Home Department: English
Supported by: VPUE/UAR
Mentor: James Chen, Chemical & Systems Biology and Developmental Biology
Zane is studying the effects of potent and selective small molecule inhibitors of the enzyme HIPK4, a protein kinase believed to be essential in the formation of sperm cells in mammals. He will be investigating the activity of these compounds in cultured cells and in mouse models of spermatogenesis. This research may shed insights into understanding some cases of male infertility and may also be used as the basis for a non-hormonal male contraceptive, offering an alternative to the current oral contraceptives that are only available for women.
Poster presented at the Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Symposium on August 26, 2015:
Homeodomain Interacting Protein Kinase 4 Positively Regulates the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Zane J. Hellmann1, J. Aaron Crapster1, Paul G. Rack 1, Michael Eisenberg2, and James K. Chen1
[Departments of Chemical & Systems Biology1 and Urology2, Stanford University]
