Dr Beverly Mühlhäusler

Dr Beverly Mühlhäusler

  • Biography/ Background

    Beverly is an NHMRC Career Development Award Fellow in the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Bev graduated from her PhD in 2006, and has since continued to establish her reputation as a productive researcher working on the early origins of obesity. Beverly's research focuses on the impact of maternal diet on the development of adipose tissue, central appetite regulating circuitry and other key metabolic systems. She is also interested in identifying strategies for intervention which can be applied in early life in order to prevent the programming of obesity and metabolic disease. Beverly has published 20 (12 first author) original research papers and 9 review articles (5 invited) in high-impact journals in the field since 2002. Dr Muhlhausler also has a letter to the Editor published in Science and has written or co-written 3 book chapters, two on the perinatal programming of obesity and one on nutritional models of type 2 diabetes.

  • Qualifications

    • 2001 BSc(Hons), The University of Adelaide
    • 2006 PhD, The University of Adelaide

  • Publications

    Book Chapters


    1. McMillen IC, Duffield JA, Muhlhausler BS (2006) Perinatal programming of adult obesity in Perinatal Programming Hodgson D and Coe C Eds, Taylor & Francis Medial Books, UK

    2. McMillen IC, Rattanatray L, Duffield JA, Morrison JL, SM MacLaughlin, S Gentili, BS Muhlhausler The Early Origins of Later Obesity: Pathways and Mechanisms. In B Koletzko, DMolnár, T Decsi and A de la Hunty (Eds) Early Nutrition Programming and Health Outcomes inLater Life. Obesity and Beyond, (2009) 71-82.

    3. Muhlhausler BS, Nutritional Models of Type 2 Diabetes, Molecular Methods (In Press, Accepted Nov 2009)

    Refereed Journals


    4. Rattanatray L, Maclaughlin SM, Kleemann DO, Walker SK, Muhlhausler BS, McMillen IC. 2010 Impact of Maternal Periconceptional Overnutrition on Fat Mass and Expression of Adipogenic and Lipogenic Genes in Visceral and Subcutaneous Fat Depots in the Postnatal Lamb.Endocrinology 151:5195-205.

    5. Muhlhausler BS, Cook-Johnson R, James M, Miljkovic D, Duthoit E, Gibson R. 2010 Opposing effects of omega-3 and omega-6 long chain polyunsaturated Fatty acids on the expression of lipogenic genes in omental and retroperitoneal adipose depots in the rat. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism [Epub Aug 5 2010]

    6. Nguyen LT, Muhlhausler BS, Botting KJ, Morrison JL. 2010 Maternal undernutrition alters fat cell size distribution, but not lipogenic gene expression, in the visceral fat of the late gestation guinea pig fetus. Placenta. 31: 902-909

    7. Muhlhausler BS, Gibson RA, Makrides M. 2010Effect of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy or lactation on infant and child body composition: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 92: 857-863

    8. Tu WC, Cook-Johnson RJ, James MJ, Mühlhäusler BS, Gibson RA. 2010 Omega-3 long chain fatty acid synthesis is regulated more by substrate levels than gene expression.Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 83:61-68.

    9. Zhang S, Rattanatray L, MacLaughlin SM, Cropley JE, Suter CM, Molloy L, Kleemann D, Walker SK, Muhlhausler BS, Morrison JL, McMillen IC 2010 Periconceptional undernutrition in normal and overweight ewes leads to increased adrenal growth and epigenetic changes in adrenal IGF2/H19 gene in offspring. FASEB Journal 24:2772-2782

    10. Muhlhausler BS, Duffield JA, Ozanne SE, Pilgrim C, Turner N, Morrison JL, McMillen IC 2009 The transition from fetal growth restriction to accelerated postnatal growth: a potential role for insulin signalling in skeletal muscle Journal of Physiology 587:4199-211.

    11. Muhlhausler BS, Morrison JL, McMillen IC 2009 Rosiglitazone increases the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma target genes in adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscle in the sheep fetus in late gestation.Endocrinology. 150:4287-94.

    12. Morrison JL, Duffield JA, Muhlhausler BS, Gentili S, McMillen IC. 2009 Fetal growth restriction, catch-up growth and the early origins of insulin resistance and visceral obesity. Pediatric Nephrology [Epub ahead of print Dec 22]

    13. McMillen IC, Rattanatray L, Duffield JA, Morrison JL, MacLaughlin SM, Gentili S, Muhlhausler BS 2009 The early origins of later obesity: pathways and mechanisms.Advances in Experimental Medical Biology 646:71-81.

    14. Duffield JA, Vuocolo T, Tellam R, McFarlane J R, Kauter KG, Muhlhausler BS, McMillen IC 2009 Intrauterine Growth Restriction and the Sex Specific Programming of Leptin and Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor γ (PPARγ) mRNA expression in Visceral Fat in the Lamb. Pediatric Research (In Press, Accepted March 09 2009)

    15. Muhlhausler BS, Smith SR 2009 Early-life origins of metabolic dysfunction: role of the adipocyte. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 20: 51-57.

    16. Philp LK, Muhlhausler BS, Janovska A, Wittert GA, Duffield JA, McMillen IC 2008 Maternal overnutrition suppresses the phosphorylation of 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase in liver, but not skeletal muscle, in the fetal and neonatal sheep. American Journal of Physiology- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 295:R1982-1990.

    17. Muhlhausler BS, Adam CL, McMillen IC 2008 Maternal Nutrition and the Programming of Obesity: The Brain. Organogenesis Special Edition. 4:144-152.

    18. Duffield JA, Vuocolo T, Tellam R, Yuen BSJ, Muhlhausler BS, McMillen IC 2008 Placental restriction of fetal growth decreases IGF1 and leptin mRNA expression in the perirenal adipose tissue of late gestation fetal sheep. American Journal of Physiology- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 294:R1413-R1419.

    19. Muhlhausler BS, Ritorto, V, Schultz C, Chatterton BE, Duffield JA, McMillen IC 2008 Birth weight and gender determine expression of adipogenic, lipogenic and adipokine genes in perirenal adipose tissue in the young adult sheep. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 35: 46-57.

    20. McMillen IC, MacLaughlin SM, Muhlhausler BS, Gentili S, Duffield JA, Morrison JL 2008 Developmental Origins of Adult Health and Disease: The Role of Periconceptional and Fetal Nutrition. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology 102: 82-89.

    21. Muhlhausler BS, Duffield JA, McMillen IC 2007 Increased Maternal Nutrition Increases Leptin Expression in Perirenal and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue in the Postnatal Lamb. Endocrinology 148:6157-6163.

    22. Muhlhausler BS 2007 Programming of the Appetite-Regulating Neural Network: A Link between Maternal Overnutrition and the Programming Of Obesity? Journal of Neuroendocrinology 19:67-72.

    23. Muhlhausler BS, Duffield JA, McMillen IC 2007 Increased maternal nutrition stimulates Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor-γ (PPARγ), adiponectin and leptin mRNA expression in adipose tissue before birth. Endocrinology 148:878-85.

    24. MacLaughlin SM, Muhlhausler BS, Gentili S, McMillen IC 2006 When in gestation do nutritional alterations exert their effects? A focus on the early origins of adult disease. Current Opinions in Endocrinology and Metabolism. 13:516-522

    25. Muhlhausler BS, Adam CL, Findlay PA, Duffield JA, McFarlane JR, Kauter KG, McMillen IC 2006 Increased maternal nutrition alters development of the appetite-regulating network in the brain. The FASEB Journal 20: 1257-1259.

    26. McMillen IC, Edwards LJ, Duffield J, Muhlhausler BS 2006 The regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion before birth: implications for the early programming of adult obesity. Reproduction 131:415-427.

    27. McMillen IC, Adam CL, Muhlhausler BS 2005 Early origins of obesity: programming the appetite regulatory system. Journal of Physiology 565:9-17.

    28. McMillen IC, Muhlhausler BS, Duffield JA, Yuen BSJ 2004 Fetal nutrition and the regulation of leptin synthesis and secretion before birth Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 63: 405-412.

    29. Muhlhausler BS, Adam CL, Marrocco EM, Roberts CT, McFarlane JR, Kauter KG, McMillen IC 2004 Impact of glucose infusion on the structural and functional characteristics of adipose tissue and on hypothalamic gene expression for appetite regulatory neuropeptides in the sheep fetus during late gestation. Journal of Physiology, 2005 565:185-195.

    30. Muhlhausler BS, McMillen IC, Rouzaud G, Findlay PA, Marrocco EM, Rhind SM, Adam CL 2004 Appetite regulatory neuropeptides are expressed in the hypothalamus of the fetal sheep in late gestation. Journal of Neuroendocrinology 16: 502-507.

    31. Muhlhausler BS, Roberts CT, Yuen BS, Marrocco E, Budge H, Symonds ME, McFarlane JR, Kauter KG, Stagg P, Pearse J McMillen IC, Determinants of fetal leptin synthesis, fat mass, and circulating leptin concentrations in well-nourished ewes in late pregnancy Endocrinology. 2003 144: 4947-4954,

    32. Yuen BS, Owens PC, Muhlhausler BS, Roberts CT, Symonds ME, Keisler DH, McFarlane JR, Kauter KG, Evens, Leptin alters the structural and functional characteristics of adipose tissue before birth. FASEB Journal 2003 17: 1102-1104.

    33. Muhlhausler BS, Roberts CT, McFarlane JR, Kauter KG, McMillen IC, Fetal leptin is a signal of fat mass independent of maternal nutrition in ewes fed at or above maintenance energy requirements. Biology of Reproduction 2002; 67: 493- 499.

     

     

  • Professional Interests
    • Fetal programming
    • Early origins of obesity
    • Maternal nutrition
    • Adipose tissue
    • Appetite regulation
    • Food preferences and food addiction
    • Nutritional interventions in pregnancy/infancy
    • Omega-3 fatty acids - biochemistry and physiological effect
    • Balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids - biochemistry and physiological effect

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Entry last updated: Tuesday, 25 Jan 2011