Bibhash Paria, Ph.D., joined the faculty at VUMC in the division of Reproductive and Developmental Biology in July as an associate professor of Pediatrics.
Paria's research involves a hamster model to investigate the interplay of estrogen and progesterone in the uterus during implantation. Mice and rats need both hormones for implantation, but the dogma in hamster has been that ovarian estrogen is not required — only progesterone is needed. Based on evidence seen in other mammals, Paria believes that the same might be true of humans, so the hamster is a good model for testing that theory.