Elizabeth Marr, a Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University, has received IFER funding for her project, "Elucidating the mechanisms of human fertility using an organoid model of implantation." Female infertility affects up to 110 million people worldwide, yet the underlying biological mechanisms remain elusive. Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF), a signaling molecule involved in establishing pregnancy, is dysregulated in patients with infertility—but differences between human and mouse reproductive biology have led to failed translation of LIF-based therapeutics. Elizabeth is developing a breakthrough human-specific model of embryo implantation using micropatterned hydrogels to drive controlled endometrial organoid development into the distinct cell types found in the receptive human uterus. By engineering a 3D human endometrium model that captures the true complexity of early implantation, this project will illuminate regulatory mechanisms underlying fertility and infertility, open new doors for therapeutic discovery, and replace the need for animal use in reproductive research.