Through its intramural and extramural organizational units, the
NICHD supports and conducts a broad range of research on
precocious and delayed puberty. Short descriptions of some of
this research are included below. Institute Activities and
Advances The Unit on Genetics of Puberty and Reproduction, in
the NICHD's Division of Intramural Research (DIR), conducts
research on the genetic basis of sexual maturation. In
particular, researchers are examining the ways in which
mutations in genes linked to pubertal development can lead to
disorders of puberty and reproduction. For example, in a
condition known as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the
gonads—testes in males or ovaries in the female—do not release
enough hormones and can fail to mature. The NICHD conducts
clinical research to understand this rare disorder and devise
better care for those it affects. Learn more about the Unit's
research. Research supported through the Fertility and
Infertility (FI) Branch was crucial for the discovery of the
GPR54 gene's r