{"id":1848,"date":"2020-07-10T18:55:50","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T17:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cystinosis.ie\/?page_id=1848"},"modified":"2020-07-10T21:16:20","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T20:16:20","slug":"professor-michael-taggart","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cystinosis.ie\/dublin-cystinosis-workshop\/6th-annual-dublin-cystinosis-workshop-2020-agenda\/professor-michael-taggart\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Michael Taggart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor Michael Taggart, <\/strong>Chair of Reproductive Sciences, Newcastle University, UK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Professor Taggart\u2019s laboratory investigates the cellular, tissue and organ remodelling events that occur in the mother and fetus during pregnancy and the impact these have for post-natal life to adulthood. The regulation of these adaptations is crucial for the mother to support the growing embryo\/fetus and ensure a successful pregnancy outcome. This is important because common complications of pregnancy such as preterm birth – arising from fetal growth restriction, pre-eclampsia or preterm labour – can result in very serious immediate or lifelong health issues for the mother and any surviving babies. Of particular note here are the increased risks of developing cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

His research group generally uses three experimental paradigms. First, in liaison with clinical colleagues, and via the auspices of the Newcastle Uteroplacental Tissue Bank (http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/biobanks\/collections\/nutb\/), the group often uses fresh human tissue biopsies for its experiments. \u00a0These are obtained, following informed consent, from non-pregnant or pregnant women. \u00a0\u00a0Second, allied to this, the group uses suitable animal models of human pregnancy that enable precisely timed measurements and\/or investigation of interventions in a pre-clinical setting. One such understudied but very valuable model is the guinea pig. Third, the group makes use of a variety of computational modelling approaches to interrogate and interpret complex data.<\/p>\n

A range of experimental techniques are employed to these ends including: live cell confocal fluorescent microscopy (Ca2\u00a0<\/sup> imaging, fluorescent molecule tracking), optical mapping of tissue electrogenesis (cardiac and uterine action potentials), tissue contractility (e.g. isobaric or isometric myography of small arteries), ultrastructural examination by transmission-EM and serial block face-EM and molecular expression studies using RNA sequencing and label-free proteomics.<\/p>\n

Presently, Professor Taggart\u2019s research group are concentrated on three topics:<\/p>\n