Amander Clark, PI

About

Amander Clark PhD is peak on the use of stem cells to understand fertility and infertility. Professor Clark’s work has been recognized by Awards from the International Society for Stem Cell Research, STOP Cancer, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the Concern Foundation. More recently, she was awarded the prestigious Founders Medal from the Australian and New Zealand Society for Reproductive Biology, and was selected to serve on the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine Board of Health Sciences Policy. Professor Clark was recruited to UCLA in 2006, awarded tenure in 2012 and advanced to Full Professor in 2015. From 2017, Professor Clark served as Department Chair of the UCLA Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology and is currently the inaugural Director of the UCLA Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education. As of July 2023, Professor Clark advances to President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, a global non-profit that promotes excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health.

Background

Dr. Clark’s work in stem cell biology began in 2002 as a Postdoctoral fellow in laboratory of Dr. Renee Reijo Pera at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). There, she studied not only the basic biology of human embryonic stem cells but also the molecular mechanisms of human germ cell formation. During that time only a small number of laboratories worldwide were performing research with human embryonic stem cells due to the technical challenges with expanding and differentiating these cells, and the uncertain national and international policy climate for research in this area. Despite these challenges, Dr. Clark and Dr Reijo-Pera were the first to report that human germline cells could be differentiated from human embryonic stem cells. This landmark paper has been cited more than 650 times and was used as the basis for Dr. Clark’s research program at UCLA.

UCLA

Dr. Clark joined the UCLA faculty in 2006 as an Assistant Professor, was awarded tenure in 2012, Associate Professor and Vice Chair in 2013, Professor and Vice Chair in 2015 and Department Chair of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology from 2017-2022. She is currently the inaugural Director of the Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education. Results from the Clark Lab provide the basis for translational projects related to identifying new genes involved in human fertility, developing the technology of in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) for research purposes and creating new stem cell-based models for contraceptive discovery. Dr Clark has authored more than 100 articles in her career, and her work has earned more than 17,000 citations.

Amander Clark

(photo Credit Don Liebig)

email

clarka@ucla.edu

Mailing Address

Box 957246, Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, UCLA

Los Angeles, CA 90095

Office

Room No 490 B, 615 Charles E Young Drive South, Biomedical Sciences Research Building (BSRB)