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No country for old sperm: male aging, sperm aging, and external stressors as determinants of sperm quality and fertility

Objective

Deterioration in sperm quality with age is a major cause of male infertility. This has particular socio-economic relevance for Europe where fatherhood is increasingly delayed and infertility has reached near epidemic levels, costing the EU €4 billion per annum. The mechanisms causing, and the full consequences of declining sperm quality with age remain very poorly understood. For example, it is unclear how much of the reduction in sperm quality is due to advanced male age or the time sperm are stored within males reproductive organs, and we do not understand the mechanisms responsible for deteriorating sperm quality with increasing male age. The general aim of this project is to disentangle the effects of male aging and sperm aging on sperm quality, fertility and reproductive fitness using Drosophila melanogaster as a model. We will also test putative mechanisms thought to cause age-related fertility declines and test two possible general pathways through which sperm age. This proposal is a much needed integration of evolutionary ecology and sperm physiology, benefiting from the ideal match of skills and expertise of the Applicant (Tourmente - physiology), and the PI (Hosken - evolution). Since the mechanisms and phenomena studied are conserved across animals, the research proposed has high potential to produce results relevant to fundamental and applied research in human aging and reproductive health and animal breeding. The MSC fellowship will be pivotal for Applicants development toward independent research and offers the unique opportunity to work in one of the most prominent evolutionary ecology groups worldwide. The Biosciences Department at the University of Exeter is world-leading and provides excellent opportunities for the personal career development of the Applicant, who in turn brings novel skills to Exeter that will greatly benefit this group.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016

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Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 195 454,80
Address
THE QUEEN'S DRIVE NORTHCOTE HOUSE
EX4 4QJ Exeter
United Kingdom

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Region
South West (England) Devon Devon CC
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 195 454,80
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