Research innovations provide solutions for reproductive health, but more advancements are still needed

Advancements in assisted reproductive technologies, namely in vitro fertilization, have enabled many families to conceive. However, its success remains limited, indicating the existing knowledge gap. The uterus is still irreplaceable for a successful pregnancy, but diagnostic markers for its health are nevertheless missing both in research and in clinics, which highlights the need for the development of unconventional approaches to tackle the issue.

Many of you have likely heard about collagens, but not many know that several collagens have been discovered and are continually studied, along with associated enzymes, at the University of Oulu's Kontinkangas campus by scientists who have published numerous international studies, including one that contributed to a Nobel Prize award. Sounds like the environment where just by breathing in, one is acquiring the know-how on collagens.

Now, combine this with our passion for 3-dimensional (D) imaging, and the observation that in scientific and medical fields, there is still a tendency to comprehend an entity by looking at a tissue slice. It is like trying to understand that Earth is a globe while looking at a paper map. My team chose to shift the accepted point of view on uterine collagens from 2D to 3D, which enabled the development of novel methods to evaluate uterine health and predict pregnancy progression.

Regarding male fertility-associated issues, my team and collaborators were successful in identifying several novel genetic factors critical for male fertility, some of which were renamed and adopted as diagnostic markers for infertility. Moreover, our data can be used not only for diagnostics but also for discovering non-hormonal male contraception to bring more choices for family planning.

Despite obvious advances, the discovery rate is still too slow and requires further action. Finland is well known for its outstanding cohort studies, which have led to the identification of numerous genetic associations with diseases. However, there is still no systematic database of infertile men, which is the major reason why we are lagging behind in identifying the genetic causes of male infertility and failing to contribute to an international effort aimed at finding out the causes behind the pathology and associated comorbidities. We now have a team of leading clinicians and scientists battling for funding to establish such a database.

The blog post is based on Renata Prunskaite-Hyyryläinen’s speech at the University of Oulu’s Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year on 10 September 2025.