Congratulations to Lars Rylander at Lund University and Sandra Søgaard Tøttenborg, Bispebjerg Hospital, as well as a wider ReproUnion research team for securing a SEK 4.2 million grant from the Swedish Research Council in October 2024.
The aim of the funded project is to investigate the impact of hormone-disrupting chemicals that we are exposed to daily (primarily through diet) on infertile couples’ ability to achieve a clinical pregnancy and have a live-born child after fertility treatment.
Infertility affects 15–20% of couples during their reproductive years, posing challenges not only to individuals but also to public health. Despite the advanced techniques available today to assist infertile couples, approximately 30% of infertile couples do not succeed in having a live-born child following fertility treatments. Therefore, identifying, quantifying, and reducing, or even eliminating, any new risk factor is of great importance.
Using the unique ReproUnion Biobank and Infertility Cohort (RUBIC), the research team will analyze data from more than 500 couples across Denmark and Sweden, including a broad panel of hormone-disrupting chemicals, vitamins, and other biomarkers. The findings will shed light on the combined impact of both partners’ exposure to certain chemicals and could pave the way for actionable solutions to improve fertility outcomes.
This research, set to take place from 2025 to 2027, will be an important step forward in understanding infertility at a deeper level. Fellow researchers on the Danish side are Anja Pinborg, Niels Jørgensen and Lærke Priskorn at Rigshospitalet, Christian Lindh and Ellen Malm at Lund University, as well as Margareta Kitlinksi and Aleksander Giwercman at Reproduktionsmedicinskt centrum (RMC) in Malmö.
