Small eureka! moments add up to healthy children over time

“Almost every day something comes to light that’s really interesting.”
Not many people can make that claim, but Dr. Gerald Kidder is truly excited by the small, but important discoveries being made daily in his lab.

"Not many scientists make huge discoveries that go down in history," he says. "Every one of the projects in the lab reveals something that amazes me. There are little 'eureka!' moments, or 'oh, that's how it works' moments. Each pushes us a little farther ahead."

Dr. Kidder is Chair of the Developmental Biology Program at CHRI. This group of scientists studies developmental mechanisms to understand and better treat a variety of childhood diseases and disabilities, such as birth defects, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, mental retardation and growth deficiency. “The people working at places such as CHRI are studying basic mechanisms of disease that are the foundation of the breakthroughs you read about in the news.”

His own research examines the development of reproductive organs. Within that, Dr. Kidder is specifically looking at developmental defects that usually don’t show until adolescence. They could manifest as ovaries or testes not developed properly, resulting in hormonal problems at that time. Most of his studies use lab mice with mutations that affect reproductive organs at puberty. One project studies women in their reproductive years who have trouble conceiving or who are infertile.

“We are looking for a basic understanding of what can go wrong during the development of reproductive organs that shows up at adolescence,” says Dr. Kidder. “It is usually in utero as the fetus develops that the problem occurs, but you don’t see consequences until adolescence, unlike heart or other organ defects. The consequences can be subtle or obvious. They range from male infertility to failure of the follicles to develop in the ovaries to make enough estrogen to begin puberty.”

“The most useful outcome in the short term is this: If we know what causes something, we can screen for it and plan for it later. In terms of curing the problems, that’s more difficult. Knowing what caused it is essential, but is often a long way from fixing it.”

Dr. Kidder’s lab establishes basic discoveries that form the foundation to later identify mechanisms that lead to certain problems. He has worked in close association within the CHRI with Dr. Christopher Pin, Dr. Tom Kennedy, Dr. Siu-Pok Yee, and Dr. Andrew Watson. “Each has his own interest, a different stage or organ system, but we always share ideas and discoveries and technologies. It’s very exciting.”

This excitement in the discoveries captured Dr. Kidder’s imagination early. “I just thought developmental biology was really interesting. I studied with someone who was dynamic and had a lot of novel ideas. This professor at Yale opened up my thinking.” He hopes his own students will catch the passion. “I get the most satisfaction seeing my former students, such as Andrew Watson, become independent researchers, and watch them go well beyond where I took them.”

This collaborative process, the sharing of ideas and excitement, and the building of discoveries, one small insight at a time, is what fuels that passion for Dr. Kidder.

“When you hear about research in the public media, it’s usually some so-called major breakthrough. Science doesn’t’ always advance through major breakthroughs. A lot of real achievements are low key discoveries in labs that aren’t recognized at the time as being really important. Only over time does the true significance appear. So the public doesn’t appreciate what goes into it.”

Institutes such as CHRI provide a unique, but important, opportunity for basic scientists to work with clinicians. Together they use the discoveries to help people. “The researchers explain the discoveries to the clinicians who know what research is needed to improve health. It’s a two-way street – they inform each other.”