Looking to the future of epididymal research: why this, why now?

Epididymal biology is an area of science at risk. Never a large field to begin with (the number of papers produced by laboratories studying the epididymis is roughly only 20% of the number produced by laboratories studying the testis), it tends to shrink even further in times of funding crisis. This matters because the numbers of laboratories, investigators, and trainees in any area of science affects the number of new people coming into the field, the new ideas that new people can bring, and the number of interested scientists on important grant review panels. How can epididymal biologists face the current challenges? First, great ideas are the key. They prompt compelling hypotheses that can be challenged with interesting experiments. Second, it must be recognized that the past is past. The fact that studies on sperm maturation, epididymal histology, or tubule physiology are significant parts of the past does not mean that they are no longer interesting, but it does mean that truly original questions in those areas will likely be difficult to find. In the real world of competitive science, national granting agencies require applications that clearly answer the questions, why is this of interest and why is it important now? Productive areas of future research may include lumicrine regulation of the epithelium, immunobiology of the epididymis, and cell-cell communication between epididymal epithelial cells and cells in the peritubular/interstitial space.