Constancia Lab Profile

Research Focus: Epigenetics and Developmental Programming

We are interested in studying how imprinted genes, those genes whose expression depends on wether they come from the father or mother, control foetal growth. We aim to understand how imprinting regulates nutrient provision to the foetus through the placenta, and aim to identify key signalling systems betweens mother, placenta and foetus that control growth. We are also interested to know how environmental influences during life (e.g. nutrition) might affect epigenetic marks and imprinting, thereby shifting resource regulation over the course of a lifetime.