It is clear that the health and disease burden of offspring can be programmed by events before birth. This project will answer questions as to how this programming occurs. My focus is to understand how the environment affects the oocyte, sperm and embryo and how this impacts on the offspring. We will specifically study the effects of obesity and nutritional status of the parents but also the in vitro environment with a view to improving IVF outcomes.
Robert McLachlan is an internationally recognised clinician-scientist in male reproductive health. His basic research examines the genetic & endocrine regulation of sperm production. His clinical studies span male fertility regulation, the use of assisted reproductive treatments, and the evidence-based use of androgen replacement. As Director of Andrology Australia, he has a leading national role in professional and community education, developing research capacity and male health advocacy.
There are new genetic technologies on the horizon that will influence decision-making about testing in pregnancy for fetal abnormality and also create a greater need for communication of important genetic information in families. Two areas of my research will focus on these issues. I will also examine how the interaction between genes and the environment during pregnancy, specifically in relation to alcohol use and assisted reproduction, impacts on offspring health and development
This fellowship supports continuing work on statistical methods and applications for the detection and characterization of genes involved in complex diseases, notably melanoma, but a number of related characteristics such as skin hair and eye colour, moles and freckling. The other complex disease I work on are the allergic disease, where I am involved in both human and animal based studies of allergic dermatitis and asthma.The types of data to be analysed include genome-wide genotype data and ev ....This fellowship supports continuing work on statistical methods and applications for the detection and characterization of genes involved in complex diseases, notably melanoma, but a number of related characteristics such as skin hair and eye colour, moles and freckling. The other complex disease I work on are the allergic disease, where I am involved in both human and animal based studies of allergic dermatitis and asthma.The types of data to be analysed include genome-wide genotype data and eventually whole genome sequence data.Read moreRead less