While an normal semen sample contains hundreds of millions of sperm, men with azospermia have no sperm seen and azospermia represents an important cause of infertility. Men with azospermia typically have to use donor sperm in order to have a child. However, extended manual search of semen samples in men with azospermia reveal single-digit numbers of sperm in ~80% of cases. These few sperm are sufficient to fertility eggs in the IVF lab and allow the men to be biological fathers. Unfortunately, the manual search for sperm is only performed in a couple of sites in the world because of the enormous cost associated with having a specially trained andrologist search a sperm sample for roughly 8 hours. In this project, we aim to apply the semen sample to the custom designed microfluidics chip at a fixed flow rate. Next, several thousands of images will be captured at frame rate ranging between 4,000-40,000 fps using a high definition microscope camera as the sample flows through the microfluidics device. We will then build a training dataset of images with and without the rare cells of interest. These training datasets will be used to build an artificial intelligence (AI) model with high accuracy to detect rare cells of interest. The model will be tested for its accuracy on the ‘true’ sample containing rare cells. The Data Science Institute Scholar is expected to have basic programming skills (preferably in Python). Thus, if successful, there will literally be countless babies born as a result of this project.

This is an UNPAID research project.

Faculty Advisor

  • Professor: Zev Williams
  • Center/Lab: Columbia University Fertility Center
  • Location: 5 Columbus Circle, PH Floor, NYC NY 10024
  • One of the preeminent fertility centers in the world, Columbia University Fertility Center is the innovative leader in reproductive medicine.

Project Timeline

  • Earliest starting date: 9/6/21
  • End date: 6/30/22
  • Number of hours per week of research expected during Fall 2021: ~10

Candidate requirements

  • Skill sets: Microfluidics, AI, image processing
  • Student eligibility: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, master’s
  • International students on F1 or J1 visa: eligible
  • Academic Credit Possible: Yes