Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine
- MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
- 2008-Present National Institutes of Health, Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 Award
- 2009 Jacqueline Marie Leaffer Center for Women’s Health Research Travel Award
"After completing my training in Pediatrics, I entered a fellowship in Neonatal Medicine. I realized that I wanted to do research to understand the nutritional needs of the growing fetus and to understand the mechanisms behind this. Therefore, I chose to become an academic physician scientist at the University of Colorado so that I could both provide care to patients as well as perform research to improve that care. My goal is to improve the health of women and the long term health of their babies. I want to learn how to provide better care to women whose pregnancies are affected by intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) by improving the growth of the baby."
What is the Research Goal?
Dr. Brown’s research goal is to develop nutritional strategies to improve muscle growth for the fetus that will help decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes in IUGR babies.
Understanding the Research
Dr. Brown is studying a problem in pregnancy called IUGR. This occurs when the placenta does not function properly so passage of nutrients to the fetus is reduced, limiting the baby’s growth. This condition leads to health problems for the newborn such as premature birth and low birth weight. Additionally, adults who were born with IUGR have increased an risk for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Dr. Brown’s research is focused on finding ways to improve an IUGR baby’s muscle growth prenatally in order to prevent these diseases that might develop later in life.