Grant: Foundation Grant

My research program integrates discovery and translational research, with mentoring/training of high quality personnel, to achieve the goal of optimizing maternal and fetal health and preventing negative life-long consequences of early adversity. The pregnancy complications, preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, are leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Fetal adversity, such as developing in a suboptimal in utero environment (e.g. hypoxia) predisposes individuals on trajectories towards chronic disease, including cardiovascular diseases later in life. My laboratory is renowned for delineating the contribution of chronic fetal hypoxia to developmental origins of cardiovascular risk factors. Thus, improving maternal and fetal outcomes will have a tremendous impact on the health of the population as a whole. However, there remains a gap in knowledge (and lack of treatment) for improving the in utero environment in at-risk pregnancies. We will assess innovative approaches (i.e. nanoparticle delivery system) for placental drug delivery to improve placental function and maternal/fetal outcomes. Moreover, there is a major gap in our ability to measure placental function and, ultimately, oxygen delivery to effectively treat and/or diagnose those who are most vulnerable and would benefit from early intervention strategies. My program further integrates discovery and translational research to understand the functional cardiovascular consequences of being born from complicated pregnancies and develop intervention strategies to prevent and/or reduce the impact of developmental origins of later-life chronic cardiovascular diseases. My thematically-linked program includes outstanding program experts in order to deliver fundamental, high-impact discoveries for translation to earlier and better diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for improved pregnancy outcomes.