Available projects 2023/2024
Metabolic determinants of early placental development
Supervised by: Prof Steve Charnock-Jones and Dr Irving Aye |
Obesity During Pregnancy: Adverse Effects on Maternal and Offspring Cardiovascular Function
Supervised by: Prof Dino Giussani and Prof Susan Ozanne |
Determine the molecular mechanisms placental macrophages use to protect the placenta from cytomegalovirus infectionSupervised by: Dr Naomi McGovern and Dr Emma Poole |
Investigating placental energy metabolism in complex pregnancies using a novel experimental approachSupervised by: Prof Andrew Murray and Dr Catherine Aiken |
Regulation of placental development by endothelial cell-derived signalsSupervised by: Dr Miguel Constancia and Prof Steve Charnock-Jones |
The impact of DNA methylation on gene regulation in placental developmentSupervised by: Dr Courtney Hanna and Prof Anne Ferguson-Smith |
Previous Projects Offered
2022/2023
Impact of metformin use in early pregnancy on the placenta Supervisors: Catherine Aiken and Sue Ozanne
Investigating the role of imprinted genes in pre- and post-natal stages, and the links between maternal diet, placental signalling and lactation Supervisors: Anne Ferguson-Smith (Geula Hanin) and Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri
Defining the contribution of parental obesity to feto-placental dynamics and offspring health Supervisors: Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri and Gavin Kelsey
Investigating the role for epigenetic modifier MLL2 in placental development Supervisors: Courtney Hanna and Miguel Constancia
Understanding the molecular mechanisms that control human yolk sac progenitor (hypoblast) cell development Supervisors: Kathy Niakan and Thorsten Boroviak
Maternal Obesity: Translatable Programmed Cardiovascular Dysfunction in Offspring Supervisor: Dino A. Giussani
Investigating placental energy metabolism in complex pregnancies using a novel experimental approach Supervisors: Catherine Aiken & Andrew Murray
How does maternal tissue immunity regulate placentation and offspring health? Supervisors: Francesco Colucci (Norman Shreeve)
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea During Pregnancy and Early Origins of Heart Disease Supervisor: Dino A. Giussani
Pre-2022 Projects
Understanding mechanisms underlying the impact of metformin on placental, fetal and maternal health Supervisors: Prof Susan Ozanne & Dr Catherine Aiken
Investigating the role for epigenetic modifier MLL2 in placental development Supervisors: Dr Courtney Hanna & Dr Miguel Constancia
Maternal Obesity: Translatable Programmed Cardiovascular Dysfunction in Offspring Supervisors: Prof Dino Giussani & Prof Susan Ozanne
Defining the contribution of parental obesity to feto-placental dynamics and offspring health Supervisors: Dr Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri & Dr Gavin Kelsey
Placental hormones and pregnancy health in obese mothers.Supervisor: Dr Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri
Epigenetic regulation of cell fate decisions in mammalian development. Supervisor: Professor Wolf Reik
Metabo-Devo of the placenta: Understanding the metabolic determinants of early placental development. Supervisors: Dr Irving Aye, Professor Stephen Charnock-Jones
Trophoblast cell migration into maternal tissues. Supervisor: Thorsten Boroviak
Multivariate statistical modelling to characterise phenotypes of human placental dysfunction. Supervisor: Professor Gordon Smith
Making sense of complexity: how do tissue lymphocytes work in the uterus? Supervisor: Francesco Colucci
Tissue innate immunity in the womb and reproduction Supervisor: Francesco Colucci. Co-supervisors: Francesca Gaccioli and Irving Aye
How to build a primate: towards a synthetic model for primate embryogenesis Supervisor: Dr Thorsten Boroviak
Developmental origins of heart disease Supervisor: Professor Dino A. Giussani, Department of Physiology Development and Neuroscience
Embryonic and extraembryonic partnership: requisite for successful pregnancy Supervisor: Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
An Evolutionary Approach to Understanding Transcriptional Control in the Human Placenta Supervisor: Professor Steve Charnock-Jones.
Co-supervised by Dr Paul Flicek, European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI, Hinxton)
Single cell sequencing of the placenta Supervisor: Professor Steve Charnock-Jones
Understanding the nature and role of placental endocrine function in materno-fetal resource allocation during pregnancy Supervisor: Dr Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri
Genetic and molecular mechanisms of placental angiogenesis Supervisor: Dr Miguel Constância
Improving placental energy metabolism and obstetric outcome in pathological pregnancies – lessons from high-altitude populations Supervisor: Dr Andrew Murray
Deciphering the role of the imprinted gene Rtl1/Peg11 in the placenta Supervisor: Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith & Dr Mitsuteru Ito
Placento-fetal hypoxia and preeclampsia Supervisor: Professor Dino Giussani
Manipulating epigenetic reprogramming in vivo and its role in extraembryonic tissue function Supervisor: Professor Wolf Reik
Developmental Regulation of the Placental Prolactin-Growth Hormone Gene Families in the Placent Supervisors: Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri