Research output per year
Research output per year
Prof
Melissa is Professor of Endocrinology (2015) and Associate Vice-President for Research (2018), with particulalr responsibility for PGRs, Reserach Staff and research culture. Previously, she was Associate Dean for Postgraduate Research in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (2015-18) and Lead of the Centre for Women's Health in the Faculty's Institute of Human Development (2011-2015).
Melissa graduated from the University of Manchester with a first class honours degree in Anatomical Sciences in 1991 and began her PhD studies, also at the University of Manchester, on the role of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis in diabetes. However, an unexpected finding led her into pregnancy research and she was awarded a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship (1997) to pursue her PhD findings, which resulted in a number of key studies relating to IGF function in normal and compromised pregnancies. ‘Finding solutions to pregnancy problems’ became the focus of her research; her current interests, funded through Research Council and UK charities, include the influence of maternal hormonal and nutritional signals on implantation and placental development/function, aiming to develop new strategies for clinical intervention.
The Manchester Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, part of the Division of Developmental Biology and Medicine, performs basic scientific and clinical studies of normal and complicated pregnancies in order to improve pregnancy outcome though the translation of research findings into clinical practice.
Proper placental development and function are essential for a healthy and successful pregnancy as the placenta provides a physical interface that permits the efficient exchange of nutrients and waste products between the mother and the developing baby. Consequently our Centre's portfolio of projects on the development and function of the placenta span from the point of pregnancy inception through to late gestation with an emphasis on establishing and refining laboratory models that replicate normal placental behaviour.
Pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction (FGR) and maternal diabetes and obesity are the most commonly encountered pregnancy complications. All are associated with significant neonatal mortality and morbidity and currently, there are no effective interventions. Abnormal fetal growth is also linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in later life, suggesting that individuals can be ‘programmed’ during fetal life, resulting in life-threatening disease in adulthood. The exact cause of both pre-eclampsia and FGR is unknown, although impaired development and / or function of the placenta have been implicated in both conditions. Aberrant placental growth and function also contribute to the fetal overgrowth that can occur in pregnancies complicated by maternal metabolic disease.
My research group studies the initial embryo-maternal dialogue at implantation and how the placenta normally develops and functions. In particular, we are trying to understand how these events are regulated at the molecular (e.g., by protein O-GlcNAcylation), and cellular (e.g., by nutrients and hormones/growth factors) level in order to identify novel strategies for clinical intervention. We are currently investigating how:
I, and other members of the Research Centre, would be pleased to hear from students wishing to study for a higher research degree in the area of pregnancy. For further information on studentships currently available within our Centre, please see Posgraduate Opportunities.
Through lecture events and project / dissertation supervision, I contribute to many aspects of the BSc and MBChB programmes within the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health.
European Placenta Group
International Federation of the Placenta Associaltions
1991 BSc (Hons) Anatomical Sciences (1st class), University of Manchester
1995 PhD Medicine, University of Manchester
2006 PGCE Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, University of Manchester
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Westwood, M. (PI), Cottrell, E. (CoI), Desforges, M. (CoI), Dilworth, M. (CoI), Mann, E. (CoI), Mcbain, A. (CoI) & Stevens, A. (CoI)
1/05/24 → 30/04/27
Project: Research
Heazell, A. (PI), Aplin, J. (CoI), Brownbill, P. (CoI), Cottrell, E. (CoI), Desforges, M. (CoI), Dilworth, M. (CoI), Higgins, L. (CoI), Johnstone, E. (CoI), Myers, J. (CoI), Palin, V. (CoI), Ruane, P. (CoI), Stevens, A. (CoI), Tropea, T. (CoI), Westwood, M. (CoI) & Worton, S. (CoI)
1/04/24 → 31/03/25
Project: Research
Stevens, A. (PI), Heazell, A. (PI), Tower, C. (PI), Brison, D. (PI), Johnstone, E. (PI), Cottrell, E. (PI), Mann, E. (PI), Ingram, E. (PI), Crocker, I. (PI), Chernyavsky, I. (PI), Myers, J. (PI), Aplin, J. (PI), Higgins, L. (PI), Harris, L. (PI), Dilworth, M. (PI), Westwood, M. (PI), Whitworth, M. (PI), Desforges, M. (PI), Brownbill, P. (PI), Ruane, P. (PI), Sturmey, R. (PI), Worton, S. (PI), Greenwood, S. (PI) & Sibley, C. (PI)
1/09/18 → 31/12/35
Project: Research
Westwood, M. (Creator), University of Manchester Figshare, 25 Jul 2024
DOI: 10.48420/24306505.v4, https://figshare.manchester.ac.uk/articles/figure/Supplementary_Figures_Tables_for_manuscript_Glucose_influences_endometrial_receptivity_to_embryo_implantation_through_O-GlcNAcylation-mediated_regulation_of_the_cytoskeleton_/24306505/4
Dataset
Westwood, M. (Creator), University of Manchester Figshare, 16 Oct 2023
DOI: 10.48420/24306481, https://figshare.manchester.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Supplementary_data_for_manuscript_Glucose_influences_endometrial_receptivity_to_embryo_implantation_through_O-GlcNAcylation-mediated_regulation_of_the_cytoskeleton_/24306481
Dataset