Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Millions of mothers worldwide experience pregnancy complications that jeopardize their immediate and long-term health. Many complications of pregnancy, including preterm birth, preeclampsia, and miscarriage, have been linked to an abnormal immune response and high levels of inflammation in mothers. Notably, these inflammatory complications are associated with the development of conditions such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in mothers later in life. Additionally, high fat diets are associated with increased levels of inflammation and can result in obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. However, the effects of the inflammation involved in complications of pregnancy and that associated with a high fat diet have seldom been investigated together to determine their impacts on the cardiovascular system. As heart disease is the leading cause of death in women globally, it is critical to understand how the intersection of pregnancy complications and diet influence the development of heart disease in mothers. Using a mouse model of miscarriage, our research focuses on how the inflammation associated with pregnancy complications followed by a postpartum high fat diet, acting as a secondary inflammatory hit, affects the maternal cardiovascular system and may predispose mothers to disease. Findings from this project will help to better understand the associations between pregnancy complications, inflammation, and heart disease. These results may help to inform care and nutrition guidelines for women following complicated pregnancies to mitigate their risk of heart disease.