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
- Ferrasse, A, Mendez, R, Gorzynski, JE, Reuter, C, Carter, JN, Blas, M et al.. Ensilication preserves high-molecular weight native DNA for clinical long-read sequencing. Genome Biol. 2026;27 (1):. doi: 10.1186/s13059-026-04137-4. PubMed PMID:42298673 .
- Heavner, BD, Wheeler, MM, Bengtsson, JD, Carvalho, CM, Cheung, WA, Conomos, MP et al.. Building an Interoperable Rare Disease Multi-omic Resource: The GREGoR Data Model and Dataset. bioRxiv. 2026; :. doi: 10.64898/2026.05.15.725546. PubMed PMID:42239344 PubMed Central PMC13228420.
- Chen, A, Avadhani, U, Ngo, K, Corona, RI, Neto, GVC, Figueroa, KP et al.. Frequency of ZFHX3-Mediated Spinocerebellar Ataxia 4 in a US Undiagnosed Ataxia Cohort. Mov Disord. 2026; :. doi: 10.1002/mds.70387. PubMed PMID:42236257 .
- Montealegre Sanchez, GA, Yonts, AB, Mateja, A, Arrigoni, LE, Wolff, MT, Barrix, MC et al.. Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 outcomes study (PECOS): 12-month longitudinal analysis of post-COVID symptoms in infected versus uninfected participants. Pediatr Res. 2026; :. doi: 10.1038/s41390-026-05002-7. PubMed PMID:42070008 .
- Herbert, LJ, Thurm, A, Monaghan, M, Bost, JE, Wolff, MT, Kader, MC et al.. Mental and physical health differences between youth infected and uninfected by SARS-CoV-2: data from 2021 to 2023. J Pediatr Psychol. 2026; :. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsag024. PubMed PMID:41990330 .