Research
Genetics of sex determination and development of the human reproductive system
Appointments
- Chair, Medical Genetics Clinic
- Director, Center for Gender-Based Biology
- Professor, Pediatrics
- Urology
- Human Genetics
- Member, Brain Research Institute
- CTSI
- Cell & Developmental Biology GPB Home Area
- Genetics & Genomics GPB Home Area
- Neuroscience GPB Home Area
Biography
The research goals of the Vilain laboratory are to understand which molecules are responsible for the differences between male and female brains. The classical view is that testosterone and other similar steroids secreted by the gonads are the only factors involved in the masculinization of the brain.
Vilain and colleagues are exploring an alternative possibility. Sex differences in behavior may be caused in part by genetic factors influencing the development of the brains. They are searching for the genes responsible for brain sexual differences by determining which genes are differentially expressed between male and female brain, and where in the brain these genes are expressed. They are creating mouse models in which female mice express male genes only in their brains, in order to elucidate the role of these genes in sexual behavior.
Publications
- King, CH, Barrick, R, Almalvez, M, Blanco, K, De Dios, I, Fusaro, VA et al.. Kauro, a graph-based chatbot for high-fidelity information transmission conversations. medRxiv. 2026; :. doi: 10.64898/2026.01.30.25342358. PubMed PMID:41674589 PubMed Central PMC12889763.
- Keehan, LA, Ono-Minagi, H, Hadhud, M, Rips, J, Hinds, DM, Fischer, AJ et al.. Biallelic LAMP3 Variants in Five Families with Interstitial Lung Disease: Evidence of a Disease-Gene Association. Genet Med. 2026; :102531. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2026.102531. PubMed PMID:41653023 .
- Bereshneh, AH, Wilson, KA, Pan, X, Hannan, SB, Cooper, MA, Diaz, J et al.. Rare heterozygous de novo variants in RAPGEF2 are associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder. Genet Med. 2026; :101685. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2026.101685. PubMed PMID:41556274 .
- Berger, SI, Pitsava, G, Xiao, C, Délot, EC, Vilain, E. Response to Spurdle et al. Genet Med. 2026;28 (1):101637. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2025.101637. PubMed PMID:41511481 .
- Pape, M, Posbergh, A, Bekker, S, Donnelly, M, Hu, K, Olewinski, L et al.. Integrity is needed in the regulation of transgender athletes and athletes with sex variations. Br J Sports Med. 2026;60 (1):4-5. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2025-110042. PubMed PMID:41412739 .