Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Whether a developing baby is male or female is associated with differences in growth and development throughout pregnancy, and with different risks of certain pregnancy complications. Male babies are typically born larger than female babies, but are also more likely to be born premature and to experience postnatal inflammation and infection. Currently, scientists do not have a good understanding of how and why the sex of a developing baby impacts prenatal development and the health of pregnancy. The placenta, the organ responsible for connecting mother and baby during pregnancy, is critical for development: it transfers nutrients needed for growth, removes fetal waste products, and regulates the developing baby's environment. The placenta likely plays an important role in mediating sex differences in development and pregnancy outcomes. My research project will investigate how male and female placentas differ on a molecular level, and how these differences might impact fetal health. Using samples from over 300 placentas from healthy pregnancies, I will ask 3 main questions: 1. Is there a difference in the chemical structures added to DNA that regulate the on/off status of genes between the placentas of male and female babies? 2. What genes are affected by these different chemical structures, and how much are they impacted? 3. Do placentas of male and female babies function differently because of the different on/off status of these genes? This research addresses a major gap in our knowledge; establishing how male and female placentas differ in healthy pregnancies will be a foundation from which we can begin to better understand the role sex plays in mediating adverse perinatal outcomes. In the future, we may be able to use this information to advance our diagnosis and treatment of certain pregnancy complications, as certain interventions may be more effective if tailored to the sex of the developing baby.