Email: Stephanie.Bissiere@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research Interests

Understanding molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating women’s health, from development to aging

Keywords

Women’s health, fertility, reproduction, cognition, brain health

Description of Research

My research focuses on women’s health across ages, from the initial stages of embryo development to later changes compromising fertility and wellbeing, including perimenopause and menopause. Initially trained as a behavioral neuroscientist, my research has contributed to revealing new cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the development of the mammalian embryo prior to implantation into the uterus using advanced imaging techniques. We have recently started to implement this approach to aging processes affecting embryo quality, women’s fertility, and cognitive decline. Understanding a woman’s journey through her fertility years and beyond is complex and requires looking at multiple aspects of health, from mental to physical to environmental. We apply an interdisciplinary approach to tackle these open challenges.

References

Akizawa H, Domingo-Muelas A, Pardo-Figuerez M, Hernandez B, Ardestani G, Skory RM, Venturas M, Tetlak P, Bissiere S, Sakkas D, Simon C, Plachta N. Capturing aberrant cell behaviors producing defects in human embryos via live imaging. Sci Adv. 2025 Nov 21;11(47)

Hernandez B, Tetlak P, Domingo-Muelas A, Akizawa H, Skory RM, Ardestani G, Biro M, Liu X, Bissiere S, Sakkas D, Plachta N. Actin organizes chromosomes and microtubules to ensure mitotic fidelity in the preimplantation embryo. Science. 2025 May 22;388(6749)

Domingo-Muelas A, Skory RM, Moverley AA, Ardestani G, Pomp O, Rubio C, Tetlak P, Hernandez B, Rhon-Calderon EA, Navarro-Sánchez L, García-Pascual CM, Bissiere S, Bartolomei MS, Sakkas D, Simón C, Plachta N. Human embryo live imaging reveals nuclear DNA shedding during blastocyst expansion and biopsy. Cell. 2023 Jul 20;186(15):3166-3181

Skory RM, Moverley AA, Ardestani G, Alvarez Y, Domingo-Muelas A, Pomp O, Hernandez B, Tetlak P, Bissiere S, Stern CD, Sakkas D, Plachta N. The nuclear lamina couples mechanical forces to cell fate in the preimplantation embryo via actin organization. Nat Commun. 2023 May 29;14(1):3101

Bissiere S, Hernandez B, Rubio C, Simón C, Plachta N. Updates on preimplantation embryo research. Fertil Steril. 2023 Sep;120(3 Pt 1):467-472 Pomp O, Lim HYG, Skory RM, Moverley AA, Tetlak P, Bissiere S, Plachta N. A monoastral mitotic spindle determines lineage fate and position in the mouse embryo. Nat Cell Biol. 2022 Feb;24(2):155-167

Lim HYG, Alvarez YD, Gasnier M, Wang Y, Tetlak P, Bissiere S, Wang H, Biro M, Plachta N. Keratins are asymmetrically inherited fate determinants in the mammalian embryo. Nature. 2020 Sep;585(7825):404-409

White MD, Zenker J, Bissiere S, Plachta N. Instructions for Assembling the Early Mammalian Embryo. Dev Cell. 2018 Jun 18;45(6):667-679

Zenker J, White MD, Gasnier M, Alvarez YD, Lim HYG, Bissiere S, Biro M, Plachta N. Expanding Actin Rings Zipper the Mouse Embryo for Blastocyst Formation. Cell. 2018 Apr 19;173(3):776-791.e17

Bissiere S, Gasnier M, Alvarez YD, Plachta N. Cell Fate Decisions During Preimplantation Mammalian Development. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2018;128:37-58

Zenker J, White MD, Templin RM, Parton RG, Thorn-Seshold O, Bissiere S, Plachta N. A microtubule-organizing center directing intracellular transport in the early mouse embryo. Science. 2017 Sep 1;357(6354):925-928

Zhao ZW, White MD, Alvarez YD, Zenker J, Bissiere S, Plachta N. Quantifying transcription factor-DNA binding in single cells in vivo with photoactivatable fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Nat Protoc. 2017 Jul;12(7):1458-1471

White MD, Zenker J, Bissiere S, Plachta N. How cells change shape and position in the early mammalian embryo. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2017 Feb;44:7-13

Zhao ZW, White MD, Bissiere S, Levi V, Plachta N. Quantitative imaging of mammalian transcriptional dynamics: from single cells to whole embryos. BMC Biol. 2016 Dec 23;14(1):115

White MD, Bissiere S, Alvarez YD, Plachta N. Mouse Embryo Compaction. Curr Top Dev Biol. 2016;120:235-58

White MD, Angiolini JF, Alvarez YD, Kaur G, Zhao ZW, Mocskos E, Bruno L, Bissiere S, Levi V, Plachta N. Long-Lived Binding of Sox2 to DNA Predicts Cell Fate in the Four-Cell Mouse Embryo. Cell. 2016 Mar 24;165(1):75-87

Samarage CR, White MD, Álvarez YD, Fierro-González JC, Henon Y, Jesudason EC, Bissiere S, Fouras A, Plachta N. Cortical Tension Allocates the First Inner Cells of the Mammalian Embryo. Dev Cell. 2015 Aug 24;34(4):435-47

Zelikowsky M, Bissiere S, Hast TA, Bennett RZ, Abdipranoto A, Vissel B, Fanselow MS. Prefrontal microcircuit underlies contextual learning after hippocampal loss. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 11;110(24):9938-43

Zelikowsky M, Bissiere S, Fanselow MS. Contextual fear memories formed in the absence of the dorsal hippocampus decay across time. J Neurosci. 2012 Mar 7;32(10):3393-7

Bissiere S, Zelikowsky M, Ponnusamy R, Jacobs NS, Blair HT, Fanselow MS. Electrical synapses control hippocampal contributions to fear learning and memory. Science. 2011 Jan 7;331(6013):87-91

Bissière S, Plachta N, Hoyer D, McAllister KH, Olpe HR, Grace AA, Cryan JF. The rostral anterior cingulate cortex modulates the efficiency of amygdala- dependent fear learning. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 May 1;63(9):821-31

Plachta N, Annaheim C, Bissière S, Lin S, Rüegg M, Hoving S, Müller D, Poirier F, Bibel M, Barde YA. Identification of a lectin causing the degeneration of neuronal processes using engineered embryonic stem cells. Nat Neurosci. 2007 Jun;10(6):712-9

Bissiere S, McAllister KH, Olpe HR, Cryan JF. The rostral anterior cingulate cortex modulates depression but not anxiety-related behaviour in the rat. Behav Brain Res. 2006 Nov 25;175(1):195-9

Humeau Y, Herry C, Kemp N, Shaban H, Fourcaudot E, Bissière S, Lüthi A. Dendritic spine heterogeneity determines afferent-specific Hebbian plasticity in the amygdala. Neuron. 2005 Jan 6;45(1):119-31

Lorétan K, Bissière S, Lüthi A. Dopaminergic modulation of spontaneous inhibitory network activity in the lateral amygdala. Neuropharmacology. 2004 Oct;47(5):631-9

Humeau Y, Shaban H, Bissière S, Lüthi A. Presynaptic induction of heterosynaptic associative plasticity in the mammalian brain. Nature. 2003 Dec 18;426(6968):841-5

Bissière S, Humeau Y, Lüthi A. Dopamine gates LTP induction in lateral amygdala by suppressing feedforward inhibition. Nat Neurosci. 2003 Jun;6(6):587-92