Background
Gestational diabetes is recognized by high glucose levels that arise during pregnancy, which usually normalize shortly after birth. However, women who develop GDM have a sevenfold increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes in the future. Gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes share many pathophysiologic features and risk factors, and both genetic and lifestyle factors play a role. Evidence indicates that genetic and lifestyle factors work together by changing the epigenetic expression in the mother and / or fetus in a diabetogenic direction.
The wider project will study the relationship between lifestyle factors, genetic profile (Genome Wide Association Studies - GWAS) and epigenetic modifications in the mother's white blood cells and the placenta in two cohorts of women from Oslo. In two large studies (Stork Rikshospitalet and STORK Groruddalen ) data and blood samples from almost 3,000 pregnant women and their offspring have already been collected. A large number of papers are already published based on these surveys, as well as being the basis of nearly 10 annual PhD degrees and several researchers are currently working specifically with the analysis of these data. We are now about to carry out genetic and epigenetic analyzes at our collaborating center in Malm?, Sweden.
Aim
- By pyrosequencing, to replicate potential associations between gestational diabetes and DNA-methylation measured by Epigenome wide association study (EWAS).
What we can offer:
- Co-authorship on a (hopefully) high-impact paper (and possibly more than one
- Close collaboration with the PhD student (Gunn-Helen Moen) and the postdoctor (Christine Sommer) of the project
- Opportunity to work with one of the leading researchers in genetics of type 2 diabetes; Leif Groop (our collaborator in Malm?, Sweden) and his research group at Lund University Diabetes Centre
- Opportunity to get a foot inside clinical research
- Participation in a well-established research group
- Research experience
About the research environment
Our research group, Type 2 diabetes and metabolism, has about 15 members working with clinical, epidemiological and mechanistic studies about obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. We meet weekly at Aker sykehus and are a part of the Oslo Diabetes Research Centre. The group leader is K?re I. Birkeland, and the research group is an interdisciplinary composition of medical practitioners, nutritionists, physiotherapist, molecular biologist and nurses.
K?re I. Birkeland has a long experience with supervision of PhD candidates (13 finished and 4 ongoing) and master students/project paper in Medicine (>15 students).
A PhD (Gunn-Helen Moen, MSc i Molekyl?rbiologi) and a postdoc (Christine Sommer, PhD i epidemiologi) are currently full time researchers in the project, in addition to the many collaborators. Our research group also has close collaboration with the research group Diabetes and Pregnancy, led by professor Tore Henriksen. Our collaborator, Leif Groop, is a leading researcher within genetics and type 2 diabetes.
Covering of costs related to stay in Malm?
- Partly by the project and partly by L?nekassen
External supervisor: Professor K?re I. Birkeland, Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Oslo/Senior physician, Dep. of transplantation medicine, Oslo University, k.i.birkeland@medisin.uio.no
Internal supervisor: Ragnhild Eskeland, Pricipal Investigator IBV, ragnhild.eskeland@ibv.uio.no