Gail S. Prins, PhD, is the Michael Reese Endowed Professor in the Departments of Urology, Physiology and Biophysics, and Pathology at University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a full member of the UIC Cancer Center where she serves as the Co-Director of the Prostate Cancer Research Program.

Dr. Prins is also the Director of the UIC Andrology Laboratory, which diagnoses and treats infertile couples and provides sperm-banking services to patients nationwide.

Since the 1980s, Dr. Prins has led two successful research programs.

Her basic research program, continuously funded by the NIH for more than 25 years, focuses on prostate gland development, prostate stem cells, hormonal carcinogenesis, endocrine disrupting chemicals and the fetal basis of adult prostate disease. Dr. Prins’ lab found that early-life exposures to natural estrogens or chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), commonly found in products such as water bottles and baby bottles, permanently reprogram the prostate and increase its susceptibility to cancer with aging, using both rodent and human models. She also identified the molecular basis for altered prostate memory. Her lab currently utilizes novel models with human embryonic stem cells and human prostate stem or progenitor cells to dissect estrogen and EDC reprogramming in derived human tissues.

Her other research, translational work on human sperm cryopreservation, led to the development of an optimal sperm freezing system used throughout the globe for both donor and surgically retrieved patient samples.

Dr. Prins serves as the president of the Society for Basic Urologic Research and an editor for Endocrinology. She recently received the Distinguished Andrologist Award from the American Society of Andrology.

She is an internationally-acclaimed researcher, speaking regularly at scientific meetings around the world. Dr. Prins has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts as well as book chapters and position papers.

Dr. Prins received her doctorate in physiology and biophysics from the UIC Medical Center and her undergraduate degree at Trinity Christian College.

Research Interests

• Prostate hormonal carcinogenesis
• Developmental basis for prostate disease susceptibility with aging
• Prostate stem-progenitor cells
• Endocrine disrupting chemicals
• Sperm cryopreservation

• Google Scholar

Undergraduate: B.A.,Trinity Christian College
Graduate: Ph.D., University of Illinois Medical Center