Shawn L. Chavez is a Professor and the Chief of the Division of Reproductive & Developmental Sciences (DRDS) at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). She also has affiliate appointments in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Molecular and Medical Genetics, and Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where she has been a faculty member since September of 2013. She obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Yale University, receiving the John Spangler Nicholas Dissertation Award upon graduation, and her B.S. in Biological Sciences with Honors and the Distinction in Major Award from the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Fellow. Shawn completed her Postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University, where she was a NIH/NICHD Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellow.

Dr. Chavez’s research interests focus on the use of real-time imaging and low-input next-generation sequencing to investigate the genetic, epigenetic, and chromosomal requirements of early embryogenesis and placentation in non-human primates and other mammals. In particular her laboratory aims to determine how whole chromosomal abnormalities (aneuploidy) and sub-chromosomal instability may arise or be resolved during preimplantation development. She is also actively examining the molecular and cellular connections between the formation of the placental-derived trophectoderm layer in embryos and subsequent placentation in normal versus complicated pregnancies. Current projects include determining the causative mechanism(s) of embryonic aneuploidy via gene knockdown and overexpression strategies, using novel fluorescent reporters to examine the dynamics of intracellular structures during mitotic divisions by live-cell imaging, and assessing the precise role of primate-specific endogenous retroviruses in trophoblast differentiation from pre- to post-implantation development. Collectively, the goals of this research are to enhance our understanding of normal gametogenesis, embryogenesis, and placentation across different mammalian species, whilst improving in vitro fertilization outcomes for infertile couples by preventing embryo or fetal loss during pregnancy.

Shawn has over 45 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals and her work has been honored, recognized, and supported through a series of distinguished awards and achievements, including the Abby and Howard Milstein Innovation Award in Reproductive Medicine and the Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation for Reproductive Medicine Young Investigators Achievement Award. Shawn's research has been both federally and non-federally funded by grants from the NIH/NICHD, Medical Research Foundation of Oregon, Howard and Georgeanna Jones Foundation, and Collins Medical Trust.