Corrine K. Welt, MD

Languages Spoken: English

Female reproductive disorders are devastating and their underlying etiologies may present additional medical problems within and beyond the reproductive years. My work has therefore focused on disorders of reproduction and their medical consequences. Polycystic ovary syndrome causes infertility because of its irregular menstrual cycles. It is also associated with risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high cholesterol. Hypothalamic amenorrhea, which can result from too much exercise or too little fat, causes infertility and bone loss. Women who go through menopause too early are at risk for bone loss and heart disease. My goal is to find markers and genetic risk factors that will help identify these problems early. If diagnosed early, the appropriate prevention and treatment measures can be put in place to alleviate infertility and avoid the associated medical consequences.

Female infertility is a devastating medical disorder with underlying etiologies that present medical consequences within and beyond the reproductive years. My career has therefore focused on disorders of reproduction and their medical consequences. My initial work centered on the use of inhibin B as a marker of ovarian function, documenting normal aging and early ovarian aging in women. However, markers of ovarian function identify women at risk for infertility late in the course and are not helpful for improving fertility prognosis. Therefore, I began to study the genetics of female reproductive disorders so that they can be identified early, providing the opportunity for early intervention. My work has demonstrated genetic risk factors for hypothalamic amenorrhea. Work on the complex genetics of polycystic ovary syndrome has uncovered a variant that results in risk for polycystic ovary syndrome in women of European ethnicity. I also discovered a novel gene that causes primary ovarian insufficiency. My goal is to continue to uncover genetic risk for infertility and to understand the genotype/phenotype relationship between genetic factors resulting in primary ovarian insufficiency and polycystic ovary syndrome. If diagnosed early, the appropriate prevention and treatment measures can be put in place to alleviate infertility and avoid the associated medical consequences.