Drexel University College of Medicine

Dr. Karen Berkowitz's areas of clinical interest include infertility, in vitro fertilization, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). She is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society. Dr. Berkowitz's practice is located in Center City Philadelphia.

Dr. Berkowitz is board certified in both Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility.

Awards and Honors

• Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Society

Dr. Berkowitz's research interests include mammalian germ cell development. The germ cell complement and the processes of germ cell development determine reproductive potential.  Factors that reduce germ cell number or interfere with gametogenesis can limit or even preclude reproduction, leading to infertility.  She is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern mammalian gametogenesis and uses the mouse as the model experimental system. Her studies focus on meiosis, meiotic recombination, and chromosome segregation, processes that are crucial to germ cell development and genome integrity.

About Dr. Berkowitz's Infertility Research

Infertility is a major medical concern that affects about 1 of every 10 individuals of childbearing age worldwide.  Although a significant proportion of infertility is accounted for by identifiable causes, the molecular basis of these defects is often not known or well characterized.  Low sperm count in infertile men and ovulatory dysfunction and diminished ovarian function in infertile women are examples.  It is becoming increasingly clear that many more disorders in medicine, including infertility, have a genetic basis than was previously realized.  It is the goal of Dr. Berkowitz's research to advance the field so that a better understanding of the underlying defects of infertility disorders will lead to improved treatments.

CTF18 encodes an evolutionarily conserved protein that is crucial for germline development in the fruitfly, and essential for the faithful transmission of chromosomes in yeast.  Dr. Berkowitz generated a mouse model that lacks Chtf18, the orthologue of the Drosophila melanogaster gene, cutlet. She demonstrated that gametogenesis and fertility are severely impaired in both Chtf18-/- male and female mice. She also showed that loss of Chtf18 results in premature separation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Consistent with these data is that while Chtf18-/- mice are to a large extent viable, loss of Chtf18 results in significant embryonic lethality. Defects in these processes are known to contribute greatly to causes of aneuploidy in offspring, and aneuploidy is one of the most frequent types of genetic defects that occur during reproduction. Dr. Berkowitz's studies are designed to determine the roles CTF18/Chtf18 play in mammalian germ cell development and meiosis. She is examining the molecular mechanisms that control Chtf18 function in vivo, as well as the roles Chtf18 play in genome integrity of germ cells and somatic cells.

Better understanding of the roles of Chtf18 in mammals will broaden the knowledge of the underlying molecular aspects of gametogenesis and chromosomal segregation in mammals, and will provide insight into human infertility and reproductive disorders.

"Disruption of Chtf18 Causes Defective Meiotic Recombination in Male Mice"
Berkowitz KM, Sowash AR, Koenig LR, Urcuyo D, Khan F, Yang F, Wang PJ, Jongens TA, and Kaestner KH
PLoS Genetics. 8 (11), November 2012

"Germline Expression of Mammalian CTF18, an Evolutionarily Conserved Protein Required for Germ Cell Proliferation in the Fly and Sister Chromatid Cohesion in Yeast"
Berkowitz KM, Kaestner KH, Jongens TA
Molecular Human Reproduction, 14(3): 143-150 (Cover), 2008
 

Dr. Berkowitz is an assistant professor in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Drexel University College of Medicine.

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

• Endocrinology
• In vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Infertility
• PCOS
• Polycystic ovary syndrome

• Obstetrics and Gynecology - Yale New Haven Hospital (1993-1997)

• Obstetrics and Gynecology - Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (2000-2005)
• Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility - University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1997-2000)

“Impaired Folliculogenesis and Meiotic Defects in Chtf18-null Female Mice”
Singh T and Berkowitz KM
Women’s Health Congress, Washington, D.C., 2012

"Disruption of Chtf18 Causes Impaired Fertility and Defects in Male Meiosis"
Berkowitz KM, Yang F, Wang PJ, Koenig Urcuyo D, Khan F, Sowash AR, Jongens TA, and Kaestner KH
Oral presentation: 2012 Society for Gynecologic Investigation 59th Annual Meeting (National), March 2012

"Disruption of Chtf18 Results in Defects in Male Meiosis and Embryonic Lethality”
Sowash A and Berkowitz KM
Drexel University College of Medicine Sex and Gender Research Forum, 2011

"CTF18 plays critical roles in female gametogenesis and ovarian folliculogenesis in mammals"
Asemota O, Singh T, Lewis JE, Patel P, Berger E, Berkowitz KM
Oral presentation: 66th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Denver, CO, October 23-27, 2010

"Premature Separation of Homologous Chromosomes and Embryonic Death in Chtf18-null Mice"
Berkowitz KM, Wang PJ, Yang F, Koenig LR, Jongens TA, Kaestner KH 
2010 Gordon Research Conference: Meiosis, New London, NH, June 13-18, 2010

"Deletion of Chtf18 Causes Impaired Germ Cell Development and Decreased Ovarian Folliculogenesis in Female Mice"
Singh T, Asemota O, Lewis JE, Patel PR, Parker AJ, Berger E, Berkowitz KM 
57th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Investigation, Orlando, FL, March 24-27, 2010

"CTF18 Plays Important Roles in Mammalian Germ Cell Development and Embryonic Viability"
Berkowitz KM, Hashmi MA, Yang F, Wang PJ, Jongens TA, Kaestner KH 
Oral presentation: The 56th Annual Meeting of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, Glasgow, UK, March 17-21, 2009