Reproductive Neurobiology & Early Life Origins of Disease
This research grouping, led by Professor Lucilla Poston, Professor Clive Coen, Professor Kevin O'Byrne, Dr Paul Taylor and Dr David Sugden, brings together both basic science and clinical research expertise in cellular and reproductive endocrinology, developmental biology, neuroanatomy, and neurodevelopmental psychiatry with the overarching themes of developmental programming or the early life origins of disease and healthy ageing.
Our strategy is to adopt a life course approach towards an understanding of the aetiology and underlying mechanisms of common metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological disorders from reproductive dysfunction, fetal and neonatal development through initiation and progression to adult disease.
Research spans the characterisation of nutritional and environmental influences on mammalian reproductive function as well as the long-term consequences of such stimuli for neurodevelopment, physiological dysfunction and subsequent risk of disease. This includes the investigation of the nutritional and hormonal influences on central regulatory pathways of the ovulatory cycle, including the elucidation of molecular components of the central 24 hr (circadian) clock and their response to ageing, the role of melatonin in circadian and homeostatic sleep mechanisms and the neural mechanisms of stress-induced dysfunction of reproductive neuroendocrine functions.
The interaction of genes and the early life environment is a central focus with particular reference to the impact of nutrition and metabolic states on both pregnancy outcome and early life origins of disease; this spans from investigation of oocyte development and function to the underlying mechanisms of adult metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, research into reproductive and neurodevelopmental aspects of psychiatry is developing our understanding of the interactions between stress, sex hormones and gender on neurodevelopment from fetus to old age.
The group fosters translation between basic and clinical research and has key links with the Menopause Research, Reproductive Medicine and Fetal and Infant Health RDUs. Within the RDU, there are the following research themes: