MIDB Makes an Impact at U.S. Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Society Conference

The U.S. Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) Society 6th Annual Meeting was held earlier this month at the U of M. An affiliate of the International DOHaD Society, the U.S. DOHaD focuses on all facets of the study of the fetal origins and early life programming of health and disease.

Phu Tran, PhD, leader of MIDB’s Translational Hub and president of the U.S. DOHaD Society, served on the planning committee and provided welcoming and introductory remarks. MIDB Co-Director Michael Georgieff, MD, provided the opening keynote presentation, "What's on Baby's Mind: The Developmental Origins of Adult Mental Health and Disease."

"Optimizing brain development in childhood is an investment in society," said Georgieff. "DOHAD principles apply to the brain, specifically that mental health is a product of a developmental trajectory across the life span, and mechanisms are being elucidated."

Anita Randolph, PhD, leader of MIDB's Community Engagement and Education Hub, presented the Distinguished Junior Investigator talk, “Comparing Resting-State Functional Connectivity of Methamphetamine and Alcohol Use Disorders and the Relationship with Impulsive Choice.” Daniel Mendez and Shirelle Liu won the Trainee's Awardee based on their abstracts. Craig Bierle, PhD, chaired the session "DOHaD and Health Disparities," and Emilyn Alejandro, PhD, chaired the session "Emerging Exposures during Pregnancy in Susceptible Populations."

Other U of M presenters included:

• Megan Beetch, PhD, postdoctoral fellow: “Placental mTORKO adult offspring have enhanced response to hepatic insulin action preceding high-fat diet induced insulin resistance in mice”
• Kelsey Johnson, PhD, postdoctoral fellow: “The effects of maternal genetic variation on milk gene expression and the composition of human milk oligosaccharides"
• Emilyn Alejandro, PhD, associate professor: “Fetal Programming of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes by Nutrient Sensing in the Placenta”
• Lindsay Williams, PhD, MPH, assistant professor: “Vegetation density as a measure of greenness in association with childhood cancer incidence in Texas”

Pitch presentations by:

• Daniel Mendez, MS, Department of Pediatrics
• Craig Bierle, PhD
• Emily Nagel, PhD, RD, School of Public Health
• Seokwon Jo, BS
• Marie Swanson, MD
• Shirelle Lu, BS, Department of Pediatrics
• Grace Chung, MS, Medical School
• Tenille Fredrickson, BS, Department of Pediatrics