UWyo Magazine A Healthy Start

September 2015 | Vol. 17, No. 1

Peter Nathanielsz

Leading biomedical researcher Peter Nathanielsz joined UW to continue his influential study of maternal health during pregnancy.

By Pat Wolfinbarger

Program expertise, quality facilities, essential research resources and institutional familiarity attracted renowned fetal development researcher Peter Nathanielsz to the University of Wyoming.

Peter NathanielszNathanielsz joined UW in January as the Distinguished Research Professor of Life Course Health Studies within the UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Department of Animal Science. Previously he was the director of the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

He brings to UW one of the longestrunning program grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

“The fact that a scientist of Dr. Nathanielsz’s stature has come to UW is a major step forward for the university,” says Bill Gern, vice president for research and economic development. “His field of study is a significant new area of endeavor in the life sciences, and his presence promises to help UW become a worldwide leader in the field.”

Nathanielsz—whose career includes faculty appointments at Cornell University, New York University, the UCLA School of Medicine and the University of Cambridge—says other institutions are cutting back on research facilities and resources related to fetal development due to costs. Meanwhile, UW is well-situated to continue research into fetal development, such as the effects of maternal obesity and under-nutrition, which are also important for the Wyoming livestock industry.

“I’m excited to be here,” he says. “We have an incredible opportunity, which very few other research groups in the world have. The research is fundamental to human health.”

At UW, he is working with longtime collaborator Stephen Ford, the Rochelle Endowed Chair in UW’s Department of Animal Science and director of the Center for the Study of Fetal Programming. Nathanielsz and Ford started the center at UW in 2002.

Nathanielsz and Ford use overfed sheep as the model for studying the impact of maternal obesity, as sheep more closely reflect the issues facing human mothers than other animals such as rats.

“We know that obese mothers have babies that are predisposed to be obese in later life,” Nathanielsz says. “Obesity leads to Type 2 diabetes, which leads to cardiovascular disease.”

World health officials project that the economic, personal and social costs of diabetes will cripple future care in the United States and other Western nations, he adds. The International Diabetes Federation projects one in 10 of the world’s population will have diabetes by 2035.

“This is important for livestock production, too,” Nathanielsz says. “One wants to produce the healthiest animal possible with the best possible body composition. These rules can be taken across the board in animal production.

“That’s the beauty of being in an animal science department,” he says. “You need to be somewhere where people understand how animals function—how we function. After all, humans are animals too.”

Ford appreciates the opportunity to have his colleague just a few offices away.

“Dr. Nathanielsz and I have collaborated for many years on joint research endeavors and written many joint grants and manuscripts, but we have always been at different academic institutions, which has sometimes made things difficult,” Ford says. “While we interacted on a very frequent basis by Skype and email, being able to walk down the hallway and converse about a new research idea or some newly generated data will be very beneficial for making quick decisions about research planning.”

Frank Galey, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, says Nathanielsz’s leadership in the field of fetal programming and other research related to heritable traits outside the genetic code itself is on the forefront of a new science. Galey says, “This program helps the Department of Animal Science advance in an important developing area of science.”

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College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

 College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
From doctoral and master’s degrees to bachelor’s programs in agroecology, rangeland ecology and watershed management, molecular biology, family and consumer sciences, plant sciences, and agricultural economics, the University of Wyoming offers diverse options in natural resources and agricultural degree programs. Our faculty and staff members are dedicated to providing students with strong, well-rounded academic backgrounds and agricultural degrees, which enable them to excel in the world of agriculture and natural resources.

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