BY SUSAN DICKSON
Staff Writer
UNC researchers James Tsuruta and Paul Dayton have received a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support their research on the use of therapeutic ultrasound for male contraception.
Tsuruta, an assistant professor in the Laboratories for Reproductive Biology in UNC’s department of pediatrics, said he and Dayton based their research on studies from the 1970s that showed that one application of therapeutic ultrasound to the testis could result in up to six months of reversible infertility. Their preliminary research, conducted over the past three years, was funded by the Parsemus Foundation.
“We’ve been able to show that we can apply ultrasound to the testis and that it depletes the developing sperm cells,†Tsuruta said.
With the year-long grant, the researchers hope to determine the effects of the repeated use of ultrasound.
“Our primary concerns are safety, efficacy and reversibility, so we are going to determine what the minimum effective dose of ultrasound is,†Tsuruta said. “We also hope to have an apparatus designed that would be appropriate for use in developing nations by the end of the grant period – something that’s simple to operate but very robust.â€
Tsuruta said the method is non-invasive and painless. If their work over the next year is successful, Tsuruta and Dayton hope to secure additional funding for future studies.
“I think it’s important to provide men with more choices for contraception,†Tsuruta said. “If we can actually provide a non-invasive, reversible, safe, long-acting contraceptive for men, then we can have a positive impact on global health.
“It is important to expand the choices available to men that have decided to share responsibility for family planning with their partner.â€
The grant is one of 78 awarded by the Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations program, an initiative to help scientists around the world explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries.