Uterine Biology Lab · University of Missouri

Endometrial development and regeneration

Our mission is to improve women’s reproductive health by defining how the endometrium develops, maintains its function, and regenerates. We study how uterine epithelial cells acquire their identities, how these identities change during tissue repair, and how communication with the surrounding stroma directs these processes. We aim to provide a foundation for new approaches to infertility and endometrial disease.

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Research

Our research

Neonatal mouse uterus: CDH1-positive epithelium with budding glands

Uterine epithelial organoid: a single polarized layer of epithelial cells

Neonatal mouse uterus, CDH1 (green), left; uterine epithelial organoid, right. 01 Uterine development How uterine epithelial cells acquire distinct luminal and glandular identities, and how signals from neighboring cells guide their differentiation.

Adult uterine cross-section with lineage-traced glands (green) in stroma (magenta)

Adult mouse uterus. Cxcl15-Cre Rosa26^nT/nG. 02 Regeneration and epithelial plasticity How the endometrium repairs and regenerates, and how epithelial cells change their identities to restore tissue structure and function.

Endometrial assembloid: CDH1 (white), VIM (red), nuclei (blue). 03 Epithelial–stromal communication How communication between epithelial and stromal cells regulates endometrial development, function, and disease.

Approach

From mouse genetics to human organoids

We combine genetic models with organoid transplantation, assembloid culture, and single-cell and spatial profiling to define how uterine epithelial identity is established, maintained, and remodeled.

Mouse genetics & Cre models

Organoids & assembloids

Single-cell & spatial transcriptomics

Cxcl15-Cre Rosa26 nT/nG mouse uterus beside an endometrial organoid stained for E-cadherin (green) and nuclei (white) — Left: *Cxcl15*-Cre *Rosa26*^nT/nG mouse uterus. Right: endometrial organoid, E‑cadherin (green) and nuclei (white).

Recent work

Selected publications

Single-cell UMAP of mouse uterine cell types beside a PND15 uterus stained for ESR1 (red) and CDH1 (green)

bioRxiv preprint · 2026 A transient epithelial plasticity state defines the developmental window for uterine gland specification A transient plasticity state precedes luminal and glandular lineage segregation, and ESR1, retinoic acid signaling and FOXA2 restrict it as glands emerge.

Time course of gland regeneration after ablation: CDH1 (cyan) and FOXA2 (yellow) before ablation and at days 3, 6 and 10

bioRxiv preprint · 2026 Organoid transplantation in the adult endometrium restores fertility and uncovers epithelial lineage plasticity Transplanted epithelial organoids rebuild luminal and glandular epithelium in the ablated uterus and restore fertility, revealing that luminal cells can convert into glands.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2025 Uterine organoids reveal insights into epithelial specification and plasticity in development and disease Neonatal endometrial organoids show that uterine epithelium shifts from a highly plastic state to a restricted fate with age, with parallels in endometrial cancer.

People

Meet the lab

Meet the team

News

Lab news

Aug 2026. Preprint: organoid transplantation restores fertility after epithelial ablation and reveals luminal-to-glandular lineage plasticity. Led by Dhanvika Mopure, with the McKinley Lab (Harvard). Read more

Aug 2026. Preprint with the Winuthayanon Lab: a method for building mouse and human oviduct assembloids and co-culturing them with embryos. Read more

Jun 2026. Preprint: a transient epithelial plasticity state defines the window for uterine gland specification. Led by Jason Rizo, with the Vento-Tormo Lab (Wellcome Sanger). Read more

2026. Vakil Ahmad and colleagues publish a protocol for mouse and human endometrial assembloids in Biology of Reproduction. Read more

Apr 2025. Our PNAS paper on uterine organoids and epithelial plasticity is featured by MU School of Medicine. Read more

Supported by

NIH · NICHDEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Paula & Rodger Riney Foundation

University of MissouriNextGen Precision Health

We're looking for curious scientists.

Postdocs, graduate students and undergraduates interested in reproductive biology, regeneration and genomics.

Open positions