Joseph S. Tash, Ph.D.

1) Male Contraception Development (funded by NIH). The National Institutes of Health, Institute of Medicine, and World Health Organization have emphasized the need to develop non-hormonal non-steroidal reversible male contraceptives. We are taking a multidisciplinary approach targeting several mechanisms critical to male fertility including inhibitors of spermatogenesis, sperm motility, and spermiogenesis. One new compound (Gamendazole, patent pending) is the most potent new anti-spermatogenic agent identified to date. New lead compounds are being identified by a combination of High Throughput Screening, animal testing and proteomics. The mechanisms of action of new contraceptive agents are also being elucidated.

2) Long-term Space Flight and Male Reproductive Health (funded by NASA). The new exploration mission for NASA has raised concerns on the impact of long term space flight on reproductive health. Previous studies found that long term simulated space flight causes male aspermatogenic sterility. We are elucidating the mechanisms underlying the loss of fertility and studying artificial gravity as a potential countermeasure.