Contact Details
- Phone
- +64 3 479 7161
- karen.reader@otago.ac.nz
- Position
- Senior Lecturer
- Department
- Department of Pathology (Dunedin)
- Qualifications
- PhD
- Research summary
- Ovarian cancer
Research
Karen is a reproductive biologist with broad interests in the areas of assisted reproductive technologies in humans and livestock, and ovarian and prostate cancer. Her research aims to identify factors important for oocyte quality that can be manipulated to improve oocyte in vitro maturation and embryo quality.
Karen also investigates the role of members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) family of proteins in reproductive biology. Her cancer research is focused on the role of activins in ovarian and prostate cancer development. The aim is to identify biomarkers that can predict disease outcome and inform treatment decisions, as well as discovering novel therapeutic targets.
Karen’s laboratory works with human tissue, human cancer cell lines and sheep ovarian cells, and utilises techniques such as cell culture, in vitro embryo production, electron and confocal microscopy, immunohistochemistry and molecular biology.