Prince Henry’s Institute

 

Lois Salamonsen

 

Personal Assistant: Dianne Arnold
e: dianne.arnold[at]princehenrys.org

 

Appointments

• NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow

• Honorary Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University

 

Profile

Lois Salamonsen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Otago University in New Zealand and her PhD from Monash University, Australia. Her PhD thesis examined blastocyst-endometrial interactions in the sheep during early pregnancy, using a proteomic approach. 

Her research since then has focused on human uterine biology, specifically on mechanisms underlying endometrial remodeling including menstruation and endometrial repair and on endometrial receptivity for implantation. Clinical problems being addressed include infertility, abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis and development of new non-hormonal contraceptives for women.

Prof Salamonsen has published over 200 papers, review articles and book chapters in the fields of  endometrial remodeling and implantation. She is currently an Associate Editor for the international journals, Biology of Reproduction and Reproductive Sciences, on the Editorial Boards of Endocrinology, Journal of  Reproductive Immunology and Reproductive Biology and Endocinology and a member of the Faculty of 1000.

She was President of the Society for Reproductive Biology in 2004-6, and has been awarded the premier award of that Society, the Founder’s lecture in 2009. 

Work in the Salamonsen laboratories over the past 10 years has been sustained by the NHMRC, National Institutes of Health (USA), World Health Organisation, Rockefeller Foundation, CONRAD/CICCR (USA), Schering AG, and Monash IVF.

Professor Salamonsen receives regular invitations to speakand to participate in specialist workshops,  both nationally and internationally. In 2009 this includes presentations in Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

 

Research Interests

Prof Salamonsen's current research involves studying the genes and proteins involved in endometrial remodelling during the menstrual cycle as well as during embryo implantation and early pregnancy using a variety of established in vivo and in vitro models together with genomic (eg microarrays, antisense technologies) and proteomic technologies.

She has formed strategic collaborations with specialist clinicians to translate the basic research findings into clinically relevant research, including identifying new diagnostics and treatments for disorders of the uterus (such as endometriosis, abnormal uterine bleeding and endometrial infertility) and pregnancy (such as intra-uterine growth restriction and pre-eclampsia).

During the 1990s she developed a model for mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal uterine bleeding, which emphasised the roles of matrix metalloproteinases and leukocytes. This has been extended by her development of a mouse model for menstruation and by recent studies on chemokines and their roles in endometrial remodelling and trophoblast invasion.

In addition, the laboratory has focused on uterine receptivity for embryo implantation with an emphasis on identifying new targets for contraception: among the important targets under current investigation are pro-protein convertase 6 and interleukin 11. The emphasis now for the endometrial remodelling laboratory is to define the proteomes of the endometrium and uterine fluid and to determine the mechanisms of endometrial repair.

The laboratory is currently funded by peer-reviewed funding, particularly a Program grant from NHMRC and grants form CONRAD/CICCR and has recently been supported also by NIH, Monash IVF and Bayer Schering Pharma AG. 

 

Expertise

Uterine and endometrial physiology, uterine remodelling and abnormal bleeding, endometriosis, endometrial receptivity, embryo implantation

 

Current Research

• Proteomic analysis of uterine washings 

• Endometrial repair after menstruation

• Defining uterine receptivity

Recent Achievements

• Identified the most abundant chemokines in endometrium during the menstrual cycle and demonstrated new roles for chemokines in trophoblast adhesive properties and trafficking during implantation.

• Demonstrated that activin A and neutrophils but not oestrogen have key roles in endometrial repair.

• Contributed to a clinical trial showing effective treatments for abnormal uterine bleeding associated with implantable progestin-only contraceptives (Implanon).

• Shown that the major effect of mifepristone on endometrial breakdown associated with the use of Implanon is to stimulate endometrial repair.

• Identified previously unknown proteins  that differ between the proliferative and secretory phases in endometrial tissue.

• Identified proteins secreted into the uterine lumen which are of likely importance for the earliest steps in implantation.

Service to Scientific Community

• 2006/8 - Member of the Schering AG/ Australian Reproductive Health Care Network.

• 2008 -Organising Committee for the 1st World Congress of Reproductive Biology

• Ex member of the Rockefeller/WHO Initiative on Implantation and Once-a-month Methods for Contraception

• Consultant to the Human Reproductive Program of WHO

• Member of the Schering AG Initiative on Implantation

• Associate Editor of Biology of Reproduction, and Reproductive Sciences

• Editorial Board of Endocrinology

• Past-President of the Society for Reproductive Biology 

• Served on NHMRC committees, including grant review and career awards panels

 

Selected Publications

Salamonsen LA, Nie G, Hannan NJ, Dimitriadis E (2009) Society for Reproductive Biology Founders’ Lecture. Preparing fertile soil: the importance of endometrial receptivity. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 21:923-934. [view article online]

Hannan NJ, Paiva P, Dimitriadis E, Salamonsen LA (2009) Models for study of human embryo implantation: Choice of cell lines? Biology of Reproduction. [Epub July 1]

Rogers PAW, D’Hooghe TM, Fazleabas A, Gargett C, Giudice LC, Montgomery GW, Rombauts L, Salamonsen LA, Zondervan KT (2009) Priorities for endometriosis research: recommendations from an international workshop. Reproductive Sciences 16(4):335-346.

Chen J I-C, Hannan NJ, Mak Y, Nicholls PK, Zhang J, Rainczuk, Adam Stanton PG, Robertson DM, Salamonsen LA, Stephens AN (2009). Proteomic characterization of mid-proliferative and mid-secretory human endometrium. Journal of Proteome Research 8(4):2032-2044.

Marwood M, Visser K, Salamonsen LA, Dimitriadis E (2009) Interleukin 11 and leukaemia inhibitory factor regulate the adhesion of endometrial epithelial cells: implications in fertility regulation. Endocrinology 150(6):2915-2923.

Weisberg E, Hickey M, Palmer D, O’Connor V, Salamonsen LA, Findlay JK, Fraser IS (2009). A randomised controlled trial of treatment options for troublesome uterine bleeding in Implanon users. Human Reproduction 24(8):1852-1861.

Kaitu’u-Lino TJ, Phillips DJ, Morison NB, Salamonsen LA (2009) A new role for activin in endometrial repair after menses. Endocrinology 150 (4): 1904-1911.

Menkhorst E, Salamonsen LA, Robb L, Dimitriadis (2009) IL-11 antagonist inhibits uterine stromal differentiation causing pregnancy failure in mice. Biol Reprod  80:920-927.

Hannan NJ, Salamonsen LA. (2008) CX3CL1 and CCL14 regulate extracellular matrix and adhesion molecules in the trophoblast: potential roles in human embryo implantation. Biology of Reproduction 79: 58–65.

White CA, Zhang J-G, Salamonsen LA, Baca M, Fairlie WD, Metcalf D, Nicola NA, Robb L, Dimitriadis E. (2007) Blocking leukemia inhibitory factor action in the uterus using a novel PEGylated antagonist prevents implantation: a new non-hormonal contraceptive strategy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(49): 19357-62.

Kaitu’u-Lino TJ, Morison NB, Salamonsen LA (2007) Estrogen is not essential for full endometrial restoration following breakdown: lessons from a mouse model. Endocrinology 148(10):5105-5111.