Miguel Brieño-Enríquez, MD, PhD

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Miguel Brieño-Enríquez, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences

Contact

Magee-Womens Research Institute
204 Craft Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Administrative Contact
Marjorie Ann Seskey
Phone: 412-641-7531
Email: seskeyma@mwri.magee.edu

Areas of Research

Reproductive Development

Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility

Education

Doctor of Medicine, Medicine School, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosi San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Masters in Biomedical Sciences , Medicine School, Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi. San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Masters in Cell Biology, Medicine School, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.

Ph.D. Cell Biology, Medicine School, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.

Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid, Spain.

Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Centre for Reproductive Genomics. Cornell University. Ithaca, NY. USA.

Affiliations

Over half a girl’s eggs die before she is even born, and the number of healthy eggs continue to decrease throughout her life. My lab and I are researching how we can reduce ovarian aging, keep women’s eggs healthy throughout their lives, so they can continue having healthy babies and improve their healthspan and lifespan.
Miguel Brieño-Enríquez, MD, PhD

Research in Brief

We’re exploring how the health of a woman’s eggs changes over time. By studying how eggs form and how they’re impacted by age and environmental factors, we hope to develop new treatments that help women have healthy babies later in life.

Current Projects

PROTECTION OF OVARIAN RESERVE AND REPRODUCTIVE AGING IN MAMMALS (THE NAKED MOLE-RAT PROJECT)

During the last 5 years, Brieño-Enriquez Lab developed the naked mole-rat (NMR) as a model in ovarian development and reproductive aging. Brieño-Enriquez lab showed the presence of germ cells that mitotically divide postnatally at early postnatal ages as well as in reproductively active females (queens). We also showed meiotic initiation postnatally and the presence of germ cells at meiotic prophase in adults. Using in vitro approaches, our lab was able to expand naked mole-rat germ cells population and generate follicles. Our long-term goal is to test his overarching hypothesis that gene expression, epigenetic clock, and chromatin structure in the NMR can be hijacked for use in other species, allowing us to regulate the establishment and maintenance of the ovarian reserve, oocyte quality, and reproductive longevity.

Using Naked Mole-Rat Lymph Nodes as Bioreactor for Ovarian Rejuvenation

Up to know, there is not treatment for menopause, this new approach of using the lymph node as an in vivo bioreactor in which to regenerate functional ovaries may be beneficial to improve female overall health after menopause reducing the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, overall, extending the healthspan. In this project we will test the hypothesis that when transplanted directly into the lymph nodes of NMR, PGCs, theca and granulosa cells engraft and show ectopic ovary functions in vivo, providing a strong evidence-based proof of principle for the develop of novel therapies for ovarian rejuvenation beyond just reproduction.

TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC EFFECTS, PGCS AND NON-CODING RNAS:

In mammals, Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) give rise to the germ cell pool during fetal development. We investigate whether prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants/drugs, such as endocrine disruptors, alter PGC differentiation, alter development of the germline, and/or induce transgenerational epigenetic disorders.

Selected Publications

Andrew C. Pearson, Odei Barreñada, Miguel A. Brieño‑Enríquez*. Mechanisms and Evolutionary Advantages of Unlimited Reproductive Lifespans in Naked Mole Rat Queens. Annu Rev Genet. 2026 Jun 25. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genet-011626-014848.
Christiani A. Amorim, Susana M. Chuva de Sousa Lopes, Michael Klutstein, Miguel Angel Brieño-Enriquez, Richard A. Anderson, Francesca E. Duncan, Michel De Vos, Pauliina Damdimopoulou, Pierre Comizzoli, Suzannah A. Williams, Yvonne O’Meara, Hajra Khattak, Seppe Segers, Jennifer R. Gruhn, Ignasi Roig, Stine Gry Kristensen. Proceedings of the 1st European Ovary Workshop (EOW 2025) Lagos, Portugal — February 17-20, 2025. Mol Hum Reprod. 2026 Jul 7;32(3):gaag039. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaag039. PMID: 42363403
Odei Barreñada, Justin Bochter, Miguel Brieño‑Enríquez*, Jesús del Mazo*. Endocrine disruptors shape embryonic ovarian sncRNA expression inducing apoptosis and multigenerational outcomes. Sci Rep (2025) 15, 35887 DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-19787w. PMID: 41005310 * Co-Corresponding author.
César A. Pinzón-Osorio, Camila L. Moreira, Ines L. de Assis, Juliane B. Prosczek, Bianka M. Zanini, Jéssica D. Hense, Driele N. Garcia, Larissa S. Magalhães, Giulia C. Perreira, Pedro H. da Cruz, Rodrigo A. Vaucher, Tiago V. Collares, Bernardo G. Gasperin, Michael B. Stout, Miguel A. Brieño-Enríquez, Augusto Schneider. Impact of high-fat and choline-deficient western diets on ovarian aging in C57BL/6 and Swiss mice. Biol Reprod, ioag030, https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioag030. PMID: 41615011
Jéssica D Hense, José V V Isola, Driele N Garcia, Bianka M Zanini, Juliane B Prosczek , César Augusto P Osório, Camila Brito, Samin A Mondal, Heather C Rice, Rodrigo A Vaucher, Miguel A Brieño-Enriquez, Jeffrey B Mason, Michal M Masternak, Michael B Stout, Augusto Schneider. Reduced fertility induced by MASLD in female mice is improved by Senolytic treatment. Biol Reprod. 2026 Mar 21:ioag060.doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioag060.
Driele D Garcia, Bianka M Zanini, Ashiqueali SA, Miguel Brieño-Enriquez, Mason JB, Augusto Schneider, Michal M Masternak. Impact of miR-181a-5p and miR-1249-3p treatment on the visceral adipose tissue transcriptome of female mice. Geroscience. 2026 Apr 8. doi: 10.1007/s11357-026-02247-2. PMID: 41952006
María López-Panadés, Ana Martínez-Marchal, Esther Choi, Andrew. D. Levy, Tianjiao Chu, Yang Hu, Shruthi Shivkumar, Justin Bochter, Juan Pablo Morales, Patrick Walsh, Marta Martín-Ruiz, Gretchen Rosado, Jimmaline Hardy, Jiefei Wang, Cristina Madrid-Sandín, Andros Maldonado-Linares, Lidia Yang, Èlia Ramos-Ramells, Lisa M. Barton, Eric J. Duval, Edana Stroberg, Subha Ghosh, Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, Uma R. Chandran, Amanda Colvin Zielen, Kyle Orwig, Olivier Elemento, Carmen Márquez, Lluís Bassas, Guilherme Mattos Jardim Costa, Ignasi Roig, Miguel A. Brieño-Enríquez*. SARS-CoV-2 Drives Testicular Reprogramming with Lasting Spermatogonial Stem Cell Loss and Impaired Fertility Beyond Acute Infection". PMID: 42078867. PMCID: PMC13131872. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9371895/v1.