Dr. Lee Adamson — The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

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Dr. S. Lee Adamson
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR

Dr. S. Lee Adamson is a Senior Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, and the Director of the Lunenfeld’s Mouse Physiology Core of the Centre for Modeling Human Disease.

Research in Dr. Adamson’s lab focuses on the important role of the placenta in controlling fetal growth and development, and controlling the function of the cardiovascular system of the mother during pregnancy.

Placental failure results in fetal intrauterine growth restriction, which puts babies at high risk of dying before birth, or of being delivered prematurely into intensive care. Growth restriction before birth also impacts on lifelong health by increasing the risk of serious adult diseases including heart disease and diabetes. Placental failure can also lead to preeclampsia, a life-threatening maternal disorder of pregnancy.

Currently, preeclamptic complications are avoided by preterm delivery but this places the baby at risk. Dr. Adamson’s research will advance our understanding of these devastating complications that affect ten percent of all pregnancies.

Dr. Adamson is a member of international professional associations including the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, the Perinatal Research Society and the International Federation of Placental Associations, and acts as a reviewer for many academic journals including the American Journal of Physiology.

Samuel Lunenfeld
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
60 Murray St, Box 42
Toronto ON M5T 3L9

Tel.: 416-586-8377
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Jun 12, 2009 05:10 PM

At a Glance

Dr. S. Lee Adamson studies the placenta and associated complications in pregnancy.
Did you know…? An estimated 10% of births in Canada will be complicated by preeclampsia and/or fetal intrauterine growth restriction.
Dr. Adamson researches the role of the placenta in controlling maternal and fetal blood circulation and oxygen exchange during pregnancy with the goal of better understanding abnormal placenta development.
She is the founding Director of the Lunenfeld’s Research Centre for Women’s and Infants’ Health BioBank that collects donated placentas and umbilical cord blood for research.
She was honoured with the 2009 Excellence in Research Award by the Association of Professors in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Major Research Activities

Dr. Adamson's laboratory uses the mouse as a model to explore the developmental mechanisms responsible for abnormal placental blood vessel development, and the impact of abnormal placental function on fetal growth and development, and maternal signs of preeclampsia.

Maternal and fetal cardiovascular function and placental blood flows are monitored using high frequency ultrasonic imaging and Doppler to measure blood velocities. Utero- and feto-placental structures are assessed using histology and 3-D vascular imaging techniques.

Recent Publications

Detmar J, Rennie MY, Whiteley KJ, Qu D, Taniuchi Y, Shang X, Casper RF, Adamson SL, Sled JG, Jurisicova A. Fetal growth restriction triggered by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is associated with altered placental vasculature and AhR-dependent changes in cell death. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 2008 Aug;295(2):E519-30.

Mu J, Slevin JC, Qu D, McCormick S, Adamson SL. In vivo quantification of embryonic and placental growth during gestation in mice using micro-ultrasound. BMC Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2008, Aug 12;6:34.

Proctor LK, Dunk D, Baczyk D, Kingdom JC, Adamson SL. Early gene expression and morphogenesis of the murine chorioallantoic placenta in vivo and in vitro. Placenta. 2009 Jan;30(1):96-104.

► Lunenfeld Research Repository

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