Chen Zhang

Pregnancy is a highly coordinated period during human development. The importance of this orchestrating organ is not only because of the creation of a safe environment for fetal development, but also the relevance extends beyond gestation. Abnormal or pathological placental development negatively impacts the mothers later in their life as are their offspring. As a big physiological challenge, impaired placentation leads to dysfunctional placenta, which is implicated in many pregnancy complications.

In my PhD study, I expect to identify the regulation of gene expression in the placenta and how alterations of epigenetic and genetic features of placentas are associated with placentally related complications of human pregnancy.