Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
My PhD-project is granted based on my research proposal “The link between the metabolic syndrome and preeclampsia” after a selection procedure by the School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), and by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). In my research the placenta and preeclampsia are central. Structural deviations in the placenta, complicated with preeclampsia are investigated. Also a vascular in vitro model of preeclampsia is designed to test the potential beneficial effect of specific food compounds in respect to this maternal disease. This research project is aiming at preventing the development and/or progression of preeclampsia.
In collaboration with the Department of Obstetric and Gynecology at the Academic Hospital in Maastricht aZM, I mainly focused on the interaction between placental trophoblast cells and the maternal cardiovascular system under preeclampsia-like stress conditions. The functional effects of the trophoblast secreted messengers were tested on fetal and maternal blood vessels by using a new developed in vitro model for preeclampsia.
I went to Detroit for a summer internship at Yale University and Hutzel Woman’s Hospital at the perinatology research branch under the supervision of Professor Roberto Romero. During this internship I worked in a placental laboratory where I mainly focused on invasion patterns of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) from the mother to the foetus as a possible contributor for preterm birth. During these experiments I characterized ILCs in amniotic fluid, maternal and cord blood.