I am a placental and pregnancy biologist working in reproductive and developmental health. After graduating with a PhD in 2026, I joined the One-Carbon Metabolism in Pregnancy and Disease Group as a postdoctoral researcher within the Robinson Research Institute and College of Health at Adelaide University.
 
My research examines how alterations in one-carbon metabolism influence placental function, maternal metabolic health, fetal development and offspring health. A major focus of my PhD was understanding the consequences of contemporary high folic acid (synthetic folate) exposure, arising from food fortification and supplement use, on maternal metabolic health and pregnancy outcome. Building on this work, my current research investigates the direct effects of folic acid exposure on fetal development, metabolic programming and longer-term offspring metabolic health. Through this research, I aim to establish when and how folic acid exposure influences fetal and offspring metabolic health and identify nutritional strategies that preserve the established benefits of folate and folic acid for fetal neurodevelopment while minimising potential metabolic harm to mothers and their babies.
 
More broadly, I am interested in the developmental origins of health and disease and the biological mechanisms through which exposure during pregnancy and early life shape lifelong health. I have extensive experience in in vitro models of placental development and function, including placental cell lines, explants and organoid cultures, and in vivo pregnancy models.
 
In my current role I supervise undergraduate and Honours students and co-supervise postgraduate research students.