Introduction

We are interested in the regulation of the early stages of pregnancy, particular those involving trophoblast invasion of the uterus, remodelling of the maternal environment and the development of the placenta.

Problems with these processes is thought to be associated with complications of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia. Our interest in reproductive biology is focussed on the events that occur after the implantation of the blastocyst (shown on the left).

Trophoblast cells form the outer layer of the blastocyst and following implantation they are responsible for forming the placenta. The formation of the placenta is a highly complex and tightly regulated process that is essential for the establishment of a healthy pregnancy. Despite this the factors that regulate this process are still poorly understood, and it is this that forms one of our major research interests.