Metabolic requirements of placental development and function
The placenta is a critical metabolic organ that has been vastly understudied. Its primary function is to transport nutrients and oxygen to and waste products from the fetal circulation, but it must also grow rapidly to maintain consistent fetal growth throughout gestation. It is unclear how the placenta partitions nutrients for its own growth especially when nutrients are limiting or when genetic mutations are present.
We are focused on investigating how the placenta responds to various metabolic perturbations and the extent of its nutritional flexibility in mouse models. We are also interested in the metabolic requirements for placental formation and proper cell differentiation. We believe that understanding this aspect of placental biology will be critical for determining the etiology of pregnancy complications like fetal growth restriction and gestational diabetes.
Determining how risk factors contribute to human pregnancy complications
Our lab has a robust collaborative relationship with the UT Southwestern OB/GYN Department and Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine to advance translational research projects that improve women’s health outcomes. We aim to better understand how risk factors contribute to the development of pregnancy complications.
In collaboration with Dr. Christina Herrera, M.D., our lab is identifying metabolic and genetic alterations in pregnant individuals with chronic hypertension that increase the likelihood of complications like preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. We have a longitudinal study performing imaging and collecting plasma throughout gestation and plasma and placental tissue at delivery. We have performed metabolomics, lipidomics, and RNA sequencing on these samples to correlate molecular, metabolic and imaging features with patient outcomes. Our goal is to use these observations to develop novel animal models to better understand disease pathologies and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools. We would love to have a motivated and dedicated individual to join our efforts to push this project forward.
