Environmental Influences in Pregnancy and Offspring Health – EMS (81)
The Environmental Influences in Pregnancy and Offspring Health [EMS (81)] study section reviews grant applications assessing the effects of environmental factors, including infectious agents, immune tolerance mechanisms, endocrine disruptors, and microbiome, on maternal post-partum effects and offspring health including metabolic disorders. Environmental effects on pre-implantation embryos and fertility may also be considered. Emphasis is on basic and/or clinical models to understand post-partum maternal and offspring health.
Review Dates
Topics
- The effect of xenobiotics and environmental factors e.g., endocrine disruptors on male and female reproductive processes such as gametogenesis, pregnancy, and offspring including maternal-fetal health.
- Microbiota effects on pregnancy complications, maternal-fetal health, and offspring.
- Effects of infectious agents during pregnancy on post-neonate offspring health. Including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- Host-microbial interactions to immune mechanisms effects on maternal and offspring health.
- Effects of maternal and postnatal nutrition on post-partum maternal and infant health.
- Gestational diabetes and obesity effects on maternal and post-neonate offspring health.
- Influence of microchimerism both fetal and maternal on health.
- Complications of prematurity such as NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis).
Preservation of male and female gametes following exposure to chemotherapeutic agents.
Shared Interests and Overlaps
There are shared interests with Gametogenesis and Development of Reproductive Systems (GDRS) in the investigation of male and female gametes development and their maturation. Applications focused on signaling mechanisms that modulate normal gamete production may be reviewed in GDRS, whereas those focused on exploring the effects of endocrine disruptors and xenobiotics may be reviewed in EMS (81).
There are shared interests with Pregnancy and Neonatology (PN). Applications focused on implantation, placenta development, maternal-fetal health, labor- delivery, fetal development and neonatology may be reviewed in PN, whereas those focused on environmental disruptions of these processes may be reviewed in EMS (81).
There are shared interests with Nutrition and Metabolism in Health and Disease (NMHD) in the investigation of maternal and postnatal nutrient and dietary exposures and effects on offspring health outcomes. Applications focused on nutrient analyses and components effects on maternal and offspring metabolic health may be reviewed in NMHD, whereas those focused on dietary exposure and metabolism-related complications, including gestational diabetes, on fetal development and offspring health may be reviewed in EMS (81).
There are shared interests with Human Studies of Diabetes and Obesity (HSDO) in the investigation of maternal obesity and diabetes. Applications focused on understanding complications to pregnancy, fetal development, or the neonate by gestational diabetes or obesity may be reviewed in HSDO, whereas applications focused on maternal nutrition and gestational diabetes effects on childhood or adult obesity may be reviewed in EMS (81).
There are shared interests with Environmental Determinants of Disease (EDD) in the investigations of endocrine disruptors. Applications focused on the contribution of environmental toxicants to the etiology or progression of reproductive pathologies may be reviewed in EDD, whereas those underscoring the effects of xenobiotics/toxicants on molecular, cellular, genomic, endocrine, and physiological aspects of reproductive biology in both mammalian and model organism systems may be reviewed in EMS (81).
