Dr Claire Senner

The processes of embryo implantation and the initiation of placental development are pivotal in the establishment and maintenance of a healthy pregnancy. In humans, around 30% of conceptions are lost in the early post-implantation period and poor placentation often underlies later complications of pregnancy such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. There is still much to learn about the molecular mechanisms underpinning these very early developmental processes.

Post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms are an understudied facet of mammalian development, and I am particularly interested in the pathways controlling mRNA stability and decay at key cell state transitions during the early postimplantation period. In the lab I use embryonic and trophoblast stem cells in culture, as well as in vivo models, to understand how RNA decay factors contribute to normal development with a focus on the placental trophoblast lineages which are foundational for reproductive success.