Jacinta Kalisch-Smith - Cardiac Sciences / Development & Cell Biology 'Characterising placental vascular defects in mouse and human models'

Poor placental vascular formation is a major but unappreciated cause of fetal and neonatal cardiovascular disorders including congenital heart defects, fetal growth restriction and stillbirth. A major problem in this field is that these diseases are investigated primarily at term, when the baby is born. This is despite the placental vessels forming from very early in pregnancy. This project will investigate early placental development using mouse and human models to investigate how they form, their progenitor populations, the gene programmes they use to grow and what pregnancy disorders affect them. In this project, you will use high throughput imaging and analysis techniques to create 3D models of the placental vasculature. Training in wet lab work will be provided including genotyping of mouse genetic knockouts, gene expression assays to assess RNA and protein levels, and in vivo cell culture; gene knockdowns of key transcription factors and growth factors. These assays are well established in the Kalisch-Smith laboratory and will build on recent exciting findings.