Single Cell Sperm Sequencing

Inventor: Jeffrey Rosenfeld

Awarded: June 2020

Summary:

Autism, schizophrenia and many other diseases occur at a higher rate in children of older men; and one major cause of this is an accumulation of mutations in the sperm of men as they age.  We are using novel sequencing technology to look at mutations in individual sperm to identify the specific mutations that would predispose a father to having children with any of these paternal age associated disorders.  This technology has the potential to be used as a screening tool by fertility clinics and sperm banks.

Market applications:

• Testing sperm for prospective older parents
• Testing sperm by sperm banks