The Placenta: The Organ That Programs Human Health Before Birth | Dr. Perrie O'Tierney-Ginn, Ph.D. - Executive Director, Woman, Mother & Baby Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center

Send us Fan MailBefore your heart, brain, or lungs fully developed, one remarkable temporary organ was making decisions that may influence your health for decades. Dr. Perrie O'Tierney-Ginn ( https://www.placentascience.com/ ) explains why the placenta could be the most important organ you've never thought about.Dr. Perrie O'Tierney-Ginn, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Woman, Mother & Baby Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center ( https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/research-clinical-trials/research-institutes-research-specialty/woman-mother-baby-research-institute ) and a Research Associate Professor in both Obstetrics & Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine ( https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/research-clinical-trials/research-institutes-research-specialty/woman-mother-baby-research-institute/laboratories/otierney-ginn-laboratory ) and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy ( https://nutrition.tufts.edu/academics/faculty/perrie-otierney-ginn ).A self-described "Perinatal Ecologist," Dr. O'Tierney-Ginn studies one of the most remarkable - and often overlooked - organs in human biology: the placenta. Her research explores how a mother's nutritional status, metabolism, and environment shape placental function, influence fetal growth, and ultimately affect lifelong health outcomes.Supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Dr. O'Tierney-Ginn's work focuses on understanding how nutrients are transported from mother to baby, how maternal obesity and metabolic health alter fetal development, and how the placenta acts as a sophisticated biological sensor that helps determine the earliest foundations of human health.With a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Anatomy from Queen's University and leadership roles at Case Western Reserve University and Tufts Medical Center, Dr. O'Tierney-Ginn is helping redefine our understanding of pregnancy - not as a nine-month event, but as one of the most important developmental windows influencing health across the entire lifespan.#Placenta #Pregnancy #MaternalHealth #WomensHealth #DevelopmentalBiology #Longevity #Metabolism #Obesity #Diabetes #Nutrition #PrecisionMedicine #Epigenetics #Microbiome #SciencePodcast #Medicine #FetalDevelopment #TuftsMedicine #PublicHealth #PreventiveMedicine #FutureOfHealthSupport the show