A professor at Waterloo Engineering credits the “magic” that can happen when researchers with different expertise team up for the discovery of a new way to test male fertility.
Dr. Sushanta Mitra, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering, collaborated with Dr. Veronika Magdanz, a professor of systems design engineering, on the testing project.
Magdanz brought a deep understanding of sperm cell behaviour to the multidisciplinary effort, while Mitra leads a research group with expertise in interfacial science, wetting and adhesion.
"This work beautifully demonstrates how bringing together different scientific perspectives can lead to unexpected breakthroughs," said Mitra, executive director of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.
“As a woman engineer leading cutting-edge reproductive technology research, Dr. Magdanz represents a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists tackling complex biological challenges with engineering solutions.”
Spearheaded by Magdanz, the research revealed that the movement of healthy sperm within semen reduces the force with which droplets stick to a water-repellent surface.
That insight paves the way for development of simple, inexpensive fertility tests for clinical and at-home use. Current tests involve examining sperm activity under microscopes in laboratories.
"I was excited to see the correlation of sperm motility and droplet adhesion,” Magdanz said. “It is a completely new approach that opens new avenues for sperm diagnostics."
Go to Measuring the sticking point for the full story on the discovery.