In the UK, one in six women cannot control their blood sugar levels during pregnancy. This can lead to gestational diabetes (GDM) and predisposes mothers to type-2 diabetes (T2DM) years after delivery. Despite this, we lack information on what drives changes in maternal metabolism in pregnancy and how disruption to this process may lead to disease in later life. My current research uses a variety of animal models and molecular methods to understand how placental hormones drive changes in maternal metabolism that lead to GDM and T2DM in the mother. The final goal of this research is to increase our knowledge on the cause of GDM/T2DM and identify ways to prevent and treat metabolic diseases.
