Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Students can work on projects related to glucose, insulin, and related aspects of metabolic physiology in studies of pregnant individuals at Massachusetts General Hospital. The PI has 3 cohorts which have or are currently profiling pregnant individuals using oral glucose tolerance testing and/or continuous glucose monitoring. Proteomic and/or genomic data is available in some cases. Students can investigate relationships between participant characteristics and behaviors and aspects of glycemic physiology during pregnancy. Students can also examine associations between glucose and insulin physiology and pregnancy outcomes. Students interested in omics approaches can apply them to the study of glycemia in pregnancy and gestational diabetes.

We have assembled a large electronic health record-based cohort at Massachusetts General Hospital which contains clinical data from over 50,000 pregnancies cared for at our hospital. Students can conduct epidemiologic studies of pregnancy outcomes or of associations between pregnancy exposures (for example gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm birth) and long-term chronic disease risk.

Hemoglobin A1c is commonly used outside of pregnancy to assess glycemia and diagnose diabetes. However, in pregnancy, changes in red blood cell kinetics affect the relationship between blood glucose levels and hemoglobin A1c. We are researching the relationship between hemoglobin A1c and glucose levels (as measured by continuous glucose monitoring) in pregnancy and trying to make testing for and monitoring diabetes easier for pregnant individuals. Students can work on patient-oriented research projects related to hemoglobin A1c. Depending on interest, activities could include data collection (including interacting with participants and placing continuous glucose monitors) and/or data analysis.