Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby: The Impact of Prenatal Depression on Maternal and Infant Immunity

Part 1: Justine Noel Interview

Duration: 00:42
Transcript

00:00:05:19 - Hi I'm Thi Nguyen
00:00:06:21 with the science communication lab
00:00:08:14 and I'm talking to all the presenters
00:00:10:06 for the Share Your Research competition
00:00:12:03 and today I'm talking to Justine.
00:00:14:01 Hi Justine
00:00:14:21 would you like to introduce yourself?
00:00:16:05 - Hi Thi thank you for this introduction
00:00:18:10 and this opportunity.
00:00:19:19 So my name is Justine Noel
00:00:21:12 and I'm currently a PhD candidate
00:00:23:13 here at the Icahn School of Medicine
00:00:25:08 in New York City.
00:00:26:14 And I study how
00:00:27:17 different environmental exposures
00:00:29:13 during pregnancy
00:00:30:17 how does that impact mom's health
00:00:32:13 as well as baby's health.
00:00:33:22 - And what research questions interest you Justine?
00:00:36:19 - Research questions that interest me
00:00:38:14 fall under the category of immune development.
00:00:42:05 So what are the key responsibilities
00:00:47:11 or roles that dictate a child
00:00:50:03 in developing a certain type of disorder?
00:00:52:11 And how does the immune system play a role in that?
00:00:56:12 That's been like something that's interest me
00:00:58:20 for a long time
00:01:02:05 because it's known that our interactions
00:01:04:20 with our environment can impact our health
00:01:07:07 but the connection is your immune system.
00:01:09:14 So understanding how these environments
00:01:11:22 change your immune system
00:01:13:01 to impact your health can allow
00:01:14:23 for new therapeutics
00:01:16:15 or new avenues to pursue
00:01:19:22 to better understand disease manifestations.
00:01:22:22 - And what motivated you
00:01:24:00 to get into this field of immune development
00:01:26:00 and children's health?
00:01:27:07 - I would say my interest started
00:01:31:10 working in actually neuroscience.
00:01:35:03 In undergrad I majored
00:01:37:02 in neuroscience at Stony Brook University
00:01:39:21 where I studied spinal cord development
00:01:43:22 and it didn't have anything to do
00:01:46:17 with like the immune system
00:01:47:21 and child or anything like that.
00:01:49:22 But just the model system of looking
00:01:52:02 at how different exposures
00:01:53:09 can impact your development
00:01:55:05 has always been a common thread
00:01:58:02 in my research career
00:01:59:12 and has always been something
00:02:00:16 that I've been interested in
00:02:02:18 at either the cellular level
00:02:04:10 or even looking at the nitty gritty details
00:02:07:02 at the molecular level
00:02:08:02 to understand what's going on.
00:02:11:01 - In your work in cellular research
00:02:13:18 and now immune development
00:02:15:15 I'm just curious what's one thing
00:02:17:19 about being a scientist in general
00:02:19:19 and doing research
00:02:20:21 that you wish other people knew?
00:02:22:11 - That we don't lock ourselves in a cave
00:02:25:06 and are cave people all day.
00:02:27:10 You know we have lives
00:02:29:04 and just we're just passionate about science.
00:02:34:13 That's all.
00:02:35:09 We're no different from anyone else.
00:02:36:19 We just have a different passion.
00:02:39:12 And we love to share that passion.
00:02:41:10 - In talking about the passion
00:02:42:23 that you have for science
00:02:44:05 what is one of your first science memories
00:02:46:06 that may have fueled this passion?
00:02:48:13 - So my first science memories
00:02:50:06 actually took place in elementary school
00:02:52:15 during the different types of science fairs.
00:02:55:11 And I vividly remember designing that tornado
00:03:00:00 with the the soda machine bottles
00:03:02:05 and like just being amazed at like oh wow
00:03:06:02 there's something cool happening physics wise
00:03:09:09 or something is going on here
00:03:10:23 that I don't really understand.
00:03:12:10 And that sparked the idea of asking questions
00:03:15:18 and being able to test
00:03:16:22 the different types of questions
00:03:18:09 and I've always been enthusiastic
00:03:22:05 to pursue those type of avenues.
00:03:25:16 - So thinking about that curiosity as a kid
00:03:28:11 and what you thought you'd be doing
00:03:30:12 does that connect with what you're doing now?
00:03:33:15 - No.
00:03:34:11 So I thought as a child
00:03:36:15 I was gonna be a medical doctor.
00:03:38:12 I was pursuing that route.
00:03:41:14 Along the way
00:03:42:11 I got exposed to basic science research
00:03:46:08 and it was like a magnet.
00:03:48:21 It just pulled me in.
00:03:50:13 And I knew that doing this type of research
00:03:55:01 having this type of impact
00:03:56:13 on whatever field that I'm working in
00:04:00:08 was a passion of mine.
00:04:02:12 So no I didn't become a medical doctor
00:04:05:18 but it's pretty close.
00:04:08:21 - And for people
00:04:09:22 young people who are interested
00:04:11:14 in getting into basic science and research
00:04:14:10 what is something that you want them to know
00:04:17:07 that's great about your field
00:04:19:03 and something that's challenging?
00:04:20:23 - Science is challenging you know
00:04:22:23 not everything works
00:04:24:01 so not every day is the perfect day
00:04:27:11 but I think something
00:04:28:21 that keeps me going is the question
00:04:32:23 like what is the answers to these questions?
00:04:36:01 Like despite the experiment not working
00:04:38:21 there can be another way to solve it.
00:04:40:12 So what I would say to younger scientists
00:04:42:19 is don't be too hard on yourself
00:04:46:08 and pursue even if you think
00:04:49:11 that you're not gonna get that opportunity
00:04:51:23 or get that acceptance
00:04:54:19 still apply because you never know.
00:04:57:03 And you can always
00:04:59:06 it's better to expose yourself to that opportunity
00:05:02:08 than to look back years later
00:05:04:16 and say what if you know?
00:05:06:16 - Yeah you're talking about the creativity
00:05:08:19 that you get to use
00:05:10:15 to find different solutions
00:05:12:06 and people who are artists or writers
00:05:14:14 also do really well in science too.
00:05:17:02 Do you find you use some of your other skills?
00:05:19:13 - I used to do graphic design in college.
00:05:22:10 So I think I've been implementing
00:05:24:16 a lot of my graphic design skills
00:05:26:05 when I design like figures
00:05:27:19 and when I'm trying to clearly communicate
00:05:30:17 my scientific message
00:05:32:02 to a wide variety of audiences.
00:05:36:23 So yeah I think having that
00:05:42:03 having that expertise
00:05:44:19 or that understanding of graphic design
00:05:46:22 has really helped in my science communication.
00:05:50:11 - Yeah.
00:05:51:10 Well it's been so lovely to talk Justine.
00:05:53:15 I hope you all check out Justine's research.
00:05:56:02 She talks about this idea of basic research
00:05:59:11 and translation in related to disease.
00:06:02:10 " Her talk is called ""Healthy Mom Healthy Baby"
00:06:04:13 The Impact of Prenatal Depression
00:06:06:07 " On Maternal And Infant Immunity"""
00:06:08:05 and you get to see the amazing figures
00:06:10:02 that she put together
00:06:10:22 using her graphic design background.
00:06:13:05 Thank you so much Justine.
00:06:15:08 - Thank you Thi
00:06:16:07 and thank you iBiology for this opportunity.

Part 2: Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby: The Impact of Prenatal Depression on Maternal and Infant Immunity

Duration: 00:18:18
Transcript

00:00:12:17 - Hello everyone.
00:00:13:20 My name is Justine Noel and I'm a PhD candidate
00:00:16:15 here at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
00:00:19:17 in New York City
00:00:21:12 investigating how prenatal exposures
00:00:23:21 influence maternal and infant health.
00:00:26:03 I'm excited to share my thesis story with you today
00:00:28:14 entitled Healthy mom healthy baby
00:00:30:18 The impact of prenatal depression
00:00:32:11 on maternal and infant immunity.
00:00:35:08 Pregnancy and new motherhood can be a special time
00:00:37:17 in a woman's life
00:00:38:19 as displayed by cultural icon Beyonce on stage
00:00:41:23 revealing her pregnancy at the 2011 MTV Music Awards.
00:00:46:08 You may feel overjoyed.
00:00:47:17 There are no words that can express
00:00:49:11 having a baby growing inside you.
00:00:51:15 So of course you wanna scream out and tell everyone.
00:00:54:14 Pregnancy can mean the beginning
00:00:56:06 of a new stage in a woman's life
00:00:58:07 and all of this changes that this new stage bring.
00:01:01:06 We talk about the obvious ones
00:01:02:21 like cravings fatigue nausea body shape
00:01:06:19 but what about mental health?
00:01:09:06 Pregnancy can be a time of joy and stress.
00:01:12:03 Research suggests that one in five women
00:01:14:11 experience depression related symptoms
00:01:16:07 throughout their pregnancy.
00:01:17:21 However the actual rate might be higher
00:01:20:02 since women may be reluctant to get help.
00:01:23:05 Depression is a medical condition
00:01:24:17 that causes feelings of sadness and loss of interest
00:01:27:09 in things that you like to do.
00:01:29:00 It can affect how you feel think and act
00:01:31:18 and interfere with your daily life
00:01:33:11 and needs treatment to get better.
00:01:35:14 These women are often juggling
00:01:37:00 a multitude of life stressors
00:01:38:09 such as pregnancy complications
00:01:40:13 as well as family and financial stress.
00:01:42:17 Untreated depression can have serious consequences on
00:01:45:05 not only moms their children and families
00:01:48:01 but society as a whole.
00:01:50:06 Depression doesn't just impact moms.
00:01:51:22 It can also affect your child your offspring.
00:01:54:16 Depressions during pregnancy has been shown to increase
00:01:58:04 premature birth or birth before 37 weeks of term
00:02:03:06 learning behavior and developmental problems
00:02:06:16 as well has been attributed to contributing
00:02:08:21 to low birth weight.
00:02:10:18 But did you know that depression
00:02:12:00 can promote allergies in your offspring?
00:02:14:23 Prenatal depression has been associated
00:02:16:15 with enhancing your child's risk
00:02:18:03 of developing allergic mediated diseases like eczema
00:02:22:10 as well as food allergies and wheeze.
00:02:26:06 So how does prenatal depression evoke such a disease?
00:02:29:12 One hypothesis is that the maternal immune system
00:02:32:00 during pregnancy may play a role.
00:02:35:14 Before we jump in
00:02:37:00 let's take a step back and have a brief overview
00:02:39:08 of what is known and what is not known
00:02:41:09 about the mom's immune system during pregnancy.
00:02:45:03 We will first look over how cytokines
00:02:48:15 special immune modulating factors
00:02:50:10 contribute to changing the immune environment
00:02:52:13 during pregnancy.
00:02:54:04 And then look at the impact this may have
00:02:56:20 on influencing allergy development.
00:02:59:18 During pregnancy
00:03:00:17 major adaptations occur in a mom's immune system
00:03:04:04 to protect the mother and her future baby.
00:03:06:14 It's thought that a balance between inflammatory
00:03:08:17 versus tolerant immune signatures
00:03:10:20 defined by cytokines
00:03:12:03 play a role in influencing the state.
00:03:14:19 The source of these cytokines
00:03:16:07 that regulate tolerance signatures
00:03:18:05 displayed in green
00:03:19:20 corresponds to a special subset of T cells
00:03:22:10 named Th2 memory and T regulatory memory cells.
00:03:26:01 And these cells are seen at high frequencies
00:03:28:09 during the second and third trimester
00:03:30:19 and have been associated with the maintenance
00:03:32:17 of maternal fetal communication
00:03:35:22 normal fetal development
00:03:38:03 and full term healthy pregnancies.
00:03:42:19 It's unclear the role depression plays
00:03:45:00 in influencing such of a balance.
00:03:48:20 However we speculate that depression
00:03:50:18 may promote inflammation
00:03:53:12 and this is due to the enhanced frequency
00:03:56:05 of preterm birth observed within depression moms.
00:04:00:20 And this inflammation is known
00:04:02:07 to impact the fetal communication
00:04:04:09 maternal fetal communication
00:04:06:02 leading to potentially adverse fetal developments
00:04:09:15 and adverse pregnancies.
00:04:13:01 But how does disrupting this depression pathway
00:04:16:13 lead to allergies in babies?
00:04:19:09 Mother and fetus are interconnected.
00:04:22:22 If an exposure to these signals
00:04:24:20 can lead to an adverse infant outcome
00:04:27:10 like allergy development
00:04:29:07 how does depression influence this?
00:04:32:04 We speculate that depression
00:04:33:14 targets the maternal immune balance
00:04:35:14 to skew the scale of maternal immunity
00:04:38:09 and that exposures to these cytokines
00:04:41:04 during fetal immune development
00:04:43:11 can influence the development postnatally
00:04:46:22 and impact their allergy health outcomes
00:04:50:22 promoting either allergy response indicated in orange
00:04:55:11 or allergy tolerance indicated in green
00:04:58:11 and seen in children
00:04:59:19 who don't develop allergy related diseases like eczema.
00:05:03:14 By understanding how exposures impact
00:05:05:14 maternal fetal immunity
00:05:06:19 we aim to better understand
00:05:08:17 how maternal immune influences impact infant immunity
00:05:12:19 and health
00:05:14:03 as well as potentially identify immune pathways involved
00:05:18:05 in early allergy manifestation
00:05:21:15 all in the hopes to create new therapeutics
00:05:24:04 for early interventions to prevent allergic disease.
00:05:27:14 So how do we go about answering such a question?
00:05:31:10 Using human blood samples
00:05:33:12 from moms and their newborns
00:05:35:06 based here in the city that never sleeps New York City
00:05:38:07 we aim to answer
00:05:40:02 does prenatal depression modulate maternal immunity
00:05:43:00 to influence allergy outcomes?
00:05:45:03 And to address this overarching question
00:05:47:11 first we looked at two simple questions
00:05:50:03 does prenatal depression alter maternal immune balance
00:05:54:09 and does prenatal depression impact infant immunity?
00:05:57:21 Again we took blood from our human cohort
00:06:01:08 and the first part of this talk
00:06:02:14 I'm gonna focus on the impact
00:06:04:07 that depression has on moms' immunity.
00:06:07:13 So we took blood from around 82 women here
00:06:10:23 based in New York City
00:06:12:16 isolated immune cells from their blood
00:06:15:05 and stimulated them with various different stimuli
00:06:18:23 indicated in green blue purple and pink.
00:06:22:06 Each of these stimuli represents
00:06:24:06 or mimics the response
00:06:26:08 to encounters like bacteria
00:06:29:07 which indicates the LPS response
00:06:32:15 or mimics a response to viral infections
00:06:35:21 indicated in purple
00:06:37:05 single strand RNA targets innate receptor TLR7
00:06:42:19 as well as T-cell responses using PMA ionomycin
00:06:47:17 to get a broad overview of how different exposures
00:06:52:04 impact maternal immunity during pregnancy.
00:06:56:10 And using a machine learning algorithm
00:06:58:21 called Elastic Net regularization
00:07:01:16 we predicted which cytokine signatures
00:07:04:13 associate with our outcome
00:07:06:04 which in this case is depression.
00:07:08:03 So what is Elastic Net regularization
00:07:10:21 and how do we use this machine learning algorithm
00:07:13:08 to predict which cytokines associate with depression?
00:07:17:20 Well Elastic Net regularization
00:07:19:13 incorporates two penalization approaches
00:07:22:06 to create predictive models that are easy to interpret.
00:07:25:16 In simple terms we'll take our cytokine data
00:07:28:19 generated from our stimulation experiment assays.
00:07:32:00 It assigns them weights based off their probability
00:07:34:16 of predicting depression.
00:07:36:10 And then it ranks these values
00:07:38:11 based off of their weights
00:07:40:03 and how they contribute to the overall model.
00:07:43:17 To verify how accurate our model is
00:07:45:17 we used a cross-validation resampling approach.
00:07:48:11 There are two ways to look at this.
00:07:50:19 The first thing I'm gonna show is an ROC curve
00:07:53:15 or a receiver operating characteristic curve
00:07:56:07 a graph showing the performance
00:07:57:16 of our classification model.
00:07:59:17 Using specificity and sensitivity terms
00:08:02:12 it provides an aggregated measure
00:08:04:15 of performance across all samples.
00:08:07:00 This model was able to predict accurately
00:08:09:05 for depression or no depression 91.7% of the time.
00:08:14:19 In the graph on the right is a confusion matrix.
00:08:17:08 Let's walk through this.
00:08:20:10 Here I'm showing a simplified version
00:08:22:06 of how a confusion matrix is created.
00:08:24:15 We have our predictive Elastic Net model on the top
00:08:27:14 and our actual results on the bottom.
00:08:30:09 Highlighted in red here are our true negative TN
00:08:34:11 or true positive TP characterizations.
00:08:37:23 And as you can see
00:08:39:04 in both Elastic Net in our actual results
00:08:41:19 these two outcomes align with each other
00:08:44:19 meaning in a true positive case
00:08:46:22 what you predicted as positive actually was positive
00:08:49:10 in the results
00:08:50:12 or in a true negative case
00:08:51:14 what you predicted as negative
00:08:53:03 actually came out as negative negative
00:08:54:19 in our prediction models
00:08:57:00 as opposed to false negative and false positive rates
00:09:00:09 highlighted here in purple.
00:09:02:14 False negative represents a Type II error
00:09:05:04 meaning that you predicted a negative results
00:09:07:09 when actually this was false
00:09:09:19 versus a false positive error
00:09:11:20 which represents a Type I error
00:09:13:18 is where you predicted something being true
00:09:16:15 is actually false.
00:09:18:12 You want these values to be as low as possible in your model
00:09:21:17 as this will allow your model
00:09:23:03 to be highly predictive and accurate
00:09:24:20 as well as well balanced to predict the both outcomes.
00:09:29:08 Now back to our matrix.
00:09:31:11 Our model was able to correctly predict depression
00:09:34:08 with 116 samples being classified correctly
00:09:38:12 and less than 15% or 14 samples
00:09:41:23 being classified incorrectly as false positives.
00:09:45:00 And as you can see on the true negative side
00:09:47:22 we see a similar ratio
00:09:50:01 highlighting how balanced our model is
00:09:52:05 at both predicting depression and non depression
00:09:54:21 in our maternal cohort.
00:09:56:17 So what were the differences in these samples?
00:10:00:08 Here I'm showing our variable importance plots.
00:10:03:12 This is showing the top cytokines highlighted in orange
00:10:08:01 all corresponded to our T cell assays
00:10:10:21 correctly predicting
00:10:12:03 and they were correctly predicting
00:10:13:12 depression in these moms
00:10:15:03 suggesting that depression may be influencing
00:10:17:17 the immune balance during pregnancy.
00:10:20:02 Looking at the defined variables
00:10:21:23 that were isolated from our Elastic Net regression model
00:10:25:04 we saw that woman with depression
00:10:28:07 highlighted here in the green boxes
00:10:30:01 displayed enhanced production
00:10:31:15 of inflammatory associated cytokines
00:10:34:00 interferon gamma IL-17F and IL-17A
00:10:38:22 even after adjusting for factors
00:10:40:12 such as depression medication use race
00:10:43:12 and maternal atopy status.
00:10:45:16 The level of these cytokines display
00:10:47:19 a positive relationship as well
00:10:49:10 with clinical depression anxiety
00:10:51:06 and perceived stress scores
00:10:53:01 obtained from the same woman
00:10:54:18 indicating that there is a relationship
00:10:56:09 between inflammation and mood disorders during pregnancy.
00:11:00:14 To further verify depression is associated
00:11:03:00 with changes in T cell responses
00:11:06:01 we took a subset of maternal samples
00:11:08:17 and profiled them using flow cytometry
00:11:11:17 to get the frequency of the different T cell subsets
00:11:15:00 indicated in this balance chart here.
00:11:18:14 We used a transcription factor called FOXP3
00:11:22:03 as this has been shown to be a clear identifier
00:11:25:10 of a special subset of T cells called TRegs.
00:11:30:01 T regulatory cells are major factors
00:11:32:16 that maintain immune tolerance
00:11:34:10 by suppressing inflammation.
00:11:36:12 We observed that in our depression cohort in green
00:11:40:00 there were less positive FOXP3 cells
00:11:43:12 meaning that there were less TRegs in circulation
00:11:46:15 and more FOXP3 negative cells
00:11:49:06 or more effector type cells in circulation.
00:11:52:17 Overall suggesting that T cell immunity
00:11:55:03 is influenced by depression in these moms.
00:11:58:14 We unfortunately didn't find any immune predictors
00:12:01:15 of eczema within maternal immunity.
00:12:05:00 So we moved into profiling newborn immunity.
00:12:08:22 Taking a similar approach
00:12:10:10 we used core blood samples from match mothers
00:12:13:06 within our cohorts
00:12:14:21 and this core blood represents at birth immunity.
00:12:18:02 From this core blood
00:12:18:23 we isolated immune cells
00:12:20:18 and subjected them to our stimulation assays
00:12:23:12 where we probed with different innate
00:12:25:16 and T cell stimuli
00:12:28:06 as well as continued to use
00:12:29:21 an Elastic Net regression method
00:12:32:01 to identify the factors
00:12:33:19 that were predictive of depression during pregnancy
00:12:37:05 and infants
00:12:38:12 as well as childhood eczema
00:12:40:07 to identify potentially presymptomatic indicators.
00:12:44:07 Within our infants immune simulation assay
00:12:47:01 we again use the Elastic Net approach
00:12:49:03 to identify factors related to depression exposure
00:12:53:21 or eczema development in infants.
00:12:57:01 Here are the respective Confusion Matrix
00:12:59:02 to show how accurate our predictive model was.
00:13:02:00 for infant immunity at birth
00:13:03:15 our classification model had some biases.
00:13:06:19 It favors accurate classification
00:13:09:00 of children who were not exposed to depression
00:13:12:04 or children who did not develop eczema
00:13:14:14 as indicated by their low false negative rates.
00:13:19:12 The Venn diagram highlights the cytokines
00:13:22:06 that displayed at least a 20% influence
00:13:24:18 onto our classification models.
00:13:27:08 For depression three cytokines related
00:13:29:13 to innate immunity and antiviral response were identified.
00:13:33:16 And our univariate analysis highlighted
00:13:35:18 that children not exposed to depression
00:13:38:11 had a higher antiviral response
00:13:41:04 suggesting that maternal depression
00:13:42:21 may alter antiviral immunity postnatally.
00:13:47:13 For eczema two cytokines showed strong importance
00:13:50:18 in our classification model.
00:13:52:14 One being IL-5.
00:13:54:10 IL-5 is a cytokine involved
00:13:56:00 in the allergy response
00:13:57:04 suggesting that levels at birth
00:13:58:21 may be a presymptomatic indicator of T cell dysregulation
00:14:02:20 leading to allergy development.
00:14:05:11 The shared factor observed
00:14:06:17 between both depression and eczema outcomes
00:14:08:21 in infant immunity was IL-6
00:14:11:14 which is a pluripotent cytokine
00:14:13:04 with numerous roles in regulating immunity.
00:14:15:17 And we're currently exploring its impact
00:14:17:14 on infant immunity.
00:14:19:18 Overall our analysis here highlights
00:14:22:01 that there are presymptomatic factors
00:14:23:19 that can be observed at birth
00:14:26:01 and point at different pathways and cell types
00:14:28:19 that may be involved
00:14:29:20 in promoting allergy disease manifestation.
00:14:32:19 So let's put the pieces together.
00:14:34:18 So in summary I've shown
00:14:36:16 that using Elastic Net machine learning technologies
00:14:39:17 we can better characterize
00:14:41:00 the role of mood exposures during pregnancy
00:14:43:17 that depression relates to a reduced tolerance
00:14:47:00 associated cytokines and cellular frequencies
00:14:49:18 during third trimester
00:14:51:10 shown by the increased production of inflammatory cytokines
00:14:54:23 like IL-17A 17F and interferon gamma
00:14:59:01 and the reduced frequency of circulating T regulatory cells
00:15:03:04 in the periphery of these moms during third trimester.
00:15:08:03 I've also showed that there are signatures
00:15:10:03 that relate to allergy at birth
00:15:12:11 and that can be used to predict infant eczema outcomes
00:15:16:05 and points to potentially early dysregulation
00:15:20:02 in T cell immunity.
00:15:23:05 Our next steps is to use a network analysis
00:15:26:17 and causal interference models
00:15:29:05 to estimate how does this inflammation
00:15:32:01 influence either infant immunity
00:15:34:18 and how does this relate to eczema outcomes.
00:15:38:04 Causal interference will allow us
00:15:39:18 to better understand the how behind the why.
00:15:42:15 It allows us to incorporate and look at influences
00:15:45:11 of additional factors
00:15:47:01 like race household income support at home
00:15:50:00 and discrimination
00:15:51:07 and how this all plays a role in modulating
00:15:53:18 this depression related immunity
00:15:56:06 that we've observed within our cohorts.
00:15:59:05 Overall more work needs to be done in this area
00:16:02:10 to find better intervention methods
00:16:04:13 to better support moms to be
00:16:06:14 as well as analysis
00:16:07:18 and additional cytokines signatures observed
00:16:10:21 can be predictive factors in identifying women
00:16:13:08 who develop potentially postpartum depression.
00:16:16:15 Research in this field is critical
00:16:18:10 to further understand immunology of pregnancy
00:16:20:21 and its influence on promoting prevention disease.
00:16:24:18 Improving the wellbeing of moms infants and children
00:16:27:09 is an important health goal.
00:16:29:09 Their wellbeing determines the health of the next generation
00:16:32:15 and can predict future public health challenges
00:16:35:09 for families our communities
00:16:37:08 and the healthcare system in general.
00:16:39:04 Don't forget that support is a community effort.
00:16:42:00 And it's important to remember
00:16:43:09 if you or your loved ones
00:16:44:11 are experiencing symptoms of depression during pregnancy
00:16:47:21 to seek help to learn and share positive coping strategies
00:16:51:19 to manage your symptoms.
00:16:53:19 And with that this brings me to the end of my talk.
00:16:56:16 And science is a group effort
00:16:58:06 and I'm so thankful for everyone that has been involved
00:17:01:22 in this project
00:17:03:00 and helping it to move it forward
00:17:05:02 including my lab my mentor Cecilia for all the advice
00:17:09:21 Danny a postdoc in my lab
00:17:11:16 who has been so intrumental
00:17:13:16 for helping me to get some of these assays up and running
00:17:16:17 collaborators for their assistance sample collection
00:17:21:01 additional collaborators in Sampson's lab
00:17:23:08 and Mosmann's labs for analysis assistance
00:17:27:03 my thesis committee for assistance and direction
00:17:30:09 Mount Sinai for being an amazing environment to work in
00:17:34:03 as well as the iBiology staff and supporters
00:17:37:20 who have been very instrumental
00:17:40:05 in helping us create this series.
00:17:42:16 And of course I want to thank you all
00:17:45:04 for engaging with this video
00:17:47:19 and I hope it was helpful and useful for you.

Videos in this Talk

Part 1: Justine Noel Interview
Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad
Part 2: Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby: The Impact of Prenatal Depression on Maternal and Infant Immunity
Audience:
- Student
- Researcher
- Educators
- Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad

Speaker: Justine Noel

Total Duration: 0:19:00

Recorded: July 2022

All Talks in Microbiology

Talk Overview

Have you wondered why certain people develop allergies? In this 2022 Share Your Research Talk, Justine Noel describes these prenatal exposures may be coming from the mom’s psychological stress. Her thesis research aims to identify immune signatures related to maternal prenatal psychological stress and infant allergy eczema risk. She studied maternal and infant cohorts and observed that stress alters pro-inflammatory cytokine signatures within the moms that predict infant allergy eczema outcomes.

Speaker Bio

Justine Noel

Justine Noel is a PhD Candidate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she studies pregnancy and immunity. Specifically, Justine investigates the impact of prenatal exposures on infant immunity and allergy outcomes. Justine seeks to become academic researcher. Continue Reading