Project Reference: TRG27-PDN-GH1

Project title: An imprinted regulator of lactation: Investigating Mest in mammary gland development and function.

Project outline

Breastfeeding provides substantial health benefits for both mothers and infants, supporting healthy growth and development while reducing the risk of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and certain cancers later in life. Despite its importance, many of the biological mechanisms that regulate successful lactation remain poorly understood. A better understanding of these processes could help explain how early-life nutrition influences lifelong health.

This PhD project focuses on Mest (Mesoderm Specific Transcript), an imprinted gene that is expressed from only one parental copy. Imprinted genes are known to play important roles during pregnancy and fetal growth, but their functions in the mammary gland and lactation are much less understood. Previous studies have linked MEST to growth, metabolism, and adipose tissue development, suggesting it may also have an important role in preparing the mammary gland for milk production and supporting infant growth after birth. The aim of this project is to determine how MEST regulates mammary gland development and lactation, and how these effects influence offspring growth and development.

Using a unique mouse model developed in our laboratory, the student will analyse mammary tissues collected across key stages of pregnancy and lactation. They will use a combination of histological, cellular, molecular, and biochemical approaches to assess how loss of MEST affects mammary gland structure and function. Training will include mammary gland histology, immunofluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, RNA and protein analysis, PCR, qPCR, and western blotting. There will be opportunities to investigate milk composition and links between maternal physiology and offspring growth.

The project will provide training in developmental biology, lactation science, molecular genetics, and data analysis, while addressing fundamental questions about how an imprinted gene helps regulate maternal adaptation to lactation and early-life nutrition.

Principal Supervisor

Dr Geula Hanin

Email address: ghl35@cam.ac.uk

Department / Partner Institute: Physiology, Development and Neuroscience (PDN)

Website: https://haninlab.wixsite.com/hanin-lab

BBSRC strategic theme

Bioscience for an integrated understanding of health