Maggie Kennedy

Email: bs15mgk@leeds.ac.uk
Thesis title: Circulating miRNAs as key regulators of placental vascular dysfunction and altered fetal growth in pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes.
Supervisors: Dr Karen Forbes, Professor Eleanor Scott, Nigel Simpson

Profile

I started my PhD in October 2018 straight after I obtained a First Class BSc (Hons) in Biology here at the University of Leeds.

Prior to this I completed a studentship investigating the mechanism by which a high-fat diet can lead to insulin resistance within the brain.

Research interests

I am interested in the effects that diabetes in pregnancy can have on placental growth and the subsequent impacts that this has on fetal development, where infants are born either large or small for their gestational age. Specifically, my research focuses on the influence that extracellular vesicle-bound microRNAs, present in maternal circulation, have on vascularisation of the placenta and fetal cardiovascular development.

Qualifications

BSc Biology