ‘High-throughput screening method for discovering CatSper inhibitors using membrane depolarization caused by external calcium chelation and fluorescent cell barcoding‘, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 11 (2023)

Stival, Cintia, Lis del C. Puga Molina, Bidur Paudel, Mariano G. Buffone, Pablo E. Visconti, and Dario Krapf, ‘Sperm Capacitation and Acrosome Reaction in Mammalian Sperm’, Advances in Anatomy, Embryology, and Cell Biology, 220 (2016), 93–106

Puga Molina, Lis C., Guillermina M. Luque, Paula A. Balestrini, Clara I. Marín-Briggiler, Ana Romarowski, and Mariano G. Buffone, ‘Molecular Basis of Human Sperm Capacitation’, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 6 (2018), 72

Jabloñski M, Luque GM, Gomez Elias M, Sanchez Cardenas C, Xu X, de La Vega Beltran JL, Corkidi G, Linares A, Abonza V, Arenas-Hernandez A, Ramos-Godinez MDP, López-Saavedra A, Krapf D, Krapf D, Darszon A, Guerrero A, Buffone MG. Reorganization of the flagellum scaffolding induces a sperm standstill during fertilization. Elife. 2024 Nov 13;13:RP93792. doi: 10.7554/eLife.93792. PMID: 39535529; PMCID: PMC11560130.

Jabloñski M, La Spina FA, Schiavi-Ehrenhaus LJ, Marín-Briggiler CI, Gomez-Elias MD, Krapf D, Visconti PE, Krapf D, Luque GM, Buffone MG. Dual role of valosin-containing protein (VCP/p97) in mouse sperm during capacitation. Reproduction. 2024 Jul 13;168(2):e240069. doi: 10.1530/REP-24-0069. PMID: 38912971; PMCID: PMC11425197.

Meet MCI's Grantees & Fellows!

Our grantees and fellows represent some of the finest minds in the male contraception research community from around the world.

At Male Contraceptive Initiative, we prioritize funding research that aligns with our mission of driving male contraception closer to clinical trials. We strategically allocate our resources to support a diverse range of projects, focusing on non-hormonal and reversible methods that have the potential to meet the needs of a broader population. Our goal is to catalyze progress in this field and bring innovative male birth control options to market.

Discover the innovative research being conducted by our grantees and fellows by clicking on the buttons below:

MCI'S GRANTEES
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