Winifred Mak, MBBS, PhD
Assistant Professor AdjunctCards
Additional Titles
Director, Early Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Program
Contact Info
About
Titles
Assistant Professor Adjunct
Director, Early Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Program
Biography
Yale’s Early Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) Program provides cutting-edge fertility treatments to help couples overcome pregnancy loss. As the program’s director, Dr. Winifred Mak believes in the importance of consistently incorporating new research and therapies into treatment methods. “Our goal is your goal: to achieve a healthy pregnancy,” she says.
With four offices in Connecticut—Guilford, New Haven, Westport and Stamford—the program offers, “a personalized and evidence-based approach to treatment,” according to Dr. Mak. In addition to caring for patients, Dr. Mak is also an assistant professor in the Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Department at Yale School of Medicine. She treats the full range of reproductive endocrinology diseases including infertility, RPL and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal endocrine disorder in women.
Dr. Mak received her MBBS and a PhD in Genetics from the University of London. She completed two Ob/Gyn residencies, the first at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, and the second at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. While finishing her fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Pennsylvania, she was recruited by Yale University as a Women’s Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) scholar. The national WRHR program, funded by the National Institute of Health, is a physician-scientist training program for obstetricians and gynecologists.
Dr. Mak also conducts research at the Yale Stem Cell Center, where the “Mak Lab” is set up for her ongoing use. Her interests include understanding oocyte and early embryo biology which will help patients faced with infertility issues and recurrent pregnancy loss. Through continuous research she is able to explore promising new developments and pass her knowledge along to her patients.
Dr. Mak is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Reproductive Investigation. Dr. Mak has been honored with an ASRM research award and the Albert S. McKern Research Scholarship. This scholarship is offered by the University of Sydney in Australia to postgraduates conducting research into the cause, prevention and treatment of mental and physical pain and distress during all stages of a woman’s pregnancy.
Departments & Organizations
- Discovery to Cure Internship
- Yale Stem Cell Center
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- Fellowship
- University of Pennsylvania (2011)
- Residency
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles (2008)
- PhD
- University of London (2004)
- Residency
- St. Mary's Hospital (2000)
- Residency
- Addenbrooke's Hospital (1999)
- MBBS
- University of London (1997)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
ORCID
0000-0003-4885-4446
Research at a Glance
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Publications
2014
In Vitro Culture Increases the Frequency of Stochastic Epigenetic Errors at Imprinted Genes in Placental Tissues from Mouse Concepti Produced Through Assisted Reproductive Technologies1
de Waal E, Mak W, Calhoun S, Stein P, Ord T, Krapp C, Coutifaris C, Schultz RM, Bartolomei MS. In Vitro Culture Increases the Frequency of Stochastic Epigenetic Errors at Imprinted Genes in Placental Tissues from Mouse Concepti Produced Through Assisted Reproductive Technologies1. Biology Of Reproduction 2014, 90: 22, 1-12. PMID: 24337315, PMCID: PMC4076403, DOI: 10.1095/biolreprod.113.114785.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsEpigenetic errorsEpigenetic defectsART-conceived offspringImprinted genesMammalian embryosDNA methylationEpigenetic profilesPreimplantation developmentEpigenetic abnormalitiesAssisted Reproductive TechnologyMammalian speciesMouse conceptiMouse embryosExpression profilesEmbryonic tissuesAbnormal methylationGenesEmbryosPlacental tissueIVF embryosVitro CultureMethylationHigh oxygen tensionLow birth weightMillions of couples
2013
Loss of DNMT1o Disrupts Imprinted X Chromosome Inactivation and Accentuates Placental Defects in Females
McGraw S, Oakes CC, Martel J, Cirio MC, de Zeeuw P, Mak W, Plass C, Bartolomei MS, Chaillet JR, Trasler JM. Loss of DNMT1o Disrupts Imprinted X Chromosome Inactivation and Accentuates Placental Defects in Females. PLOS Genetics 2013, 9: e1003873. PMID: 24278026, PMCID: PMC3836718, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003873.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImprinted X-chromosome inactivationX-chromosome inactivationChromosome inactivationImprinted X inactivationDNA methylation eventsX-inactivation centerDNA methylation patternsKey regulatory regionsGenomic imprintsMethylation maintenanceGenomic imprintingImprinted lociFemale blastocystsMethylation eventsExtraembryonic tissuesBiallelic expressionMethylation patternsRegulatory regionsPreimplantation developmentAffected lociX chromosomeX inactivationMouse embryosDNA hypomethylationPreimplantation embryos
2011
National study of factors influencing assisted reproductive technology outcomes with male factor infertility
Nangia AK, Luke B, Smith JF, Mak W, Stern JE, Group T. National study of factors influencing assisted reproductive technology outcomes with male factor infertility. Fertility And Sterility 2011, 96: 609-614. PMID: 21733503, DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.06.026.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsClinical intrauterine gestationMale factor infertilityFactor infertilityICSI cyclesTubal ligationAssisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System databaseLB rateMale factor infertility casesHistoric cohort studyReproductive technology cyclesClinic-based dataReproductive technology outcomesMultivariate logistic regressionReporting System databaseCohort studyIntrauterine gestationICSI outcomesInfertility casesWorse outcomesOdds ratioMAIN OUTCOMESperm injectionInfertilityLogistic regressionSperm collectionDisruption of a conserved region of Xist exon 1 impairs Xist RNA localisation and X-linked gene silencing during random and imprinted X chromosome inactivation.
Senner CE, Nesterova TB, Norton S, Dewchand H, Godwin J, Mak W, Brockdorff N. Disruption of a conserved region of Xist exon 1 impairs Xist RNA localisation and X-linked gene silencing during random and imprinted X chromosome inactivation. Development (Cambridge, England) 2011, 138: 1541-50. PMID: 21389056, PMCID: PMC3062423, DOI: 10.1242/dev.056812.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2009
Polycystic ovarian syndrome and the risk of cardiovascular disease and thrombosis.
Mak W, Dokras A. Polycystic ovarian syndrome and the risk of cardiovascular disease and thrombosis. Seminars In Thrombosis And Hemostasis 2009, 35: 613-20. PMID: 20013528, DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1242715.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2004
Reactivation of the paternal X chromosome in early mouse embryos.
Mak W, Nesterova TB, de Napoles M, Appanah R, Yamanaka S, Otte AP, Brockdorff N. Reactivation of the paternal X chromosome in early mouse embryos. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2004, 303: 666-9. PMID: 14752160, DOI: 10.1126/science.1092674.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2002
Mitotically stable association of polycomb group proteins eed and enx1 with the inactive x chromosome in trophoblast stem cells.
Mak W, Baxter J, Silva J, Newall AE, Otte AP, Brockdorff N. Mitotically stable association of polycomb group proteins eed and enx1 with the inactive x chromosome in trophoblast stem cells. Current Biology : CB 2002, 12: 1016-20. PMID: 12123576.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
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New Haven, CT 06510