Penis development and hypospadias

Hypospadias is a disorder of penis development that occurs in about 1% of male births and its incidence is increasing at an alarming rate. One potential cause is environmental endocrine disruptors, chemicals we are constantly exposed to in our everyday lives. They are found in everything from plastic packaging to fresh fruit and vegetables, cosmetics and furniture. It is virtually impossible to avoid exposure to endocrine disruptors.

We use mouse genital tissue explants combined with morphometric and genomic analyses, to study how the normal penis develops and how endocrine disruptors interfere with this process as a cause of hypospadias.

Thylacine convergent evolution

The thylacine was a large carnivorous marsupial that displayed many similarities with other large carnivorous canids, such as dogs and wolves, representing a remarkable case of convergent evolution in mammals.

The Pask lab seeks to determine the underlying genetic basis of their similarities, with an emphasis on non-coding genetic elements driving development of the skull.

See more of our research here