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Jacinta Kalisch-Smith is a BHF Intermediate Basic Science Fellow focusing on genetic regulation of developmental patterning and placental vasculature. Her research aims to understand how placental vascular networks are formed in both mice and humans, governed by gene programs. Kalisch-Smith generates new genetic tools and utilizes light sheet imaging to characterize placental vascular development. She investigates the impact of deleting placental vascular genes on congenital heart defects, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Kalisch-Smith completed her PhD in Brisbane, Australia, studying the effects of periconceptional alcohol exposure on early embryo and uterine environment and placental formation. She has received the Australian New Zealand Placental Research Association New Investigator award for her work. Previously, she was a post-doctoral researcher in Professor Nicola Smart's group, where she studied the effects of maternal iron deficiency on heart development. Her recent projects include understanding placental arterio-venous formation malfunctions in embryos with congenital heart defects, work published in Frontiers in Genetics. Kalisch-Smith's collaborations extend to prominent academics across the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, contributing significantly to the understanding of placental development and its implications in congenital heart disease.
Department of Politics and International Relations - Higher Level English requirement.