Randy

Randy Armant

We are located in the NIH laboratories on the Wayne State University School of Medicine campus and serve as the Section on Peri-Implantation Development for the Reproductive Biology & Medicine Branch. In addition to my participation in the Division of Intramural Research of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, I am a member of the Wayne State University faculty.

My laboratory is currently investigating the regulation of trophoblast differentiation by extracellular matrices, growth factors and oxygen during blastocyst implantation and placentation.

The links below provide more detailed information about my research interests.

Curriculum Vitae

· Curriculum Vitae

Research Topics

· Blastocyst Differentiation

· Fibronectin Binding Activity

· A Model of Trophoblast Development at Implantation

· Calcium Signaling in Blastocyst Differentiation

· Calcium Signaling in Mouse Morulae

· Intercellular Signaling in Developing Human Trophoblast

Recent Publications and Presentations

· Blastocyst Differentiation, Implantation and Placentation

· Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Development

· Placentation

· Meeting Abstracts

Curriculum Vitae

of

D. Randall Armant

Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Professor, Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Member of Graduate Faculty – Graduate Program in Reproductive Science at Wayne State University

Adjunct Scientist and Head, Section on Peri-Implantation Development, Reproductive Biology and Medicine Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

Ph.D. Zoology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1980 (Dr. Charles L. Rutherford, Advisor)

POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING:

1980-1982	Cell Biology Group, Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts (Dr. Edward A. Berger, Advisor)
1982-1983	Department of Biological Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland ( Dr. William J. Lennarz, Advisor)
1983-1985	Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, Texas ( Dr. William J. Lennarz, Advisor)

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

1985	Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas System Cancer Center, Houston.
1985-1988	Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Biology (Physiology), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
1985-1988	Adjunct Member, Laboratory of Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

MEMBERSHIP IN UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CENTERS
Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
American Society for Cell Biology
Society for the Study of Reproduction
Society for Developmental Biology
Society for Gynecologic Investigation

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Member (2001-2004), Reproductive Biology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, Betheseda, MD
Member (2004-2005), Ad Hoc Reviewer (2006-) Cellular, Molecular and Integrative Reproduction Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, Betheseda, MD
Ad Hoc Reviewer, National Science Foundation
Ad Hoc Reviewer, Medical Research Council of Canada
Ad Hoc Reviewer, Medical Research Council of Great Britain
Ad Hoc Reviewer, The Wellcome Trust Limited, London, United Kingdom
Advisor, Cytonix, Inc., Beltsville, Maryland
Advisor, Detroit R&D, Detroit, Michigan
Advisor, Genomic Nanosystems, LLC, Beltsville, Maryland
Member, Editorial Board, Reproduction
Associate Editor, Molecular Reproduction and Development
Member, Board of Reviewing Editors, Biology of Reproduction
Ad Hoc Reviewer for Scientific Journals, examples:

Development
Developmental Biology
Endocrinology
Fertility & Sterility
Placenta
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Journal of Biological Chemistry
Proceeding of the National Academy of Science USA

RESEARCH INTERESTS

· Blastocyst Implantation: The laboratory is investigating the interactions that mediate blastocyst adhesion to the uterine wall during implantation. Trophectoderm cells of the blastocyst express integrins that serve as receptors for components of the endometrial basement membrane and underlying extracellular matrix (ECM). After hatching from the zona pellucida, non adherent blastocysts undergo differentiation to an adhesion-competent stage both within the uterus and during in vitro culture. Blastocyst differentiation is influenced by maternal factors that include growth factors and the ECM, itself. Our laboratory has contributed toward delineating the intracellular signaling pathways that control adhesion of the apical surface of the trophectoderm to ECM at the outset of implantation. We are also interested in the invasive activity of trophoblast cells that migrate through the endometrial ECM to establish a placenta. For a recent review of our work, see: Armant, D.R. Blastocysts Don’t Go It Alone. Extrinsic Signals Fine-Tune the Intrinsic Developmental Program of Trophoblast Cells. Dev. Biol., 280:260-280, 2005.

· Placentation: The trophoblast lineage plays a key role in the formation of the placenta and aberrant trophoblast development could underlie several disorders of pregnancy in humans, including preeclampsia and intrauterine growth retardation. In collaboration with other laboratories, we have been studying the cellular biology of trophoblast cells using human cytotrophoblast cell lines and placental tissues obtained from women. Much of our work has centered on intracellular signaling between members of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) and human EGF receptor (HER; HER1-4) families. Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is downregulated in preeclampsia, a disorder characterized by increased trophoblast apoptosis and decreased invasion. We are examining the relationship of this and other family members to trophoblast survival and invasiveness.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

Laboratory Rotations

Department of Biochemistry
Department of Physiology
Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology

Graduate Research

Dissertation/Directed Study

Medical Student Courses

Human Embryology

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology

Graduate Students Trained

Jeffery F. Schultz, Department of Biochemistry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Master of Science, Thesis project: ß1 and ß3 Class Integrins Mediate Fibronectin Binding Activity at the Surface of Developing Mouse Peri-Implantation Blastocysts. Regulation by Ligand-Mediated Mobilizaton of Stored Receptor, 1992-1995.
James J. Stachecki, Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Doctor of Philosophy, Dessertation project: Ethanol-Induced Developmental Acceleration of Mouse Embryogenesis: Intracellular Signalling with Calcium Regulates Preimplantation Development, 1992-1996.
Linda Mayernik, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Master of Science, Thesis Project: Integrin Signalling Through Tyrosine Phosphorylation and the Phospholipase C Pathway Mediates Adhesion of the Peri-Implantation Mouse Blastocyst,1993-1997.
Jun Wang, Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Doctor of Philosophy, Dissertation project: Uterine Regulation of Embryonic Signal Transduction and Trophoblast Adhesive Differentiation During Blastocyst Implantation, 1996-1999.
Zitao Liu, Departament of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI. Doctor of Philosophy, Dissertation project: Regulation of trophoblast differentiation during implantation and placentation: The central role of intracellular calcium as a second messenger and its transactivation of ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases, 1999-2004.

Postdoctoral Fellows Trained

Frank Yelian, M.D., Ph.D., 1991-1992.
Mohammed A. Khidir, Ph.D., 1993-1995.
Ujjwal K. Rout, Ph.D., 1994-1999.
Jun Wang, M.D., Ph.D., 1999-2002

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