Reproductive Physiology Lab
Our research focusses on understanding the molecular mechanisms governing:
- G protein-coupled receptor functions in reproductive health and disease.
- Ovarian ageing, infertility and menopause.
We utilise multiple methodologies to do this including single-molecule imaging via PD-PALM, primary cell and cell line cultures, in vivo models and biochemical/molecular biological techniques.
Imaged by Ruijuan Xu
Imaged by Milan Singh
Group Lead
Dr Kim Jonas
Reader in Reproductive Physiology at King’s College London
I’m a reader with expertise in Physiology and Molecular and Cellular Biology.
My research specializes in understanding how one of the largest family of receptors, G protein-coupled receptors, work to mediate their cellular and physiological functions. These receptors are currently targeted by approximately 40% of prescription drugs, so understanding how GPCRs mediate their functions is paramount to intelligent drug design. This work has led to an F1000 listed publication, ‘Paper of the week’ in The Journal of Biological Chemistry and numerous conference prizes.
I lecture on BSc, MBBS and MRes courses, and am involved in all aspects of teaching, learning and assessment on these courses.
I have worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry, gaining experience in R and D at Pfizer.
Our Team
Thomas Hopkins
Postdoc
Experienced researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the industry. Skilled in Research, Communication and Public Speaking. Strong education professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Bioengineering and Reproductive Biology from Imperial College London.
Haoyang Ying
Postdoc
Having done an undergraduate degree in biomedical science at Imperial College London and obtaining a PhD in intracellular trafficking of surfactant protein C at University of Cambridge, Haoyang is currently investigating FSHR intracellular trafficking and its interactome in Dr Kim Jonas’ lab, the Department of Women & Children’s Health.
Rui Wang
Research Assistant
Rui Wang is a Research Assistant in Reproductive Cell Biology at King’s College London, working with Dr Kim Jonas. Her research focuses on ovarian function, hormonal signalling, and gonadotropin responses in mammalian models.
She recently completed her PhD at King’s, where she investigated the role of ZIP9 as a zinc transporter and membrane androgen receptor in female reproduction, integrating zebrafish genetics, cell biology, and advanced imaging techniques.
Ruijuan Xu
PhD student
Currently a PhD student at King’s College London, Ruijuan focuses on several key research areas in her project. These include the characterization of AI-generated small molecule compouns as novel FSHR inhibitors, the molecular characterization and analysis of how FSH glycosylation variants modulate cAMP production, FSHR oligomerisation, and FSHR trafficking. Before joining King’s College London, Ruijuan earned her degrees in Clinical Medicine in China and worked as an OB/GYN.
Milan Singh
PhD student
Milan is a second year PhD student studying ovarian ageing. She is interested in investigating the stiffness and material properties of the organ across a wide range of ages using biophysics, proteomics and biochemistry. Previously, she completed her undergraduate in Chemistry with Biomedicine and her Master’s year in single-molecule Biophysics.
Zainab Bulama
PhD student
Zainab Bulama is a PhD student and her research is looking at identifying patient-centered approaches to personalized IVF treatment protocols.
She completed her MPharm degree from Medway School of Pharmacy, University of Kent.
She has previously worked in the community pharmacy sector and the regulatory sector for medicines manufacture before joining King’s College London.
Jenna Sajous
PhD Student
Jenna is a PhD student investigating voltage-gated potassium channels in the smooth muscle cells of the uterus as a potential target for preventing preterm birth. Her background is as a midwife, and she completed her master’s at Imperial in 2019. Her project supervisors are Dr Kim Jonas and Professor Rachel Tribe.
We wish her best luck on her thesis as we all love her ❤️❤️❤️
Jasmine Godden Melendez
PhD Student
Jasmine is a first year PhD student who undertook her Biomedical Science degree at St George’s University of London. During her time there she took a year-long placement at the Francis Crick Institute partnered with Cancer Research Horizons, where she optimised a new imaging flow cytometry approach to characterise cancer cell senescence.
Now she is working on characterising FSH receptor trafficking and downstream signalling using a multi-omics approach!
xxx
Lorna Brown
Master student
Lorna is a master’s student in Women and Children’s Health at King’s College London currently undertaking a project studying different metabolic profiles in PCOS and gestational diabetes. Previously she completed her undergraduate degree in Reproductive Biology at the University of Edinburgh.
Events
March 12-15, 2024
Tours, France
ICGR 2024
5th International Conference on Gonadotropins and Receptors (ICGR-V).
Kim delivered an excellent lecture on FSHR oligomerization, Ruijuan and Tom presented their work with an impressive poster.
January 10-13, 2024
Edinburgh, the UK
Fertility 2024
The 17th annual Fertility Conference
Hosted by the Association of Reproductive & Clinical Scientists, the British Fertility Society and the Society for Reproduction and Fertility.
Our group member, Tom and Sal presented their works with the fantastic poster; Ruijuan gave a brilliant falsh talk and Rui got a highly commended prize for her SRF PhD presentation!
November 13-15, 2023
Glasgow, the UK
SfE BES 2023
The annual conference of the Society for Endocrinology, bringing together the best of basic science, translational research, clinical investigation and clinical practice over a three day programme.
Sumetha showcased our work with a fantastic poster and an engaging flash talk, while Ruijuan delivered an excellent oral presentation of her research.
Publications
Follicle stimulating hormone glycosylation variants distinctly modulate pre-antral follicle growth and survival
Johnson, G. P., Onabanjo, C. G. A., Hardy, K., Butnev, V. Y., Bousfield, G. R. & Jonas, K. C., 23 Oct 2022, In: Endocrinology.163, 12
Differential FSH glycosylation modulates FSHR oligomerization and subsequent cAMP signaling
Agwuegbo, U., Colley, E., Albert, A., Butnev, V., Bousfield, G. & Jonas, K., 3 Dec 2021, In: Frontiers in Endocrinology . 12, 765727.
Visualizing G protein-coupled receptor homomers using photoactivatable dye localization microscopy
Agwuegbo, U. & Jonas, K. C., Jan 2022, In: Methods in Cell Biology. p. 27-41 15 p.
The luteinizing hormone receptor knock-out mouse as a tool to probe the in vivo actions of gonadotropic hormones/receptors in females
Jonas, K. C., Müller, A. R., Oduwole, O., Peltoketo, H. & Huhtaniemi, I., 1 May 2021, In: Endocrinology. 162, 5, p. 1-13 13 p.
New insights into the functional impact of G protein–coupled receptor oligomerization
Johnson, G. P., Agwuegbo, U. & Jonas, K. C., Feb 2021, In: Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research. 16, p. 43-50 8 p.
Mechanistic insight into how gonadotropin hormone receptor complexes direct signaling
Johnson, G. P. & Jonas, K. C., 28 Dec 2019, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Biology of Reproduction.
Alumni
Dr. Gillian Johnson
Dr. Uche Agwuegbo
Sumetha Sureshkumar
Hanh Tran
Diana Niculae
Raadiah Hossain
Nel Majewska
Dr. Sally King
Contact us
Location
Hodgkin Building
Guy’s Campus
Great Maze Pond, London SE1 1UL
The Jonas Lab 