Shawn L. Chavez

Shawn L. Chavez serves as Associate Professor and Interim Chief of the Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences at Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC), with joint appointments in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Molecular and Medical Genetics, and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) since 2013.

Education:

• B.S. in Biological Sciences with Honors (Distinction in Major Award), University of California, Santa Barbara (1997), as Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow
• M.S. in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University (2003)
• Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University (2006), recipient of John Spangler Nicholas Dissertation Award
• Postdoctoral Training: NIH/NICHD Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Fellow at UCSF and Stanford University (2007-2010)

Her research focuses on genetic, epigenetic, and chromosomal mechanisms in early embryogenesis using real-time imaging and low-input sequencing in non-human primates. Key investigations include aneuploidy origins, chromosomal instability resolution, placental development links to pregnancy complications, and primate-specific endogenous retrovirus roles in trophoblast differentiation. Her work bridges basic science with clinical applications to improve IVF outcomes.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals dominant themes in primate embryology, chromosomal instability, dietary impacts on reproduction, and placental development. Methodologies prominently feature single-cell sequencing, live-cell imaging, and metabolomics across mammalian models.

Scientific Recognition:

• Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation for Reproductive Medicine Young Investigators Achievement Award (2014)
• Abby and Howard Milstein Innovation Award in Reproductive Medicine (2015, 2016)
• John Spangler Nicholas Dissertation Award (2006)
• Appeared on PBS NOVA episode 'Fighting for Fertility' (2021)

Dr. Chavez's research program receives continuous funding from NIH/NICHD, Medical Research Foundation of Oregon, Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation, and Collins Medical Trust. She actively mentors through her laboratory at ONPRC and serves on editorial boards for Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, and Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. Her leadership extends to the OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute Epigenetics Consortium and ONPRC Integrated Informatics Task Force.