The Mobyus consortium: A multi-institutional collaboration to investigate male infertility

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

9-1-2025

Publication Title

Andrology

Abstract

Introduction and Objective: Despite a prevalence of nearly 1 in 10 men, male infertility remains incompletely understood. Even with an extensive clinical workup, half of all infertility diagnoses are deemed idiopathic. Furthermore, the rarity of many subpopulations of infertile men limits sample size and data quality even at large research institutions, thereby preventing rigorous clinical studies of these conditions. To address this challenge, we have created an integrated multi-institutional research consortium to better under the pathogenesis of male infertility and improve our ability to conduct clinically relevant evidence-based research in this area. Methods: A standardized 400-point HIPAA-compliant REDCap database with advanced branching logic and automated calculation capabilities was generated and iteratively optimized. Segmental data collection instruments capture demographic information, medical history, physical examination findings, lab and semen testing results, procedural and surgical data, and fertility outcomes for each patient. The database allows data collection to occur at various institutions and be housed in a central repository, enabling multi-institutional data sharing and collaboration. Data integrity is regularly monitored by site investigators. Composite de-identified data is exported at regular intervals for consortium-wide use. Results: With the primary goal of pursuing collaborative and democratic research, the IRB-Approved MOBYUS (Male Organ Biology Yielding United Science) consortium currently consists of fifteen large US-based academic medical institutions, involving almost 50 personnel. Additional members are being actively recruited. Data collection is ongoing with >4200 patients included to date. New projects are identified at regular monthly virtual meetings. The group has successfully published three proof-of-principle manuscripts to date, with numerous other projects in various phases of data collection, analysis, and manuscript writing. Conclusion: As the field of urology and its subspecialtiesmoves toward collaboration and data-driven decision making, male infertility and its associated rare diseases could greatly benefit from a collaborative network capable of leveraging large data sets on diverse sub-populations. The MOBYUS Consortium aims to accomplish this goal for male infertility patients, thereby generating robust clinical data that can be used to provide insights into male infertility that were previously unattainable. Ultimately, these studies will provide the data to shape clinical practices for patients with infertility.

Volume

13

First Page

120

Last Page

121

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