Grants per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
The laboratory research of Serdar E. Bulun, MD, focuses on studying estrogen biosynthesis and metabolism, in particular aromatase expression, in hormone-dependent human diseases such as breast cancer, endometriosis and uterine fibroids. A team of investigators works on understanding the epitheial-stromal interactions and aromotase overexpression in breast cancer tissue. Since aromatase inhibitors treat breast tumors primarily via suppressing intratumoral estrogen biosynthesis, these efforts are important for discovering new targets of treatment. Another team studies endometriosis. Basic data from this laboratory led to the introduction of aromatase inhibitors into endometriosis treatment. Human tissues and a primate model are used to elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of endometriosis. Regulation of aromatase expression is also studied in uterine fibroids, benign tumors that are dependent on estrogen for growth, by a third team. A fourth team is investigating the link between progesterone action and estrogen inactivation in normal endometrium and endometriosis. Lastly, a fifth team has identified novel mutations that cause familial excessive estrogen formation syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by short stature, gynecomastia, and hypogandism in males and early breast development and irregular menses in females. In this syndrome, heterozygous inversions in chromosome 15q21, which cause the coding region of the aromatase gene to lie adjacent to constitutively active cryptic promoters that normally transcribe other genes, result in estrogen excess owing to the overexpression of aromatase in many tissues.
Certifications and Licenses
Obstetrics & Gynecology | |
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility |
Training Experience
1987 | Residency, University of Arizona College of Medicine |
1988 | Internship, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons |
1991 | Residency, SUNY/State University of New York, Buffalo |
1993 | Fellowship, Parkland Memorial Hospital |
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
MD, Medicine, Istanbul University
… → 1983
Research interests keywords
- Breast Disease
- Cancer Biology
- Endocrinology
- Infertility (female)
- Sexual dysfunction
- Women's Health / Women's Reproductive Health
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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The STAT3 Pathway in Uterine Leiomyoma: A Therapeutic Target
Bulun, S. E. (PD/PI) & Yin, P. (PD/PI)
1/1/25 → 12/31/29
Project: Research project
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Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis and Progesterone Receptor
Bulun, S. E. (PD/PI), Zhao, H. (PD/PI) & Escobar, D. J. (Co-Investigator)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
5/1/24 → 4/30/28
Project: Research project
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Roles of GATA Transcription Factors in Endometriosis
Chakravarti, D. (PD/PI), Adli, M. (Co-Investigator), Bulun, S. E. (Co-Investigator), Milad, M. P. (Co-Investigator), Parker, B. L. (Co-Investigator) & Wei, J.-J. (Co-Investigator)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
2/5/24 → 11/30/28
Project: Research project
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Estrogen, Astrocyte Reactivity, and Sex Differences in Alzheimer's Disease
Bulun, S. E. (PD/PI), Dong, H. (PD/PI), Zhao, H. (PD/PI) & Mesulam, M.-M. (Co-Investigator)
4/1/23 → 3/31/26
Project: Research project
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Environmental Pollutants and AHR pathway in Uterine Leiomyoma
Bulun, S. E. (PD/PI), Bulun, S. E. (PD/PI), Yin, P. (PD/PI), Yin, P. (PD/PI), Adli, M. (Co-Investigator) & Adli, M. (Co-Investigator)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
12/13/22 → 10/31/27
Project: Research project
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Estrogen receptor-α ablation reverses muscle fibrosis and inguinal hernias
Potluri, T., You, T., Yin, P., Coon, J. V., Stulberg, J. J., Dai, Y., Escobar, D. J., Lieber, R. L., Zhao, H. & Bulun, S. E., Mar 17 2025, In: Journal of Clinical Investigation. 135, 6, e179137.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Genomic characterization and histologic analysis of uterine leiomyosarcoma arising from leiomyoma with bizarre nuclei
Felicelli, C., Lu, X., Coty-Fattal, Z., Feng, Y., Yin, P., Schipma, M. J., Kim, J. J., Jennings, L. J., Bulun, S. E. & Wei, J. J., Feb 2025, In: Journal of Pathology. 265, 2, p. 211-225 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Scopus citations -
Stearoyl–coenzyme A desaturase enhances cell survival in human uterine leiomyoma
Komorowski, A. S., Coon V, J. S., Anton, M., Zuberi, A., Sotos, O., Bulun, S. E. & Yin, P., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: F and S Science.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
The First Lugano Workshop on the role of adenomyosis in ART
Cozzolino, M., Bulun, S., De Ziegler, D., Exacoustos, C., Fatemi, H., Garcia-Velasco, J. A., Horne, A., Petraglia, F., Santulli, P., Somigliana, E., Soorin, K., Van den Bosch, T., Viganò, P. & Humaidan, P., Jan 2025, In: Reproductive biomedicine online. 50, 1, 104444.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
2 Scopus citations -
Therapeutic targeting of the tryptophan-kynurenine-aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway with apigenin in MED12-mutant leiomyoma cells
Iizuka, T., Zuberi, A., Wei, H., Coon V, J. S., Anton, M. L., Buyukcelebi, K., Adli, M., Bulun, S. E. & Yin, P., Apr 2025, In: Cancer Gene Therapy. 32, 4, p. 393-402 10 p., 4057.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Datasets
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Chromatin immunoprecipitation profiling of human breast cancer cell lines and tissues to identify novel estrogen receptor-{alpha} binding sites and estradiol target genes
Lin, Z. (Contributor), Reierstad, S. (Contributor), Huang, C.-C. (Contributor) & Bulun, S. E. (Contributor), ArrayExpress, 2008
https://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/experiments/E-GEOD-11506
Dataset
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Brain aromatase and the regulation of sexual activity in male mice
Brooks, D. C. (Contributor), Coon, J. S. V. (Contributor), Ercan, C. M. (Contributor), Xu, X. (Contributor), Dong, H. (Contributor), Levine, J. E. (Contributor), Bulun, S. E. (Contributor) & Zhao, H. (Contributor), ZENODO, Sep 18 2020
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh72t, https://zenodo.org/records/4069415
Dataset
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Additional file 3: of MeDEStrand: an improved method to infer genome-wide absolute methylation levels from DNA enrichment data
Xu, J. (Contributor), Liu, S. (Contributor), Yin, P. (Creator), Bulun, S. (Creator) & Dai, Y. (Creator), figshare, 2018
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.7502762, https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/Additional_file_3_of_MeDEStrand_an_improved_method_to_infer_genome-wide_absolute_methylation_levels_from_DNA_enrichment_data/7502762
Dataset
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Brain aromatase and the regulation of sexual activity in male mice
Brooks, D. C. (Creator), Coon, J. S. V. (Contributor), Ercan, C. M. (Creator), Xu, X. (Creator), Dong, H. (Creator), Levine, J. E. (Creator), Bulun, S. E. (Creator) & Zhao, H. (Creator), Dryad, Sep 18 2020
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh72t, https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh72t
Dataset
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Additional file 4: of MeDEStrand: an improved method to infer genome-wide absolute methylation levels from DNA enrichment data
Xu, J. (Contributor), Liu, S. (Contributor), Yin, P. (Creator), Bulun, S. (Creator) & Dai, Y. (Creator), figshare, 2018
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.7502771, https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/Additional_file_4_of_MeDEStrand_an_improved_method_to_infer_genome-wide_absolute_methylation_levels_from_DNA_enrichment_data/7502771
Dataset