Professor Abigail Fowden

My research interests are in comparative developmental physiology with particular emphasis on the endocrine and other mechanisms controlling intrauterine development and its long-term, postnatal consequences. My long term goal is to identify how conditions during early life programme development and increase susceptibility to adult-onset degenerative diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The research takes an integrated approach from the systems to the molecular levels and has both basic and strategic aims with direct applications to medicine, veterinary medicine and the food and livestock industries.  My research has three main themes.

Feto-placental growth and metabolism

Lately, we have been focusing on the role of the placenta in developmental programming and the use of tracer methodology to measure unidirectional and net rates of placental nutrient transfer during different nutritional and endocrine conditions.  Together with analyses of tissue morphology, enzyme activities and expression of growth and gluco-regulatory genes, these measurements provide a comprehensive assessment of the environmental factors controlling feto-placental growth and metabolism. These studies have shown that fetal hormones and growth factors, like cortisol and the insulin-like growth factors, can influence the placental supply and fetal utilization of nutrients and, hence, lead to intrauterine programming. Currently, we are examining how the placenta transmits memories of early events to intrauterine tissues later in development.

Feto-placental maturation

Hormonal control of tissue maturation is one of the major research interests of my group. More specifically, we have been examining the role of glucocorticoids as maturational and programming signals. In addition, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which glucocorticoids act to permanently alter tissue structure and function are being investigated. In particular, we are examining the ontogeny and endocrine regulation of mitochondrial function in fetal and placental tissues and the role of these early life developmental processes in programming of adult metabolism.

Postnatal consequences of intrauterine programming

In recent years, we have begun to assess the postnatal physiological consequences of altered patterns of intrauterine development. We have shown that environmentally-induced changes in prenatal growth determine postnatal growth, fat deposition, glucose metabolism and the function of several endocrine systems including the pancreas, pituitary, adrenal and adipose tissue. Our studies have used a range of approaches to manipulate the intrauterine environment including embryo transfer, dietary manipulation, hormone administration and multiple pregnancy. Currently, we are examining the postnatal metabolic and behavioural consequences of maternal obesity and stress during pregnancy.

Main funding: BBSRC, Horserace Betting Levy Board, MRC

Professor Graham Burton
Dr Emily Camm
Dr Miguel Constancia
Ms Katie Davies 
Dr Alison Forhead
Professor Dino Giussani
Professor Sean Limesand
Dr Andrew Murray
Professor Sue Ozanne
Professor Gordon Smith
Dr Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri
Dr Owen Vaughan