Nathaly Cormier
Associate Professor, Ad Hoc Program Specialist

The long-term goals of my research are to decipher the molecular mechanisms involved in the early events of mammalian fertilization and develop molecular assays to identify the factors that increase the freezability/fertility potential of cryopreserved semen used for animal and human artificial insemination (AI). We are currently working on three main projects in my lab: 1) “Characterizing amyloid structures in ejaculated spermatozoa of bovine, Rh monkey and human ejaculate, and examining their physiological function during fertilization”, 2) “Characterizing the functional role of the sperm protein zonadhesin during bovine capacitation and acrosome reaction”, and 3) on “Characterizing amyloid structures in the seminal plasma of different mammalian species using atomic force microscopy”. This type of research requires cell biology, microscopy and molecular biology and biochemistry techniques.