Schuh Lab

17 Sept 2025

Feeling excited & grateful 🌟 Honored to receive the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough 2025 (Life Sciences) — for our team’s live ovulation imaging. Thanks to Tabea Lilian Marx, Christopher Thomas & our lab! www.mpinat.mpg.de/5118437/pr_2... #FallingWalls #ScienceSummit25 #ScienceBreakthroughs

13h

We’re excited to welcome Carmela to the Schuh Lab as our new Postdoc! 🧬 With a background in molecular biology, epigenetics and germline development, she will investigate how epigenetic and cellular changes contribute to ovarian ageing. Welcome to the team, Carmela! 🎉

A great pleasure to give a keynote at the Germ Cells meeting at @cshlnews.bsky.social. I shared our work on chromosome segregation in mammalian oocytes, how it changes with age, and our efforts to understand and prevent these errors. Very proud of our team & grateful for the great discussions!

📷Photo credits: Constance Brukin, CSHL

18 Sept

Yesterday, we welcomed our former postdoc Chun So (Nick) for a talk on oocyte & embryo development @mpi-nat.bsky.social, followed by a roundtable discussion with the lab. Nick, it was great to have you back with us! Thank you, for visiting and sharing your latest work with us! 🧬🙏

gfgenetik.deDr. Mrinmoy Pal receives this year’s Elisabeth Gateff Prize44

15 Sept

Huge congratulations to our PostDoc @palmrinmoy.bsky.social on receiving the Elisabeth Gateff Prize for his outstanding dissertation.🎉 His talk, “How DNA Self-Organizes in the Early Embryo,” and the award ceremony will be streamed online on 22 October at 3 pm! 🎥 www.gfgenetik.de/en/news/deta...

8 Sept

A few days away from the lab, time together, plenty of opportunities to learn from each other – that was our #labretreat at Harnack Haus in Berlin. We shared knowledge during our “Teach Us Something” talks, deepended our statistics skills and explored science history in Dahlem.💡

13 Aug

Why does female fertility decline with age – could we one day do something about it? Delighted to contribute to the new @artede.bsky.social documentary “Stecken wir in einer Eizellen-Krise?” featuring our research on why chromosomes become unstable in ageing eggs - and how to keep them stable.

arte.tvStecken wir in einer Eizellen-Krise? - 42 - Die Antwort auf fast alles - Die ganze Doku | ARTEImmer mehr Frauen bekommen Kinder nur mit immer größeren Schwierigkeiten oder gar nicht. Die Geburtenrate sinkt, Kinderwunschpraxen boomen. Liegt es an Erkrankungen wie Endometriose und PCOS, an Umwel...

13 Aug

📺You can find the documentary (in German) here: www.arte.tv/de/videos/12...

24 July

Great news from our lab: Congratulations to Marios & @debojitsaha.bsky.social on receiving the 2025/26 Campus Seminar Awards at @mpi-nat.bsky.social! Marios was recognised in the PhD category, Debojit in the Postdoc category. Delighted to see their excellent research acknowledged — well deserved!👏

faz.netOvo Labs: Diese Forscherin macht Kinderlosen neue HoffnungNur jede dritte künstliche Befruchtung hat Erfolg. Melina Schuh weiß, warum. Die Ausnahmewissenschaftlerin hat Bahnbrechendes über Eizellen herausgefunden. Jetzt macht sie aus ihrem Wissen ein Produkt...

20 July

For over two decades, I have studied how eggs develop & why chromosome errors rise with age. My lab & I have explored ways to reduce these errors. A new portrait in @faznet.bsky.social reflects on this journey from fundamental cell biology to potential applications in reproductive medicine.

22 July

Article in German, behind a paywall: www.faz.net/aktuell/wirt...

16 July

Last week, I had the great honour of being formally admitted as a Fellow of the @royalsociety.org & signing its historic Charter Book. Deeply grateful for this recognition of our work. None of this would've been possible without many wonderful lab members, colleagues & collaborators. ✨

23 June

Congratulations to our Postdoc @palmrinmoy.bsky.social on receiving the Helmholtz Munich Doctoral Researcher Award 2026 for his outstanding PhD research. We are proud to now have you in our Schuh lab. A well-deserved recognition! 🎉🌟 📷credits: @helmholtzmunich.bsky.social

youtube.comOvo Labs - Neue Wege bei der künstliche Befruchtung (IVF)YouTube video by MaxPlanckSociety

16 June

We are glad to see Ovo Labs receive the Max Planck Society Startup Award today. Ovo Labs was founded to translate human oocyte biology research into therapies to improve IVF outcomes. A short film on the journey from basic research to biotech (German): www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIr2...

sciencedirect.comTwo distinct causes contribute to the low efficiency of human pre-implantation development∼50% of fertilized eggs arrest during human pre-implantation development, representing a major bottleneck for assisted reproductive technology. The un…

12 June

Great publication by our former Postdoc Nick (Chun) So, now PI at NIBS. Congratulations to So Lab and the team! 👏🎉 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

detektor.fmUnfruchtbarkeit: Wie lässt sie sich behandeln, Melina Schuh?Dr. Melina Schuh erforscht, wie menschliche Eizellen funktionieren und worin Ursachen für Unfruchtbarkeit und Fehlgeburten liegen.

10 June

What happens inside human egg cells as they age, and why are errors so common? In the new episode “Ach, Mensch!” of detektor.fm (in German), Melina talks about fertility, ageing egg cells, future fertility treatments and the motivation behind her research. detektor.fm/wissen/ach-m...

mpinat.mpg.deRoyal Society elects Melina Schuh as FellowBiochemist Melina Schuh elected Fellow of the Royal Society for groundbreaking research on egg cell development.

27 May

I am deeply honored to have been elected as a Foreign Member of the @royalsociety.org. Very grateful to all members of the lab, past & present. Their curiosity & commitment to science shaped the work in countless ways. It's been a privilege to work with them. www.mpinat.mpg.de/5261989/pr_2...

22 May

A very special evening at the Rathaus in Schweinfurt, where I officially received the Carus Medal from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. @leopoldina.org

22 May

Photo: Stadt Schweinfurt, Kristina Dietz

21 May

Many congratulations to our PostDoc @palmrinmoy.bsky.social on receiving the Best Poster Award at the @events.embl.org Practical Course “Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy: From Cells to Tissue” last month! 🎉👏 A great achievement — very well deserved!

rms.org.ukDr Melina Schuh to receive RMS Pearse Prize

8 May

Grateful to receive the Pearse Prize from the @royalmicrosoc.bsky.social. A big thank you to my amazing team and collaborators — this is truly a shared recognition. 🌟 www.rms.org.uk/resource/dr-...

30 Apr

For #FutureDay2026, we welcomed 5th & 6th graders for a hands-on day exploring science up close. They got a first look at lab work, from observing #egg cells under the microscope to pipetting and liquid nitrogen experiments 🔬🥼. A small step into the world of research!

leopoldina.orgLeopoldina zeichnet Biochemikerin Melina Schuh mit der Carus-Medaille ausUm Paare mit unerfülltem Kinderwunsch unterstützen zu können, muss die Herausbildung der menschlichen Keimzellen genau verstanden werden. Die Biochemikerin Melina Schuh erforscht die Entwicklung von S...

18 Mar

Honored to receive the Carus Medal from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Very grateful to my lab and all collaborators - this recognition belongs to all of us. ✨

Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina@leopoldina.org

🎉 Die Leopoldina gratuliert ihrem Mitglied Melina Schuh @schuhlab.bsky.social zur Carus-Medaille. Geehrt wird die Biochemikerin für ihre Forschungen zu Eizellen: www.leopoldina.org/newsroom/nac...

4 Mar

The German Embryo Protection Act (1990) sets the legal framework for research involving human embryos, adapted long before much of today’s knowledge of human development was available. In a @spiegel.de interview (in German, paywall) Melina discusses its impact on research today.

spiegel.de(S+) Künstliche Befruchtung und Embryonenschutzgesetz: Recht von gesternEizellspenden sind in Deutschland verboten, Ärzten droht sogar Gefängnis. Experten warnen: Das Embryonenschutzgesetz ist völlig veraltet und treibt verzweifelte Paare ins Ausland. Reagiert jetzt die P...

4 Mar

Read the full Der SPIEGEL article on Germany’s Embryo Protection Act: www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft...

26 Feb

A warm welcome to Roni, who joined the Schuh lab in December 2025 as a new Postdoc! She completed her PhD in Genetics focusing on the development and aging of #oocytes in C. elegans. Now she‘ll investigate the role of actin in #meiosis. Great to have you with us, Roni 🎉

mpg.deOvo Labs receives Max Planck Startup Award of the Stifterverband 2026When scientific insight leads to innovation – and ultimately to the founding of a company: this year’s Max Planck Start-up Award of the Stifterverband honours the work of Ovo Labs. Founded in 2025 as ...

24 Feb

Huge congratulations to Ovo Labs on receiving the Max Planck Startup Award! 🎉

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft@maxplanck.de

Congratulations!🎉 Ovo Labs, a spin-off from the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, has been awarded the Max Planck Startup Award by Stifterverband 2026 for their groundbreaking work in improving #IVF success rates. www.mpg.de/26166244/ovo... @schuhlab.bsky.social

18 Feb

What does it take to translate fertility research into a biotech company? Agata and Melina joined “Holding on to Unicorns and Rainbows” podcast to tell the story of Ovo Labs. 🎧 Listen to the full episode: (Apple Podcasts) podcasts.apple.com/mx/podcast/f...

open.spotify.comFrom Science to Startup: Founding Ovo Labs

18 Feb

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/2aEe...

30 Jan

The Schuh lab just got a new postdoc—welcome Venus! 🎉 Venus studied telomere regulation in cancer during her PhD and will now explore telomeres in meiosis. Excited to have you on the team, Venus! ✨

22 Jan

🚀 Our research on human egg quality and #fertility is making headlines worldwide! 🌍 Thanks to @debojitsaha.bsky.social, our co-authors, clinical collaborators, and the patients who made this study possible - and to Ovo Labs for advancing this work. #IVF #womenshealth

23 Jan

find some articles here: The Guardian: www.theguardian.com/science/2026... Reuters: www.reuters.com/business/hea... The Times: www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a... Boston Globe: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/09/n...

washingtonpost.comwashingtonpost.com

13 Jan

Why do women’s eggs deteriorate as they age? 🥚 The @washingtonpost.com reports on this question and features our study on Shugoshin 1. 📰

theguardian.comHuman eggs ‘rejuvenated’ in an advance that could boost IVF success ratesExclusive: Research suggests supplementing eggs with a key protein reduces age-related defects, raising hopes of improved IVF for older women

13 Jan

Our work on improving human egg quality was featured in @theguardian.com. We hope this will help to make #IVF more successful and allow more couples to conceive. 💜

Human eggs must segregate their chromosomes with exquisite precision — yet errors rise with maternal age, causing miscarriage & infertility. Our new article on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social shows why chromosome cohesion fails in aging eggs & how to improve it. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/10)

Our findings identify centromeric cohesion protection as a modifiable determinant of egg quality. This is, to our knowledge, the first molecular intervention shown to improve chromosome cohesion in human eggs. (9/10)

Huge thanks to @debojitsaha.bsky.social for leading this work — & to an outstanding team of co-authors: Saba Manshaei, @cavazzalab.bsky.social, Z. Holubcová, B. Maierova, A. Zielinska, L. Wartosch, M. Blaney, K. Elder & our clinical collaborators at Bourn Hall Clinic & Reprofit International (10/10)

Human eggs show the same pattern. Eggs from women ≥35 years have significantly reduced SGO1 and increased PSSC compared to younger donors. Can this be rescued by supplementing SGO1? (7/10)

Remarkably, SGO1 supplementation in human eggs significantly reduces premature chromatid separation and the number of single chromatids per egg. This effect is consistent across donors. (8/10)

But how do cohesins and their protective factors change with age? In aged mouse oocytes, we observe a decline in pericentromeric transcription, SGO1, PP2A, and centromeric cohesion. This mirrors the dramatic rise in PSSC with age. (5/10)

Crucially, restoring SGO1 levels in aged mouse eggs rescues centromeric cohesion and reduces chromosome errors to youthful levels. But what about human oocytes, do they also lose SGO1 with age? (6/10)

We identify Shugoshin 1 (SGO1) as a critical protector of centromeric cohesion in mammalian eggs. In mouse oocytes, depletion of SGO1 with siRNAs causes cohesion failure (PSSC) and alignment defects. But how is SGO1 maintained at meiotic centromeres? (3/10)

We find that ongoing transcription at pericentromeres is essential to maintain SGO1 (and PP2A) on meiotic chromosomes. Blocking transcription reduces SGO1 on chromosomes and triggers cohesion loss. (4/10)

Sister chromatids must stay tightly connected until fertilization. When cohesion fails, chromatids separate prematurely — a defect called PSSC (premature separation of sister chromatids) — leading to mis-segregation and aneuploidy. (2/10)

23 Dec 2025

The Schuh lab wishes you & your families a #MerryChristmas and a wonderful start to a happy & successful #NewYear2026 🎄✨ This year’s department Christmas card features a microscope image by our PostDoc @kosti-sofroni.bsky.social showing a fetal ovary containing prophase oocytes.

16 Dec 2025

We’re excited to have Qiuyan join the Schuh lab as a postdoctoral researcher 🎉 She earned her PhD in Biological Sciences, with a research focus on understanding early embryonic development. In her new role, she’ll explore germ cell development. Welcome to the team, Qiuyan!

12 Nov 2025

🧬Why does female fertility decline with age? And can egg cells be rejuvenated🥚? Find out in a new interview with Melina discussing her research on the biology of aging #oocytes. #WomensHealth 💜 (Article in German) ajour.ch/de/story/634...

nucleatehq.medium.comOvo Labs Awarded $100K to Advance Groundbreaking IVF Therapy in Lilly Grand ChallengeThe 2025 Lilly Grand Challenge brought together some of the most promising early-stage biotech innovators at Eli Lilly and Company’s global…

10 Oct 2025

🎉Ovo Labs won the @elilillyandcompany.bsky.social x @nucleate.bsky.social Grand Challenge 2025! Founded by Melina Schuh, Agata Zielinska & Oleksandr Yagensky to improve IVF success rates, Ovo Labs was picked from 450+ biotech companies. Huge congratulations!💜 🔗 nucleatehq.medium.com/ovo-labs-awa...