Dr Laura Dearden

I am a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow and Assistant Research Professor at the Institute of Metabolic Science (IMS). My research group uses murine and cellular models to identify the influences of the in utero environment on the development and subsequent function of brain feeding circuits, and how this is a driving cause of obesity. We are also interested in intervention strategies that we can employ during pregnancies complicated by obesity to limit the impact of maternal metabolism on offspring brain development, and how obesity in pregnancy alters the adaptations of the maternal brain during the peri-partum period. Our research is funded by the Royal Society, Rosetrees Trust and EU Horizon Scheme.

Outside of my scientific research I am the Lead for EDI and the Wellcome DRP- funded Research Culture project at the IMS, and I chair the University of Cambridge AWERB 3Rs committee.