Wellbeing of Women

2008 Grants

Dr Ganeshelvi Premkumar at the University of Southampton was awarded £19,950 for her project The impact of maternal diet on embryo growth and development

LAY TITLE: The impact of maternal diet on embryo growth and development

Animal studies suggest that maternal dietary alteration during the peri-implantation period can profoundly alter the development of the embryo/fetus and can eventually result in chronic adult diseases such as obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in the offspring

In the mouse model, embryos from LPD and control fed females will be analysed quantitatively for growth using DNA, RNA and gene expression studies. Similar gene studies will be performed on the human embryos and this will then be correlated with known maternal characteristics such as Body Mass Index (BMI).

This study will allow us to understand the impact of dietary factors on embryo health and help us further improve our understanding of the importance of diet at the onset of pregnancy and its association to disease development in the offspring.

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