Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Overview
I study human placental physiology and toxicology, with an emphasis on vascular function and transfer. My expertise includes transplacental transfer of solute and water, the transplacental paracellular route and the regulation of fetoplacental vascular tone and its dysregulation in disease. I have an interdisciplinary collaborations with: (i) mathematicians interested in the study of oxygen transfer across the placenta; (ii) a pharmacologist on placental-targeted nanoparticle therapies for pregnancy related diseases; (iii) scientists and obstetricians in Manchester, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, interested in understanding the mechanism of idiopathic fetal growth restriction (FGR); and the effect of maternal anti-hypertensive treatments on fetal growth and development; and (iv) an epidemiologist, immunologists and a materials scientist interested in understanding placental transfer and potential carcinogenic effects of traffic air pollution (TRAP) in evoking childhood leukaemia during the in utero period.
I continue to collaborate with industry and have had industrial funding as a PI on translation driven research investigating a potential adenoviral vector therapy to alleviate compromised uteroplacental blood flow in early-onset FGR; evaluating its potential placental transfer and safety. I am participating in a network of placental physiologists, pathologists, biophysicists and mathematicians interested in modelling placental transfer in normal and diseased pregnancies. I have formed and co-lead an international consortium (PlaNet) of placental physiologists, biophysicists, mathematicians and industrialists from 55 international centres to promote human placental biological models towards standardised testing systems to better understand the reproductive toxicology effects of the human exposome. I hold an editorial board position with an international journal, Placenta. I am also one of three international panellists on a new Doctoral Partnership program on “Inflammatory Disorders in Pregnancy” (DP-iDP) at Graz Medical University, Austria (currently 17 PhD students on a partnership program with industry).
Research interests
- Transplacental paracellular pathways
- Regulation of fetoplacental blood flow
- Regulation of placental oxygen transfer
- Regulation of transplacental water and solute transfer
- Signalling in the fetoplacental endothelium
- Placental Toxicology
- Supervisor / Co-supervisor to PhD / MD students (Universities of Manchester, ICL, Nottingham, UK)
Teaching
Project 1 & 2 Supervisor, for MRes in Maternal & Fetal Health; MRes in Translational Medicine; MSc Clinical Biochemistry.
Workshop Tutor & Health & Safety module teacher, for MRes in Maternal & Fetal Health
Academic Advisor (Years 1 & 2) MBChB
Supervisor, for FLS intercallating medical students on BSC(HONS) research projects
My collaborations
External
Prof John Wright, University of Bradford, UK.
Prof Jos Kleinjans and Dr Kevin Knoops, University of Maastricht, Holland.
Prof Stefan Hansson, University of Lund, Sweden.
Prof Anna David, University College London, UK.
Prof. Rohan Lewis, University of Southampton, UK.
Dr Gowsihan Poologasundarampillai, University fo Birmingham, UK
Drs Win Tun and Michelle Durrows, Diamond Light Source, Harwell, UK
Drs Nicola Powles-Glover and Rhiannon David, Astra-Zeneca, Cambridge. UK
Profs Gernot Desoye & Christian Wadsack, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
Profs Henning Schneider & Christiane Albrecht, Bern University, Switzerland.
Prof Natalia Schlabritz-Lutsevich, Texas Technical University at Odessa, USA.
Memberships of committees and professional bodies
- Physiological Society
- British Microcirculation Society
- International Federation of Placenta Associations
- Blair Bell Research Society (Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists)
- European Society of Cardiology
- Fetal & Neonatal Physiological Society
- NC3Rs non-animal testing (NATs) specialist interest group
Methodological knowledge
Ex vivo dual perfusion of the human placenta
Placental endothelial cell physiology
Endothelial cell-flow shear-stress investigation
Phosphoproteome analysis
ELISAs and other assays
Qualifications
BSc(HONS), MPhil, PhD
Social responsibility
Annual hosting of A-level students on work-experince placements.
Associate of Greenhead College "PAWS" program
Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre Patient Research Involvement Group
Various departmental associated events
Speaker to various ProBus (retired business womens meetings)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, REGULATION OF FETOPLACENTAL VASCULAR TONE AND TRANSPLACENTAL TRANSFER, The University of Manchester
Award Date: 1 Dec 2007
Master of Philosophy, Permeability of the Human Placenta, The University of Manchester
Award Date: 1 Dec 2001
Bachelor of Science, Applied Biological Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
Award Date: 1 Jul 1988
Areas of expertise
- RG Gynecology and obstetrics
- Placenta
- Physiology
- Toxicology
- Endocrinology
- Pathology
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Biotechnology
- Lydia Becker Institute
- Christabel Pankhurst Institute
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Development of integrated models of the fetal and placental circulations to improve prediction of stillbirth.
Clark, A., Jackson, T., Nagahawatte, N., Poologasundarampillai, G., Brownbill, P., Evangelinos, A., Pennington, A., Darrow, M., Van Loon, R., Chernyavsky, I., Heazell, A. & James, J., 2 Sept 2024, p. e46. 1 p.Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › peer-review
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Fetoplacental vascular effects of maternal adrenergic antihypertensive and cardioprotective medications in pregnancy
Tropea, T., Mavichak, W., Evangelinos, A., Brennan-Richardson, C., Cottrell, E., Myers, J., Johnstone, E. & Brownbill, P., 1 Nov 2023, In: J Hypertens. 41, 11, p. 1675-1687 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open Access -
A massively multi-scale approach to characterising tissue architecture by synchrotron micro-CT applied to the human placenta
Tun, W. M., Poologasundarampillai, G., Bischof, H., Nye, G., King, O. N. F., Basham , M., Tokudome, Y., Lewis, R. M., Johnstone, E., Brownbill, P., Darrow, M. & Chernyavsky, I., 6 May 2021, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of the Royal Society. Interface.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Targeted Delivery of Epidermal Growth Factor to the Human Placenta to Treat Fetal Growth Restriction
Renshall, L. J., Beards, F., Evangelinos, A., Greenwood, S. L., Brownbill, P., Stevens, A., Sibley, C. P., Aplin, J. D., Johnstone, E. D., Teesalu, T. & Harris, L. K., 25 Oct 2021, In: Pharmaceutics. 13, 11, p. 1778Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile137 Downloads (Pure) -
Pulsatility effects of flow on vascular tone in the fetoplacental circulation
Brownbill, P., Higgins, L. & Westwood, M., 2020, In: Placenta. 101, p. 163-168 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Special issue › peer-review
Open Access
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Tommy's 2024-2025 Annual Budget
Heazell, A. (PI), Aplin, J. (CoI), Brownbill, P. (CoI), Cottrell, E. (CoI), Desforges, M. (CoI), Dilworth, M. (CoI), Higgins, L. (CoI), Johnstone, E. (CoI), Myers, J. (CoI), Palin, V. (CoI), Ruane, P. (CoI), Stevens, A. (CoI), Tropea, T. (CoI), Westwood, M. (CoI) & Worton, S. (CoI)
1/04/24 → 31/03/25
Project: Research
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Multi-modal studies to understand pregnancy and prevent stillbirth
Heazell, A. (PI), Brownbill, P. (CoI), Chernyavsky, I. (CoI), Cotter, S. (CoI), Duhig, K. (CoI), Higgins, L. (CoI), Jensen, O. (CoI), Johnstone, E. (CoI) & Whitfield, C. (CoI)
17/10/22 → 31/03/25
Project: Research
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Maternal & Fetal Health Research Centre
Stevens, A. (PI), Heazell, A. (PI), Tower, C. (PI), Brison, D. (PI), Johnstone, E. (PI), Cottrell, E. (PI), Mann, E. (PI), Ingram, E. (PI), Crocker, I. (PI), Chernyavsky, I. (PI), Myers, J. (PI), Aplin, J. (PI), Higgins, L. (PI), Harris, L. (PI), Dilworth, M. (PI), Westwood, M. (PI), Whitworth, M. (PI), Desforges, M. (PI), Brownbill, P. (PI), Ruane, P. (PI), Sturmey, R. (PI), Worton, S. (PI), Greenwood, S. (PI) & Sibley, C. (PI)
1/09/18 → 31/12/35
Project: Research
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Does maternal ambient air exposure to traffic-related particulate matter induce carcinogenic responses in the foetus?
Brownbill, P. (PI)
1/01/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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Evaluation of the Safety of Maternal Anti-hypertensive Medicines on Placental Vascular Function.
Brownbill, P. (PI), Cottrell, E. (CoI), Johnstone, E. (CoI), Myers, J. (CoI) & Tropea, T. (Grant contributor)
1/11/19 → 31/10/22
Project: Research
Activities
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Placenta (Journal)
Brownbill, P. (Member of editorial board)
7 Jan 2020 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work › Research
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The human placenta – the transfer interface between mum and baby
Brownbill, P. (Speaker)
3 Apr 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
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European Commission (External organisation)
Brownbill, P. (Academic expert member)
Feb 2019 → Apr 2019Activity: Membership › Membership of committee › Research
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Medical University of Graz
Brownbill, P. (Honorary)
18 Dec 2018 → …Activity: External visiting positions or secondments › Visiting an external academic institution › Research
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European Commission (External organisation)
Brownbill, P. (Academic expert member)
Feb 2018 → Apr 2018Activity: Membership › Membership of committee › Research
Datasets
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Research data for a study on haemoglobin and heme defences - "EVERREST" study
Brook, A. (Creator), Baynes, G. (Creator), Scargill, J. (Creator), Evangelinos, A. (Creator), Brennan-Richardson, C. (Creator), Dow, F. (Creator), Ginsberg, Y. (Creator), Weissbach, T. (Creator), Brodszki, J. (Creator), Hansson, E. (Creator), Diemert, A. (Creator), Hetcher, K. (Creator), Maksym, K. (Creator), Marlow, N. (Creator), Spencer, R. (Creator), David, A. (Creator), Hansson, S. R. (Creator) & Brownbill, P. (Creator), University of Manchester Figshare, 10 Jun 2024
DOI: 10.48420/25924327, https://figshare.manchester.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Research_data_for_a_study_on_haemoglobin_and_heme_defences_-_EVERREST_study/25924327
Dataset
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Quantitative assessment of placental morphology may identify specific causes of stillbirth
Ptacek, I. (Contributor), Smith, A. (Contributor), Garrod, A. (Contributor), Bullough, S. (Contributor), Bradley, N. (Contributor), Batra, G. (Contributor), Sibley, C. (Contributor), Jones, R. (Contributor), Brownbill, P. (Contributor) & Heazell, A. (Contributor), figshare , 6 Feb 2016
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3622058.v1, https://figshare.com/collections/Quantitative_assessment_of_placental_morphology_may_identify_specific_causes_of_stillbirth/3622058/1
Dataset
Press/Media
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Vital research carried out in our city is helping Greater Manchester mums get through a difficult pregnancy - here are their stories
18/09/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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iNEWS: Scientists discover a major cause of premature birth – as well as a promising treatment
10/06/18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Scientists discover a major cause of premature birth – as well as a promising treatment
10/06/18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Texas - Manchester research collaboration & "EU PlaNet" network co-ordination
9/03/16
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research