Research Interests
The aim of our research is to find out how obesity during pregnancy alters development of the baby’s hypothalamus- an area of the brain that is essential for regulating food intake- and leads to increased food intake and obesity later in life.
Our research will help us understand the molecular mechanisms that mediate the effects of maternal obesity on offspring hypothalamic development and function. If we understand the mechanisms at play during a pregnancy with obesity, we can try and intervene in the inter-generational transmission of obesity risk. We are particularly interested in the role of insulin, as this is one of the main factors altered in both the mother and baby during a pregnancy complicated by obesity. We are using mouse models to define how the increased insulin levels in a pregnancy with obesity alters hypothalamic development in the baby. In addition to direct effects on brain development insulin can regulate expression of miRNAs, which are small RNAs that control gene and protein expression. Insulin-mediated changes in miRNA levels are a likely cause of the lasting changes in gene expression in the hypothalamus that lead to feeding pathway dysfunction and thus obesity.
Working in a mouse model, we can experimentally manipulate insulin and miRNAs in the fetal brain so that we can examine the consequences for hypothalamic development and later feeding behaviour when these factors are altered (as they are in a pregnancy with obesity). We are also investigating translatable interventions strategies that will correct maternal and fetal insulin levels in a more physiological way- such as exercise, or the type of insulin sensitising drugs that are given to women with gestational diabetes and obesity in pregnancy.
This research will address an important gap in our knowledge of how obesity during pregnancy affects the long- term metabolic health of offspring. It is currently not feasible to ensure all women enter pregnancy with a healthy BMI, so interventions to improve the health of offspring exposed to obesity in pregnancy may need to occur during pregnancy or even after birth. An understanding of the mechanisms at play during pregnancy will enable us to a) better advise individuals who have obesity during pregnancy and b) develop intervention strategies to stop the inter-generational transmission of obesity risk.
Awards
I hold a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship from the Royal Society.
I was awarded the 2023 Rank prize New Lecturer Award in Nutrition.
I previously held a Sir Henry Wellcome Post-doctoral Fellowship (2015-2020).
Group Members
Wai Ping (L) Wong, Senior research technician - wpw30 at medschl.cam.ac.uk
Rosanne Chong, post doc - ps993 at cam.ac.uk
Wanlin (Susan) Sun
Keyshla Negron, NIH Oxcam PhD student joint with Prof Susan Ozanne (IMS) and Prof Carlos Guardia (NIH)
