Bernhard Payer, PhD

My lab’s focus has been deciphering the mechanisms and biological roles of epigenetic reprogramming for pluripotency and germ cell/oocyte development. We specifically study the processes of X-chromosome in- and reactivation, classical models of epigenetic regulation, by developing tailored mouse and human iPSC-reprogramming and organoid systems of germ cell and oocyte development. We thereby made fundamental discoveries on the interplay between 3D-genome structure, epigenetics and transcription1,2,3 and the importance of X-chromosome remodeling for meiosis and oogenesis4. Furthermore, together with the clinic, we studied by single-cell RNA-Seq the impact of aging on the human oocyte transcriptome5 and derived human iPSC-lines of different cell origin and tested their capacity for germ cell differentiation.

My lab’s future goal is to further advance our knowledge on the epigenetic reprogramming events during germ cell development and thereby to contribute to the development of better in vitro organoid models of mouse and human oocyte development, which recapitulate the in vivo situation more faithfully. These in vitro models will open the reproduction field to in-depth mechanistic studies, and will also facilitate patient-specific disease modeling, offering invaluable insights into human fertility disorders. Furthermore, such in vitro systems could provide versatile platforms for testing fertility or contraceptive drugs and for assessing the impact of nvironmental toxins, chemicals, or drugs on the reproductive system.