School of Life Sciences
 

Image of Lopa Leach

Lopa Leach

Professor of Vascular Biology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Contact

  • workRoom E71 The University of Nottingham Medical School
    Queen's Medical Centre
    Nottingham
    NG7 2UH
    UK
  • work0115 82 30175
  • fax0115 82 30142

Biography

please see above.

Teaching Summary

Vascular Biology, Human Anatomy, Reproductive System, Renal Physiology, Diagnostic Imaging and Interpretation, Defects in Development

Research Summary

Interests

  • Maternal venous return from the placenta and the effect of placental and uterine contractions as potential markers of stillbirth
  • Placental Vascular dysfunction in pregnancies complicated by diabetes (Type 1, Type 2, GDM - diet and metformin treated)
  • Angiogenic growth factors, endoglin, glycocalyx in pre-eclampsia and vascular dysfunction
  • Molecular mechanisms underlying physiological vasculogenesis and angiogenesis.
  • Endothelial barrier function
  • Role of VE-cadherin, beta-catenin, occludin in pathological angiogenesis and vascular permeability.
  • MRI and Mathematical modelling of maternal and fetal blood flow in the placenta
  • Role of Human Mesenchymal stem cells in vascular barrier integrity in normal and gestational diabetes, effects of endoglin silencing
  • Health Inequality and Race

Techniques

  • Ex vivo perfusion of human placental vascular beds.
  • In vitro modelling of endothelial angiogenesis.
  • In vitro modelling of barrier function.
  • Confocal imaging of junctional proteins.
  • Tissue culture of primary human endothelial cells, mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial progenitor and epithelial cells.
  • Immunocytochemistry, Immunoblotting, electron microscopy,real time imaging.

Projects

  • Role of Maternal venous return from the placenta in oxygen transport to the fetus using ex vivo and MRI analyses (Welcome-Leap)
  • Mathematical Modeling of Flow, venous return and oxygenation in the human placenta (Welcome-Leap
  • Vascular dysfunction in the human diabetic placenta: molecular mechanisms behind angiogenesis, permeability changes and inflammation.
  • Angiogenic growth factors in pre-eclampsia (British Heart Foundation)
  • Fetal endothelial cells and barrier changes in vitro
  • Transmigration of human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells, lineage commitment changes and control of endothelial integrity from sub-endothelial niches in normal pregnancies and those complicated by diabetes

Local Collaborators

  • Professor Dave Bates, Dr Andy Benest (Pre-clinical Oncology)
  • Dr Nia Jones/ Prof Kate Walker (Academic Obstetrics)
  • Professor Penny Gowland (Physics)
  • Professor Paul Hudson,Hubbard and Dr O'Dea (Mathematics)
  • Prof Barrie Hayes-Gill, Prof Steve Morgan (Engineering)
  • Dr Paul Brownbill and Dr Igor Chernyavasky (Univ of Manchester)

International Collaborators

W-L performers In Utero.

Selected Publications

School of Life Sciences

University of Nottingham
Medical School
Queen's Medical Centre
Nottingham NG7 2UH

e: life-sciences@nottingham.ac.uk
t: +44 (0)115 823 0141
f: +44 (0)115 823 0142