# Diversity Supplement for Mechanisms of Phthalate Toxicity in the Ovary

> **NIH NIH R00** · NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2022 · $55,725

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This is a proposal for a Diversity Supplement to fund hands-on research training and career development for a
talented doctoral student in the Environmental Science PhD program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The parent grant for this proposal is R00ES031150-30 to facilitate Dr. Genoa Warner’s transition to an
independent research career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental
Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where she draws from her diverse scientific background in
chemistry and biology to investigate important research questions in environmental health. Dr. Warner has
extensive training in endocrine disruption and sustainable chemistry and has completed postdoctoral training in
reproductive toxicology at the University of Illinois under the mentorship of Dr. Jodi A. Flaws, where she has
learned technical and profession skills necessary for her to become a successful independent investigator and
leader in the field of reproductive toxicology. In her new laboratory, Dr. Warner investigates the mechanisms by
which phthalates, a group of endocrine disrupting chemicals with ubiquitous human exposure, cause ovarian
toxicity. Further, she investigates the metabolism of phthalates by ovarian tissue because phthalate metabolites
mediate phthalate-inducted toxic effects, contributing to infertility and premature ovarian failure. In the prosed
studies, Dr. Warner will mentor the Diversity Supplement candidate, Courtney Potts, in pursuing research within
the scope of the original project aims to craft his own research niche. Specific Aim 1 of the parent project aims
to identify how phthalates partition into ovarian tissue during culture via mass spectrometry and imaging methods
using chemically modified phthalates. Specific Aim 2 will determine how phthalate toxicity varies between cell
types of the ovary using next generation sequencing techniques. Finally, Specific Aim 3 will identify the genomic
localization of phthalates in the ovary by adapting the biochemical technique of chemical affinity capture paired
with massively parallel DNA sequencing (Chem-seq) to provide information on the genes and proteins targeted
by phthalates. Overall, the proposed studies will provide novel chemical and mechanistic insight into causes of
phthalate-induced toxicity in the ovary that contribute to female infertility and premature ovarian failure. The
methods combine chemical and biological techniques to develop a new, widely applicable technology for
investigating the mechanisms of endocrine disrupting chemicals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10628940
- **Project number:** 3R00ES031150-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Genoa R Warner
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $55,725
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10628940

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10628940, Diversity Supplement for Mechanisms of Phthalate Toxicity in the Ovary (3R00ES031150-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10628940. Licensed CC0.

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