From the very beginning of my scientific career, my research has been devoted to improving our understanding of the signalling pathways and molecular mechanisms underlying pregnancy complications and metabolic diseases. Currently, as a  junior independent scientist at the University of Cambridge, I am privileged to hold  a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by the UK Wellcome Trust.  

My research can be sub-divided into the following branches/lines: 

1. To better understand the role of maternal nutrition in driving feto-placental growth: My PhD (Summa Cum Laude, Complutense University Veterinary Dissertation Award) investigated maternal nutrition's impact on feto-placental growth. Findings revealed undernutrition's effect on placental insufficiency and fetal growth restriction. I now explore maternal obesity's impact on placental oxidative stress in collaboration with the Sferruzzi-Perri lab (University of Cambridge, UK), and test avocado powder's benefits during pregnancy with Dr. Tatiana El-Bacha (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). These projects emphasize the crucial role of maternal nutrition in pregnancy.

2. To examine how the maternal gut microbiota remote control feto-placental development: In collaboration with Prof Lindsay Hall (Technical University Munich, Germany), I am investigating whether the maternal gut microbiota, particularly Bifidobacterium breve, influences fetal growth by affecting placental development and nutrient supply. Our research indicates that Bifidobacterium breve impacts maternal body adaptations, placental function, and nutrient transporter capacity, influencing fetal metabolism and growth.

3 .  To understand the role of the phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathway in the control  maternal-fetal resource allocation: The PI3K pathway is a highly conserved signaling pathway that has evolved to regulate growth in relation to nutrient supply. Over the last 7 years, I have been studying the PI3K pathway to better understand its role in the pathogenesis of fetal growth restriction, resulting in a total of 6 papers, including one published in eLife, another in PNAS, and two where I served as co-senior author. Using mice with partial inactivation of PI3K-p110α, we discovered that pregnant females failed to metabolically adapt in response to gestation. Furthermore, within this research line, I have two additional papers where I contributed as a co-senior author through my supervisory activities (Salazar-Petres et al., 2023 Cells; Pereira-Carvalho et al., 2022 Vet Sciences).

4. Decoding how imprinted genes control placental endocrine function: Imprinted genes are important genetic regulators of placental function. Insulin-like growth factor-2 (Igf2) and H19 are linked to maternal metabolism during pregnancy. Over the last 6 years, initially as a Postdoctoral Royal Society Fellow and now with my current Sir Wellcome Trust fellowship, I have been utilizing a placental endocrine cell-specific approach to investigate the selective deletion of these genes within the endocrine region of the placenta. My data, obtained during my fellowships at the University of Cambridge, indicate that placental endocrine function can play a significant role in maternal metabolic health during pregnancy, with potential implications for both her future metabolic well-being and the development of her offspring. Furthermore, my long-term objective is to identify biomarkers that could serve as diagnostic tools or therapeutic targets for preventing the onset of metabolic diseases.

To sum up I have  authored more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals, including Cell Metabolism, PNAS, Developmental Cell, CMLS, and eLife (Google Scholar: 17 H-Index and 1,055 citations). Throughout my scientific journey, I have been awarded numerous  competitive postdoctoral fellowships in the UK, including those from well-known institutions such as the  Royal Society and  The Wellcome Trust. I have received travel grants (eg. Genetics Society, Physiological Society or The Company of Biologist), awards (Endocrinology Society – Early Career Award, Physiological Society UK – Professional Development Award or USA Frontiers in Reproduction) and conference/university invitations as keynote speaker (eg. SRB, IUPS, European Teratology Society, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney or University of Pennsylvania). Academically, I actively contribute as a scientific reviewer for journals like the Journal of Physiology, Scientific Reports, eLife, Acta physiological, Journal of Endocrinology or Gut Microbes. I am actively  involved in public outreach activities, including school visits to motivate students and I have successfully  supervised over 10 students, ranging from undergraduates to PhD candidates; with some of them achieving notable scientific recognition, such as the Rob Clarke Physiological Society Award in the UK.