Rita Strakovsky

(Food Science and Human Nutrition) My research focuses on the maternal determinants of fetal development and offspring health. I am interested in studying how the maternal metabolic milieu communicates the maternal experience with the developing fetus, specifically focusing on the interactions between maternal obesity and maternal exposures to non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals. My current research in a human pregnancy cohort has two primary aims: 1) To assess the relationship between gestational exposure to several phthalates/phenols and pregnancy estrogen and testosterone status. An additional goal of this aim is to determine whether maternal adiposity and/or body fat distribution modify the above relationships; and 2) To determine whether exposure to these same chemicals alters the fetal supply of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) or the supply of other lipid classes critical for fetal development (using a lipidomics approach).