OUR RESEARCH
Reshaping the future of reproductive medicine
The Jones Foundation provides essential financial support for research in reproductive medicine every year, through both short-term and long-term funding grants. Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, the Foundation is presently supporting translational research endeavors, educational initiatives, and ethical workshops and discussions.
Translational initiatives, which bridge the gap between scientific discoveries and their practical clinical applications, play a crucial role in advancing the understanding and treatment of reproductive health issues. Through rigorous research, new insights and innovative approaches can be developed to enhance the quality of care and improve outcomes for individuals and couples seeking reproductive assistance. By fostering a strong connection between the laboratory and the clinic, translational research in reproductive medicine holds the promise of translating cutting-edge scientific advancements into tangible improvements in patient care and overall reproductive well-being.
The significance of research in
translational efforts within the field of reproductive medicine cannot be overstated.
Research Awards
2024
ASRM Discovery & Innovation Grant Awardee
Chao Zhou, PhD (Washington University)
Facilitating in vitro fertilization using label-free, time-lapse 3D optical coherence microscopy
Dr. Chao Zhou graduated from Peking University in China, obtained his PhD degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and received post-doctoral training from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining Washington University in St. Louis in 2019, he was an Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering at Lehigh University. Dr. Zhou has extensive experience in biophotonics and contributed to the development and validation of novel imaging modalities for various applications ranging from measuring brain function to monitoring embryo development. He has published over 85 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, which have been cited >7,700 times. He holds multiple US and international patents for his inventions. Dr. Zhou is an Editorial Board Member and Section Lead in Bioengineering & Biotechnology of Communications Biology and an associate editor for Photonics Research, IEEE Photonics Journal, and Medical Physics. He is a fellow of Optica (formerly Optical Society of America, OSA), the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), and the American Heart Association (AHA), and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the National Institute of Health (NIH) K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2011), the National Innovation Award (2017) from TechConnect World Innovation Conference and National Innovation Summit, the RPB Stein Innovation Award (2021) from the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation, and the Innovative Research Award (2021) from the Clayco Foundation.
Grants and Awards
The Foundation has approved funding of more than $30 million for translational research initiatives at various esteemed institutions including the Jones Institute of Eastern Virginia Medical School, The University of Utah, Oregon Health & Science University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, The University of Michigan, The University of Pennsylvania, and The University of California, San Diego. These projects are overseen by clinical physicians and scientists selected for their proficiency and experience in assisted reproductive technologies.
KNOWLEDGE is Power.
ELI Y. ADASHI, M.D.
IVF: PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
Dr. Eli Adashi presented a plenary lecture at the 2021 ASRM Scientific Congress & Expo. He reviewed the events leading up to the birth of the first IVF baby in the US, the vision of Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones, and the state of assisted reproductive technology. In addition, Dr. Adashi made an effort to imagine the future, the disruption of the field and the potential consequences that may result.
Dr. Eli Adashi is a Professor of Medical Science and the Former Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences at Brown University. As an academic physician-executive Dr. Adashi is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a mentor to over 50 postdoctoral trainees and fellows and the author or co-author of over 450 peer-reviewed publications and 120 book chapters/reviews in the general areas of reproduction, science, law, ethics, and human rights. He also chairs the Jones Foundation Medical Executive Committee and the Medical Advisory Council.
Research Awards
Caroline Sprague has been selected to receive the Post-Dobbs Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Law Writing Award. She has been recognized for a paper that discusses the effects of the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on assisted reproductive medicine. The Jones Foundation partnered with representatives from Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law in a joint effort to encourage innovative and thorough research and analysis of the legal implications that will affect medical practices in the United States.
Ms. Sprague is a recent cum laude graduate from Georgetown University Law Center and an incoming associate at Skadden Arps’ New York office. She was the executive administrative editor of the Georgetown Law Journal, a peer tutor, and a judicial extern for the Ninth Circuit. Caroline graduated magna cum laude from Duke University in 2020.
2023
The Post-Dobbs Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Law Writing Award
Facilitating in vitro fertilization using label-free, time-lapse 3D optical coherence microscopy
Dr. Chao Zhou graduated from Peking University in China, obtained his PhD degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and received post-doctoral training from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before joining Washington University in St. Louis in 2019, he was an Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering at Lehigh University. Dr. Zhou has extensive experience in biophotonics and contributed to the development and validation of novel imaging modalities for various applications ranging from measuring brain function to monitoring embryo development. He has published over 85 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, which have been cited >7,700 times. He holds multiple US and international patents for his inventions. Dr. Zhou is an Editorial Board Member and Section Lead in Bioengineering & Biotechnology of Communications Biology and an associate editor for Photonics Research, IEEE Photonics Journal, and Medical Physics. He is a fellow of Optica (formerly Optical Society of America, OSA), the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE), and the American Heart Association (AHA), and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is a recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the National Institute of Health (NIH) K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2011), the National Innovation Award (2017) from TechConnect World Innovation Conference and National Innovation Summit, the RPB Stein Innovation Award (2021) from the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation, and the Innovative Research Award (2021) from the Clayco Foundation.
2024
ASRM Discovery & Innovation Grant Awardee
Chao Zhou, PhD (Washington University)
Project: Jones Rounds.
Susan L. Crockin, JD, Crockin Law & Policy Group, PLLC , Senior Scholar, Adjunct Professor, The O’Neill Inst. for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown Law Center; Research Assistant Professor, Kennedy Inst. of Ethics, Georgetown University
2021
Jones Foundation Project Award
2019
Jones Foundation Project Award
Project: Jones Rounds.
Where: Georgetown University, The Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, The O’Neill Institute of National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law Center
Susan Crockin, JD
Affiliate faculty in residence, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University; Scholar, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law at Georgetown Law Center.
Maggie Little, PhD
Senior Research Scholar, Professor of Philosophy Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. Dr. Little is Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.
Evaluating the Perinatal, Neonatal, and Early Childhood Effects of Contemporary IVF Treatments to Optimize the Health of IVF Offspring
Valerie L Baker, MD is Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Telinde-Wallach Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include general infertility, assisted reproductive technology (in vitro fertilization) and primary ovarian insufficiency.
Dr. Baker received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She completed residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She then served on the faculty at UCSF, University of Washington and Stanford before joining Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Baker is past President of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the primary professional organization that oversees the practice of assisted reproductive technology in the United States. She is current Vice President of SART Global, and is a representative for the USA for the International Committee Monitoring ART. She has held other key national leadership roles, such as President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Chair of the SART Research Committee. She has been an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and for Human Reproduction. Dr. Baker has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles on topics related to fertility including stimulation protocols in assisted reproductive technology, factors affecting success with fertility treatment, and maternal and infant outcomes following ART.
Dr Baker is particularly committed to advocating for access to fertility care and for research funding of fertility treatments and conditions that uniquely affect women.
2023
Research Grant in Reproductive Medicine
Valerie L Baker, MD, MPP, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine
2023
Research Grant in Reproductive Medicine
Valerie L Baker, MD, MPP, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine
Evaluating the Perinatal, Neonatal, and Early Childhood Effects of Contemporary IVF Treatments to Optimize the Health of IVF Offspring
Valerie L Baker, MD is Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Telinde-Wallach Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include general infertility, assisted reproductive technology (in vitro fertilization) and primary ovarian insufficiency.
Dr. Baker received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She completed residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She then served on the faculty at UCSF, University of Washington and Stanford before joining Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Baker is past President of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the primary professional organization that oversees the practice of assisted reproductive technology in the United States. She is current Vice President of SART Global, and is a representative for the USA for the International Committee Monitoring ART. She has held other key national leadership roles, such as President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Chair of the SART Research Committee. She has been an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and for Human Reproduction. Dr. Baker has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles on topics related to fertility including stimulation protocols in assisted reproductive technology, factors affecting success with fertility treatment, and maternal and infant outcomes following ART.
Dr Baker is particularly committed to advocating for access to fertility care and for research funding of fertility treatments and conditions that uniquely affect women.
KNOWLEDGE is Power.
IVF: PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
ELI Y. ADASHI, M.D.
Dr. Eli Adashi presented a plenary lecture at the 2021 ASRM Scientific Congress & Expo. He reviewed the events leading up to the birth of the first IVF baby in the US, the vision of Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones, and the state of assisted reproductive technology. In addition, Dr. Adashi made an effort to imagine the future, the disruption of the field and the potential consequences that may result.
Dr. Eli Adashi is a Professor of Medical Science and the Former Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences at Brown University. As an academic physician-executive Dr. Adashi is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a mentor to over 50 postdoctoral trainees and fellows and the author or co-author of over 450 peer-reviewed publications and 120 book chapters/reviews in the general areas of reproduction, science, law, ethics, and human rights. He also chairs the Jones Foundation Medical Executive Committee and the Medical Advisory Council.
2023
The Post-Dobbs Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the Law Writing Award
Evaluating the Perinatal, Neonatal, and Early Childhood Effects of Contemporary IVF Treatments to Optimize the Health of IVF Offspring
Valerie L Baker, MD is Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Telinde-Wallach Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include general infertility, assisted reproductive technology (in vitro fertilization) and primary ovarian insufficiency.
Dr. Baker received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a master's degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She completed residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She then served on the faculty at UCSF, University of Washington and Stanford before joining Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Baker is past President of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the primary professional organization that oversees the practice of assisted reproductive technology in the United States. She is current Vice President of SART Global, and is a representative for the USA for the International Committee Monitoring ART. She has held other key national leadership roles, such as President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Chair of the SART Research Committee. She has been an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and for Human Reproduction. Dr. Baker has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles on topics related to fertility including stimulation protocols in assisted reproductive technology, factors affecting success with fertility treatment, and maternal and infant outcomes following ART.
Dr Baker is particularly committed to advocating for access to fertility care and for research funding of fertility treatments and conditions that uniquely affect women.
2021
Jones Foundation Project Award
Project: Jones Rounds.
Susan L. Crockin, JD, Crockin Law & Policy Group, PLLC , Senior Scholar, Adjunct Professor, The O’Neill Inst. for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown Law Center; Research Assistant Professor, Kennedy Inst. of Ethics, Georgetown University
2019
Jones Foundation Project Award
Project: Jones Rounds.
Where: Georgetown University, The Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, The O’Neill Institute of National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law Center
Susan Crockin, JD
Affiliate faculty in residence, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University; Scholar, O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law at Georgetown Law Center.
Maggie Little, PhD
Senior Research Scholar, Professor of Philosophy Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. Dr. Little is Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.