The University of Southampton

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Phone:: (023) 8120 8663
Email:: Rohan.Lewis@soton.ac.uk

Professor Rohan Lewis BSc (Hons), PhD

Professor of Placental and Integrative Physiology

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Rohan Lewis is Professor in Placental and Integrative Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton.

Prof Lewis completed his PhD in University of Auckland, New Zealand, before undertaking postdoctoral work at the University of Cambridge and then the University of Southampton. In 2005 he was appointed to a lectureship in physiology at Southampton, in 2012 Reader in Physiology and in 2016 Professor in Placental and Integrative Physiology.  Prof Lewis leads the Placental Research Laboratory in Southampton which is focused on understanding how placenta supports the growth of a healthy fetus and how placental dysfunction may impact on the health throughout the life course. The placental research group is taking systems biology approach to understanding placental function. This seeks to both understand the mechanisms underlying specific placental functions and how these mechanisms interact to form a functioning placenta and produce a healthy baby.

Qualifications

BSc in Biochemistry, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand BSc Hons. in Biochemistry, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand  PhD, Department of Paediatrics, University of Auckland, New Zealand PG Cert in Academic Practice (Education), University of Southampton, UK.

Appointments held

Research Associate, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge 1998-2000

Research Fellow, School of Medicine, University of Southampton 2000-2005

Research

Responsibilities

Publications

Teaching

Contact

Research interests

Computational Modelling of Placental Function

In order to understand why some babies grow poorly in the womb, we need to understand how the different factors underlying placental function work together as a system. While we have a good understanding, in principle, of the mechanisms which transport nutrients across biological membranes this does not allow us to predict how these mechanisms work together to provide the fetus with nutrients. Dr Lewis is leading a BBSRC funded project based in Southampton (BB/I011315/1) and Manchester (BB/I011250/1) which is modelling placental amino acid transport and as part of an EU-funded project we are modelling placental fatty acid transport across the placenta. The placenta also transports drugs and toxins out of the fetus and Dr Lewis is leading a BBSRC funded project (BB/L020823/1) to better understand and model these transporters.

Mechanisms and Regulation of Placental Nutrient Transport

The first step in understanding how placental nutrient transfer regulates fetal growth is to determine the mechanisms underlying placental function. The Placental Research Group in Southampton has made significant progress in this area, in particularly in explaining how amino acids are transferred across the placenta. We are currently expanding our understanding of these mechanisms and investigating how those we have already identified are regulated at the cellular level.

Maternal Environment and Placental Function

Maternal environment may be an important determinant of placental function. This area is of particular interest as environmental factors may be able to be modified to improve placental function and fetal growth. Working with placentas collected from the Southampton Women’s Survey this research has suggested that maternal body composition and maternal pre-pregnancy smoking influence placental function.

Grants

2014-2017 BBSRC (BB/L020823/1) Coupling of organic anion transport to the glutamate gradient by OATs and OATPs
2011-2014 BBSRC (BB/I011315/1 and Amino acid transport through the placenta: an experimental and modelling investigation
2012-2017 European union (FP7-289346-EarlyNutrition) Long-term effects of early nutrition on later health

Academic unit(s)

Human Development and Health Academic Units

Affiliate academic unit(s)

Human development and physiology Research group

Research project(s)

Mathematical modelling of fatty acid transport in the human placenta

Postgraduate student supervision

Current:
Simone Perazzolo (Joint with Engineering)
Mildrey Mosquera
Helen Palaiologou
Brogan Ashley

Past:
2016: Nont Panitchob (Joint Engineering)
2014, Emma Lofthouse, PhD
2011, Priscilla Day, PhD

Other responsibilities

2010-2015 Editorial Board of the journal Placenta

Articles

Acharya, G., Aplin, J., Brownbill, P., Bulmer, J., Burton, G., Chamley, L., ... O'Tierney-Ginn, P. (2018). IFPA meeting 2017 workshop report: clinical placentology, 3D structure-based modeling of placental function, placental bed, and treating placental dysfunction. Placenta, 64(1), S4-S8. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2017.12.011
Lewis, R. M., Wadsack, C., & Desoye, G. (2018). Placental fatty acid transfer. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 21-2, 78-82. DOI: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000443
Stirrat, L. I., Sengers, B. G., Norman, J. E., Homer, N. Z. M., Andrew, R., Lewis, R. M., & Reynolds, R. M. (2018). Transfer and metabolism of cortisol by the isolated perfused human placenta. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2(1), 640-648. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2017-02140
Simner, C., Novakovic, B., Lillycrop, K., Bell, C., Harvey, N., Cooper, C., ... Cleal, J. (2017). DNA methylation of amino acid transporter genes in the human placenta. Placenta, 60, 64-73. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2017.10.010
Perazzolo, S., Lewis, R., & Sengers, B. (2017). Modelling the effect of intervillous flow on solute transfer based on 3D imaging of the human placental microstructure. Placenta, 60, 21-27. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2017.10.003
Lewis, R. M., & Desoye, G. (2017). Placental lipid and fatty acid transfer in maternal overnutrition. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 70(3), 228-231. DOI: 10.1159/000463397
Palaiologou, E., Goggin, P. M., Chatelet, D., Lofthouse, E., Torrens, C., Sengers, B., ... Lewis, R. (2017). Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy of erythrocytes protruding through the placental syncytiotrophoblast. Journal of Anatomy. DOI: 10.1111/joa.12658
Junaid, T., Bradley, R., Lewis, R., Aplin, J., & Johnstone, E. (2017). Whole organ vascular casting and microCT examination of the human placental vascular tree reveals novel alterations associated with pregnancy disease. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04379-0
Panitchob, N., Widdows, K. L., Crocker, I. P., Johnstone, E. D., Please, C. P., Sibley, C. P., ... Sengers, B. (2016). Computational modelling of placental amino acid transfer as an integrated system. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 1-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2016.03.028
Barton, S. J., Mosquera, M., Cleal, J. K., Fuller, A. S., Crozier, S. R., Cooper, C., ... Godfrey, K. M. (2016). Relation of FTO gene variations to fetal growth trajectories: findings from the Southampton Women's survey. Placenta, 38, 100-106. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2015.12.015
Perazzolo, S., Hirschmugl, B., Wadsack, C., Desoye, G., Lewis, R. M., & Sengers, B. G. (2016). The influence of placental metabolism on fatty acid transfer to the fetus. The Journal of Lipid Research, 1-33. DOI: 10.1194/jlr.P072355
Pantichob, N., Widdows, K. L., Crocker, I. P., Hanson, M. A., Johnstone, E. D., Please, C. P., ... Sengers, B. G. (2015). Computational modelling of amino acid exchange and facilitated transport in placental membrane vesicles. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 365, 352-364. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.10.042
Lofthouse, E., Brooks, S., Cleal, J., Hanson, M., Poore, K., O'Kelly, I., & Lewis, R. (2015). Glutamate cycling may drive organic anion transport on the basal membrane of human placental syncytiotrophoblast. The Journal of Physiology, 593(20), 4549-4559. DOI: 10.1113/JP270743
Widdows, K. L., Panitchob, N., Crocker, I. P., Please, C. P., Hanson, M. A., Sibley, C. P., ... Glazier, J. D. (2015). Integration of computational modeling with membrane transport studies reveals new insights into amino acid exchange transport mechanisms. The FASEB Journal, 29, 2583-2594. DOI: 10.1096/fj.14-267773
Day, P. E., Ntani, G., Crozier, S. R., Mahon, P. A., Inskip, H. M., Cooper, C., ... Cleal, J. K. (2015). Maternal factors are associated with the expression of placental genes involved in amino acid metabolism and transport. PLoS ONE, 10(12), 1-17. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143653
Lofthouse, E. M., Perazzolo, S., Brooks, S., Crocker, I. P., Glazier, J. D., Johnstone, E. D., ... Lewis, R. M. (2015). Phenylalanine transfer across the isolated perfused human placenta: an experimental and modelling investigation. American Journal of Physiology- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 1-28. DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00405.2015
Cleal, J. K., Day, P. E. L., Simner, C. L., Barton, S. J., Mahon, P. A., Inskip, H. M., ... Harvey, N. C. (2015). Placental amino acid transport may be regulated by maternal vitamin D and vitamin D-binding protein: results from the Southampton Women’s Survey. British Journal of Nutrition. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114515001178
Day, P. E. L., Cleal, J. K., Lofthouse, E. M., Goss, V., Koster, G., Postle, A., ... Lewis, R. M. (2013). Partitioning of glutamine synthesised by the isolated perfused human placenta between the maternal and fetal circulations. Placenta, 34(12), 1223-1231. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2013.10.003
Lewis, R. M., Brooks, S., Crocker, I. P., Glazier, J., Hanson, M. A., Johnstone, E. D., ... Sengers, B. G. (2013). Review: Modelling placental amino acid transfer ? from transporters to placental function. Placenta, 34, S46-S51. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2012.10.010
Lewis, R. M., Demmelmair, H., Gaillard, R., Godfrey, K. M., Hauguel-de Mouzon, S., Huppertz, B., ... Desoye, G. (2013). The placental exposome: placental determinants of fetal adiposity and postnatal body composition. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 63(3), 208-215. DOI: 10.1159/000355222
Day, P. E., Cleal, J. K., Lofthouse, E., Hanson, M. A., & Lewis, R. M. (2013). What factors determine placental glucose transfer kinetics? Placenta, 34(10), 953-958. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2013.07.001
O'Tierney, P. F., Lewis, R. M., McWeeney, S. K., Hanson, M. A., Inskip, H. M., Morgan, T. K., ... Thornburg, K. L. (2012). Immune response gene profiles in the term placenta depend upon maternal muscle mass. Reproductive Sciences, 19(10), 1041-1056. DOI: 10.1177/1933719112440051
Lewis, R. M., Cleal, J. K., & Hanson, M. A. (2012). Placenta, evolution and lifelong health. Placenta, 33, S28-S32. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2011.12.003
Lewis, R. M., Cleal, J. K., Ntani, G., Crozier, S. R., Mahon, P. A., Robinson, S. M., ... John, R. M. (2012). Relationship between placental expression of the imprinted PHLDA2 gene, intrauterine skeletal growth and childhood bone mass. Bone, 50(1), 337-342. DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2011.11.003
Cleal, J. K., Glazier, J. D., Ntani, G., Crozier, S. R., Day, P. E., Harvey, N. C., ... Lewis, R. M. (2011). Facilitated transporters mediate net efflux of amino acids to the fetus across the basal membrane of the placental syncytiotrophoblast. The Journal of Physiology, 589(4), 987-997. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2010.198549
Lewis, R. M., Hanson, M. A., & Burdge, G. C. (2011). Umbilical venous-arterial plasma composition differences suggest differential incorporation of fatty acids in NEFA and cholesteryl ester pools. British Journal of Nutrition, 106(4), 463-467. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114511000377
Sengers, B. G., Please, C. P., & Lewis, R. M. (2010). Computational modelling of amino acid transfer interactions in the placenta. Experimental Physiology, 95(7), 829-840. DOI: 10.1113/expphysiol.2010.052902
Lewis, R. M., Greenwood, S. L., Cleal, J. K., Crozier, S. R., Verrall, L., Inskip, H. M., ... Godfrey, K. M. (2010). Maternal muscle mass may influence system A activity in human placenta. Placenta, 31(5). DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2010.02.001
Cleal, J. K., Day, P. L., Hanson, M. A., & Lewis, R. M. (2010). Sex differences in the mRNA levels of housekeeping genes in human placenta. Placenta, 31(6), 556-557. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2010.03.006
Brand, A. P., Greenwood, S. L., Bennett, E. J., Godfrey, K. M., Sibley, C. P., Hanson, M. A., & Lewis, R. M. (2009). Comparison of L-serine uptake by human placental microvillous membrane vesicles and placental villous fragments. Placenta, 31(5), 456-459. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2010.01.016
Cleal, J. K., Day, P. I., Hanson, M. A., & Lewis, R. M. (2009). Measurement of housekeeping genes in human placenta. Placenta, 30(11), 1002-1003. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2009.09.002
Johnstone, J. F., Crozier, S. R., Lewis, R. M., Hanson, M. A., Challis, J. R. G., & Godfrey, K. M. (2008). Relationships between maternal body composition prior to conception and duration of gestation. Reproductive Sciences, 15(Supplement 1), p.585.
Cleal, J. K., & Lewis, R. M. (2008). The mechanisms and regulation of placental amino acid transport to the human foetus. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 20(4), 419-426. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2008.01662.x
Cleal, J. K., Godfrey, K. M., Hanson, M. A., & Lewis, R. M. (2007). Characterisation of amino acid efflux across the human placental syncytiotrophoblast basal membrane. Early Human Development, 83(Supplement 1), S143-S144. DOI: 10.1016/S0378-3782(07)70386-9
Regnault, T. R., Kudo, Y., Glazier, J., Roos, S., Lewis, R. M., & Jansson, T. (2007). Heterodimeric amino acid transporters in the placenta: a workshop report. Placenta, (Supplement A), S103-S106.
Lewis, R. M., Glazier, J., Greenwood, S. L., Bennett, E. J., Godfrey, K. M., Jackson, A. A., ... Hanson, M. A. (2007). L-serine uptake by human placental microvillous membrane vesicles. Placenta, 28(5-6), 445-452. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2006.06.014
Johnstone, J. F., Inskip, H., Crozier, S., Lewis, R. M., Hanson, M., Challis, J. R. G., & Godfrey, K. M. (2007). Maternal parity and stress prior to conception: relationships with preterm delivery. Early Human Development, 83(Supplement 1), pp.S172. DOI: 10.1016/S0378-3782(07)70484-X
Cleal, J. K., Brownbill, P., Godfrey, K. M., Jackson, J. M., Jackson, A. A., Sibley, C. P., ... Lewis, R. M. (2007). Modification of fetal plasma amino acid composition by placental amino acid exchangers in vitro. Journal of Physiology, 582(2), 871-882. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2007.130690
Abdollahi, M. R., Lewis, R. M., Gaunt, T. R., Cumming, D. V. E., Rodriguez, S., Rose-Zerilli, M., ... Day, I. N. M. (2007). Quantitated transcript haplotypes (QTH) of AGTR1, reduced abundance of mRNA haplotypes containing 1166C (rs5186:A>C), and relevance to metabolic syndrome traits. Human Mutation, 28(4), 365-373. DOI: 10.1002/humu.20454
Harvey, N. C., Martin, R., Javaid, M. K., Swaminathan, R., Taylor, P., Poole, J. R., ... Cooper, C. (2006). Maternal 25(OH)-vitamin D status in late pregnancy and mRNA expression of placental calcium transporter predict intrauterine bone mineral accrual in the offspring. Osteoporosis International, 17(Supplement 2), S9 (OC9). DOI: 10.1007/s00198-006-0096-z
Johnstone, F., Lewis, R. M., Crozier, S., Inskip, H., Hanson, M., Challis, J. R. G., & Godfrey, K. M. (2006). Maternal dieting behaviour before pregnancy and its relation to the incidence of preterm delivery. Journal of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, 13(2), p.176A.
Harvey, N. C., Martin, R., Crozier, S. R., Javaid, M. K., Dennison, E. M., Inskip, H. M., ... Lewis, R. M. (2006). Placental calcium transport gene (PMCA3) expression predicts intra-uterine bone mineral accrual. Rheumatology, 45(Supplement 1), i23-i24.
Cleal, J. K., Brownbill, P., Godfrey, K. M., Cameron, I. T., Sibley, C. P., Hanson, M. A., & Lewis, R. M. (2006). Placental materno-fetal transfer of serine by amino acid exchangers. Placenta, 27(9-10), p.34. DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2006.07.004
Johnstone, J. F., Lewis, R. M., Crozier, S., Zelsman, M., Inskip, H., Hanson, M., ... Godfrey, K. M. (2006). The effect of parity on the duration of gestation in term pregnancies and its association with 11 beta HSD-1, COC-2 and PGDH protein levels in the placenta and fetal membranes. Journal of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, 13(2), 97A-98A.
Lewis, R. M., Poore, K. R., & Godfrey, K. M. (2006). The role of the placenta in the developmental origins of health and disease: implications for practice. Reviews in Gynaecology and Perinatal Practice, 6(1), 70-79. DOI: 10.1016/j.rigapp.2005.12.001
Lewis, R. M., Godfrey, K. M., Jackson, A. A., Cameron, I. T., & Hanson, M. A. (2005). Low serine hydroxymethyltransferase activity in the human placenta has important implications for fetal glycine supply. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 90(3), 1594-1598. DOI: 10.1210/jc.2004-0317
Zhang, J., Lewis, R. M., Wang, C., Hales, N., & Byrne, C. D. (2005). Maternal dietary iron restriction modulates hepatic lipid metabolism in the fetuses. American Journal of Physiology- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 288(1), R104-R111. DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00343.2004
Ozanne, S. E., Lewis, R., Jennings, B. J., & Hales, N. C. (2004). Early programming of weight gain in mice prevents the induction of obesity by a highly palatable diet. Clinical Science, 106(2), 141-145. DOI: 10.1042/CS20030278
Lisle, S. J. M., Lewis, R. M., Petry, C. J., Ozanne, S. E., Hales, C. N., & Forhead, A. J. (2003). Effect of maternal iron restriction during pregnancy on renal morphology in the adult rat offspring. British Journal of Nutrition, 90(1), 33-39. DOI: 10.1079/BJN2003881
Doherty, C. B., Lewis, R. M., Sharkey, A., & Burton, G. J. (2003). Placental composition and surface area but not vascularization are altered by maternal protein restriction in the rat. Placenta, 24(1), 34-38. DOI: 10.1053/plac.2002.0858
Lewis, R. M., Forhead, A. J., Petry, C. J., Ozanne, S. E., & Hales, C. N. (2002). Long-term programming of blood pressure by maternal dietary iron restriction in the rat. British Journal of Nutrition, 88(3), 283-290. DOI: 10.1079/BJN2002656
Lewis, R. M., Petry, C. J., Ozanne, S. E., & Hales, C. N. (2001). Effects of maternal iron restriction in the rat on blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and serum lipids in the 3-month-old offspring. Metabolism, 50(5), 562-567. DOI: 10.1053/meta.2001.22516
Lewis, R. M., James, L. A., Zhang, J., Byrne, C. D., & Hales, C. N. (2001). Effects of maternal iron restriction in the rat on hypoxia-induced gene expression and fetal metabolite levels. British Journal of Nutrition, 85(2), 193-201.
Lewis, R. M., Doherty, C. B., James, L. A., Burton, G. J., & Hales, C. N. (2001). Effects of maternal iron restriction on placental vascularization in the rat. Placenta, 22(6), 534-539. DOI: 10.1053/plac.2001.0679

Review

Nye, G. A., Ingram, E., Johnstone, E. D., Jensen, O. E., Scheider, H., Lewis, R., ... Brownbill, P. (2018). Human placental oxygenation in late gestation: experimental and theoretical approaches. The Journal of Physiology. DOI: 10.1113/JP275633

Book Chapters

Cleal, J., & Lewis, R. (2016). The placenta and developmental origins of health and disease. In C. Rosenfeld (Ed.), The Epigenome and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (1 ed., pp. 439-461). [22] Academic Press.
Lewis, R. M., Cleal, J. K., & Godfrey, K. M. (2011). Chapter 78 - The placental role in fetal programming. In R. C. Gupta (Ed.), Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology (pp. 1039-1049). Cambridge, GB: Elsevier. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-382032-7.10078-5

Conferences

Perazzolo, S., Lewis, R., & Sengers, B. (2016). Modelling nutrient transfer based on 3D imaging of the human placental microstructure. Paper presented at 38th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society 2016 (EMBC), United States.DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2016.7592084
Perazzolo, S., Hirschmugl, B., Wadsack, C., Desoye, G., Lewis, R., & Sengers, B. G. (2015). Computational modelling of fatty acid transport in the human placenta. 8054-8057. Paper presented at Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 2015 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE, Italy.DOI: 10.1109/EMBC.2015.7320262

BM4: Delivers lectures and small group teaching across a broad range of physiology related topics. Coordinates BM4 physiology teaching and is year 2 assessment lead.
BM5: Delivers lectures and small group teaching in the renal and reproductive courses. Supervises 4th year research projects.
School of Life Sciences: Lectures on placental function and the developmental origins of health and disease to 3rd year students.

Personal Tutor for BM students.

Professor Rohan Lewis
Faculty of Medicine University of Southampton IDS Building Mailpoint 887 Southampton General Hospital Tremona Road  Southampton SO16 6YD

Room Number:SGH/IDS/MP887

Telephone:(023) 8120 8663
Email:Rohan.Lewis@soton.ac.uk

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