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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101053
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,556.00
Summary
Influence of parent and educator feeding practices on child self-regulation. This project aims to be the first study to investigate whether children who experience consistent and responsive feeding practices both at home and in early childhood education and care have higher levels of self-regulation, optimal eating behaviour and diet quality. The project expects to develop simple and low-cost strategies that parents and educators can use at mealtimes to enhance child self-regulation. With one mi ....Influence of parent and educator feeding practices on child self-regulation. This project aims to be the first study to investigate whether children who experience consistent and responsive feeding practices both at home and in early childhood education and care have higher levels of self-regulation, optimal eating behaviour and diet quality. The project expects to develop simple and low-cost strategies that parents and educators can use at mealtimes to enhance child self-regulation. With one million Australian children in care during their parent’s working week, outcomes of this project have widespread benefits. Higher self-regulation improves a child's health and well-being and provides short- and long-term social and economic benefits including school readiness, academic achievement and workforce participation.Read moreRead less
A Genome-wide Search For Genes Underlying The Developmental Origins Of Health And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,022,552.00
Summary
Epidemic rises in the incidence of many chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and mental illness have occurred in Australia over the last two decades. Antenatal, early life and childhood factors have been consistently associated with the development of such diseases. We propose to conduct a genome-wide scan in an exceptional longitudinal birth cohort in order to identify the genetic mechanisms linking early life event and adult disease.
Is Insulin Sensitivity In Children And Their Mothers Programmed By Maternal Blood Glucose?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$169,630.00
Summary
Glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with the birth of large-for-dates and macrosomic (>4000g) babies. The risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in babies who are small or large at birth compared to those with normal birth weight. This study will determine if treatment of mothers with glucose intolerance in pregnancy (which is intermediate between normal glucose tolerance and diabetes) alters the regulation of glucose tolerance in their children. The mothers were randomised to receive ....Glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with the birth of large-for-dates and macrosomic (>4000g) babies. The risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in babies who are small or large at birth compared to those with normal birth weight. This study will determine if treatment of mothers with glucose intolerance in pregnancy (which is intermediate between normal glucose tolerance and diabetes) alters the regulation of glucose tolerance in their children. The mothers were randomised to receive normal antenatal care or to have their blood sugar measured and controlled by diet and insulin as for diabetics. We will measure the insulin sensitivity of the children to a glucose load. We will also measure blood pressure and lipids in these children. Treatment of the mother during pregnancy may alter the deposition of fat in the fetus the effect of which will continue into childhood. Thus the offspring of treated mothers may remain thinner throughout childhood. Each pregnancy increases a woman's chance of developing type 2 diabetes in later life. This risk is further increased by abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy. This study will test the long-term benefits of treatment during pregnancy of women with impaired glucose tolerance on the subsequent regulation of glucose tolerance. We shall invite women who took part in the Australian Carbohydrate Study in Pregnancy (ACHOIS) to return and have an intravenous glucose tolerance test. Insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance will be determined and related to treatment of the impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. This study will be the first follow-up of a large randomised trial of treatments of impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. The potential long-term benefits are strategies to reduce the future chance of developing risk factors for type 2 diabetes, obesity and abnormal blood lipids in childhood and adult life. The study will establish the benefits or otherwise of tight control of blood glucose in pregnancy.Read moreRead less
Regulation Of Eicosanoid Production In The Fetal Placenta In Preterm Labour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$256,980.00
Summary
Prostaglandins are fatty substances made within the body and they are what causes the pregnant uterus to contract and push out the fetus. At present we can't control preterm birth because we don't understand well enough how prostaglandin synthesis is controlled. New discoveries in our lab have suggested an exciting new possibility- that prostaglandins partially regulate their own synthesis. If we find this is so, there may be far-reaching implications for the ways in which anti-inflammatory drug ....Prostaglandins are fatty substances made within the body and they are what causes the pregnant uterus to contract and push out the fetus. At present we can't control preterm birth because we don't understand well enough how prostaglandin synthesis is controlled. New discoveries in our lab have suggested an exciting new possibility- that prostaglandins partially regulate their own synthesis. If we find this is so, there may be far-reaching implications for the ways in which anti-inflammatory drugs are used, not only in prevention of premature birth, but in inflammatory diseases too. Most research in this area has been directed toward understanding what controls the overall synthesis of prostaglandins, but there are several types of prostaglandins with different functions. we are now in a position to study, for the first time, how the synthesis of the specific prostaglandins is regulated in the pregnant uterus and how this changes during normal and preterm birth.Read moreRead less
The survival of a baby at birth is crtically dependent upon the ability of the lungs to successfully take over the role of exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and blood. To perform this task, during fetal life the lung must have grown properly and near the end of gestation it must mature both structurally and biochemically. Thus, babies that are born early, before the expected time of birth, are born before the lungs have had the opportunity to mature. It is not surprising, ther ....The survival of a baby at birth is crtically dependent upon the ability of the lungs to successfully take over the role of exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and blood. To perform this task, during fetal life the lung must have grown properly and near the end of gestation it must mature both structurally and biochemically. Thus, babies that are born early, before the expected time of birth, are born before the lungs have had the opportunity to mature. It is not surprising, therefore, that an inability to breathe is one of the primary problems faced by a prematurely born infant. During late gestation the lung changes dramatically in order to increase its ability to exchange gases. There is an increase in surface area and a reduction in the barrier thickness between the airspace and the blood stream. The molecular mechanisms involved in this remodelling are unknown, but it is known that the administration of corticosteroids to women at risk of preterm labour causes a large decrease in this barrier thickness and increases the distensibility of the lung. This project seeks to understand how the structure of the lung matures in late gestation and to determine whether corticosteroids regulate these changes by altering the structure of a specialised molecule, called versican. Versican resides in the tissue space outside of cells and has special properties that allow it to retain water and help organise the surrounding matrix. We propose that alterations in the structure of versican will reduce its ability to retain water, thereby reducing the tissue volume and contributing to a reduction in the air-blood tissue barrier within the lung.Read moreRead less
Impact Of Chronic Intrauterine Inflammation On Neurodevelopmental & Physiological Responses To Fetal Hypoxia.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$280,750.00
Summary
Careful examination of records from hundreds of pregnancies has indicated that low-grade infection or inflammation within the uterus during pregnancy is associated with an increase in the likelihood that the newborn baby will suffer from cerebral palsy. This strong association suggests that inflammation during pregnancy can cause damage to the developing baby's brain. Similar studies have also identified an association betwen events that result in a lack of oxygen supply to the developing brain ....Careful examination of records from hundreds of pregnancies has indicated that low-grade infection or inflammation within the uterus during pregnancy is associated with an increase in the likelihood that the newborn baby will suffer from cerebral palsy. This strong association suggests that inflammation during pregnancy can cause damage to the developing baby's brain. Similar studies have also identified an association betwen events that result in a lack of oxygen supply to the developing brain and cerebral palsy. However the studies that have identified these associations are incapable of determining the mechanisms by which these factors affect brain development. Even though inflammation during pregnancy is common, and is often associated with diseases after birth, experimental studies of the effects of this type of inflammation on the wellbeing of the unborn baby have not been performed. Our research group has developed a unique experimental model, using sheep, which is particularly suitable for determining how inflammation and a lack of oxygen may affect the unborn baby and cause brain damage. By continuously giving a sterile bacterial cell wall preparation (endotoxin) into the amniotic fluid of pregnant sheep we can cause prolonged inflammation with characteristics that are similar to those that accompany inflammation during human pregnancy but different to other models of inflammation within the uterus. We intend to use our model to determine how prolonged inflammation and a lack of oxygen affect the well-being of the developing lamb before birth and how these factors affect brain development. Our proposed study will provide valuable information about how inflammation and a lack of oxygen interact to affect brain development. We expect that when inflammation is present the fetus becomes more vulnerable to the effects of a lack of oxygen, resulting in more severe brain damage occuring than when either factor is experienced alone.Read moreRead less
Leptin And Development: A Role In The Transition At Birth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,380.00
Summary
A series of epidemiological studies have demonstrated that life expectancy and the risk of developing a range of adult diseases such as heart disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity, are related to weight and size at birth. It appears that genetic and environmental factors interact during pregnancy to determine the growth rate of the embryo and fetus and result in a permanent programming of the development of fetal organs and tissues which may result in the onset of disease in adult life. It is w ....A series of epidemiological studies have demonstrated that life expectancy and the risk of developing a range of adult diseases such as heart disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity, are related to weight and size at birth. It appears that genetic and environmental factors interact during pregnancy to determine the growth rate of the embryo and fetus and result in a permanent programming of the development of fetal organs and tissues which may result in the onset of disease in adult life. It is well established that babies born to mothers who develop diabetes in pregnancy are bigger at birth and are at greater risk of developing obesity in childhood. Paradoxically several major studies of human populations exposed to deprivation during pregnancy have shown that children born to mothers who experience undernutrition in pregnancy may also develop obesity in adult life. A new hormone has recently been identified which acts as a signal of fat mass and which plays a major role in the regulation of body weight and energy expenditure in the adult. We propose to define the role of this hormone before birth and to determine whether its production or action is altered by an increase or a decrease in fetal nutrition. In particular, we will investigate whether perturbations in the metabolic environment of the fetus program an increased production of this hormone or resistance to its actions after birth. These studies will increase our understanding of what adaptive changes before birth may relate to an increased likelihood of obesity after birth.Read moreRead less
Hypertension Induced By Prenatal Glucocorticoid Exposure: Roles Of Cerebral And Renal Renin-angiotensin Systems
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$497,500.00
Summary
High blood pressure is a major public health problem in Australia and other developed countries as it is a common risk factor for stroke, heart failure and kidney damage. At present, there is a great interest in the possibility that high blood pressure in adults can result from stresses experienced by the fetus before birth. However, it is not known how prenatal compromise could lead to high blood pressure. We have recently established an animal model (using sheep) in which brief exposure to glu ....High blood pressure is a major public health problem in Australia and other developed countries as it is a common risk factor for stroke, heart failure and kidney damage. At present, there is a great interest in the possibility that high blood pressure in adults can result from stresses experienced by the fetus before birth. However, it is not known how prenatal compromise could lead to high blood pressure. We have recently established an animal model (using sheep) in which brief exposure to glucocorticoids - known as stress hormones - administered to the mother during early gestation results in high blood pressure in the offspring in adulthood. Increased levels of these hormones could occur in women at times when many may be unaware of their pregnancy (ie. smoking marijuana, chronic insomnia, accidents, loss of loved one, physical or mental stress or abuse). In addition, high doses of synthetic glucocorticoids might be given to pregnant patients for the treatment of asthma and acute migraine. The early origins of hypertension are of considerable importance to a large section of the community, namely the 25% who develop hypertension at the age 45 or over. If even a small proportion of hypertension can be prevented by reducing fetal exposure to excess glucocorticoids the impact on cardiovascular illness may be large. This research proposal has the potential to explain the basis for at least some of the 'essential' hypertension for which a mechanism has not been discovered after decades of research. This project will examine the separate roles of the kidney and brain, and in particular will determine whether permanent changes can be induced by exposure to stress hormones during early fetal life. Knowledge gained from this project could be used in devising strategies aimed at preventing or treating high blood pressure in adults.Read moreRead less
Creating a sustainable, healthy, and equitable food system. This project aims to develop a whole-of-food system approach that will result in a more healthy, sustainable, and equitable food environment. A multi-disciplinary approach, based on the US Vermont Farm to Plate initiative, will bring together key stakeholders to collectively increase availability and access to locally sourced food, increase consumer awareness of sustainable food choices, accompanied with a retail “Love Local” campaign. ....Creating a sustainable, healthy, and equitable food system. This project aims to develop a whole-of-food system approach that will result in a more healthy, sustainable, and equitable food environment. A multi-disciplinary approach, based on the US Vermont Farm to Plate initiative, will bring together key stakeholders to collectively increase availability and access to locally sourced food, increase consumer awareness of sustainable food choices, accompanied with a retail “Love Local” campaign. Knowledge created by this research will inform policy and legislative reforms that will empower local governments and communities to respond to food system challenges. This case study in regional NSW will demonstrate the effectiveness of a framework that can be upscaled to other areas and countries.Read moreRead less