Benson T. AKINGBEMI had his initial education in Nigeria where he received the D.V.M. (1980), M.Sc. (1988) and Ph.D. (1997) degrees from the University of Ibadan. With a Research Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Akingbemi came to theUnited States in 1997 for postdoctoral training. Between 1997 and 2004, he worked on environmental toxicology and Leydig cells with Dr. Matthew Hardy, Center for Biomedical Research of the Population Council, Rockefeller University, New York.
The male sex steroid hormone, testosterone, which maintains the male phenotype, is produced primarily by Leydig cells in the testis. Data from transgenic mice lacking one or both ER subtypes support the hypothesis that estrogen has a regulatory role in male reproduction. Moreover, there is growing public concern that chemicals in the environment (food, air, water), which have estrogenic properties, may have adverse effects on reproductive health. These compounds alter the endocrine profile by acting through steroid hormone receptors and are designated endocrine disruptors.
