Jane Katherine Cleal

Research interests

Areas of Scientific Expertise:

Reproductive Cell Biology – Fundamental mechanisms of cell biology in placenta and endometrium and the impact on the intra-uterine environment, fetal development and lifelong health.Regulation of Reproductive Cell Biology – Maternal exposures and molecular regulation of cellular gene expression, phenotype and function in placenta and endometrium and the clinical translation.Disease/phenotype – Fetal growth, Obesity, Cardiometabolic programming, Subfertility, Recurrent pregnancy loss.Cellular mechanisms – Membrane transport, endocytosis, vesicular transport & signalling, gene transcription, microRNA biology, epigenetic regulation.Vitamin D - Transport, regulation, metabolism and signalling.

Accepting applications from PhD students.

Research

Research groups

Member of:

Research interests

Areas of Scientific Expertise:
Reproductive Cell Biology – Fundamental mechanisms of cell biology in placenta and endometrium and the impact on the intra-uterine environment, fetal development and lifelong health.Regulation of Reproductive Cell Biology – Maternal exposures and molecular regulation of cellular gene expression, phenotype and function in placenta and endometrium and the clinical translation.Disease/phenotype – Fetal growth, Obesity, Cardiometabolic programming, Subfertility, Recurrent pregnancy loss.Cellular mechanisms – Membrane transport, endocytosis, vesicular transport & signalling, gene transcription, microRNA biology, epigenetic regulation.Vitamin D - Transport, regulation, metabolism and signalling.

Research projects

Completed projects

Could climate change developmentally programme lifelong health in Caribbean farming communities?

Researchers:

Doctor Jane Cleal

Sponsor: Royal Society

J Cleal M05

Researchers:

Doctor Jane Cleal

Sponsor: Wessex Medical Research

Dr Jane Cleal: Functional gene mapping of the endometrial phenotype involved in successful pregnancy: combining 3D imaging and single cell transcriptomics

Researchers:

Doctor Jane Cleal

Professor Rohan Lewis ,

Professor Ying Cheong

Sponsor: Wellbeing of Women

Computational modelling to evaluate, understand and predict the placental transfer of xenobiotics as an integrated system

Researchers:

Doctor Bram Sengers

Professor Xunli Zhang ,

Professor Rohan Lewis ,

Doctor Jane Cleal

Sponsor: Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council

External roles and responsibilities

Name: Irish Government (External organisation)

Role: Reviewer

Year: 2017 - 2023

Name: British Journal of Nutrition (Journal)

Role: Member of editorial board

Year: 2012 - 2018

Name: Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (Journal)

Role: Member of editorial board

Year: 2009 - 2015

Name: The Physiological Society (External organisation)

Role: Council member

Year: 2009 - 2015

Name: The Physiological Society (External organisation)

Role: Council member

Year: 2017 - 2023

Name: Developmental origins of Health and Disease Society (External organisation)

Role: Council member

Year: 2008 - 2015

Name: Hampshire Heads of Science Teachers Conference

Role: Speaker

Year: 2015

Name: American Physiological Society Annual Meeting

Role: Speaker

Year: 2014

Name: 3rd Annual Epigenetics Discovery Congress

Role: Speaker

Year: 2017

Name: Prenatal Programming and Toxicity (PPTOX) Annual Conference

Role: Speaker

Year: 2018 -

Biography

Dr Jane Cleal is a lecturer in Reproductive Cell Biology in the Faculty of medicine at the University of Southampton.

Dr Cleal completed her PhD in 2005 with Professor Hanson and Dr Green at the University of Southampton and working at the Royal Veterinary College, London. She developed an ovine model showing for the first time that fetal nutrition determines ovine adult CV function and influences postnatal nutrient restriction response (Cleal et al., 2007 PNAS). Dr Cleal remained in Southampton, supported by a School of Medicine Career Track Fellowship. Her studies in humans have made significant progress in understanding how amino acids get out of the human placenta and into the fetal circulation. Dr Cleal was appointed to her current post as a lecturer in the FoM in 2010.

She now leads a research team integrating whole systems biology with cellular and molecular mechanisms in relation to fundamental developmental physiology, reproductive and pregnancy disorders (see Research pages) and collaborates with a number of national and international researchers.

Dr Cleal has an active role in professional societies and is a committee member on several panels including the BBSRC and International Workshop for Vitamin D. She is the Physiological Society Representative for the University of Southampton.

Dr Cleal’s interfaculty education roles span undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for the Faculties of Medicine and Environmental & Life Sciences and include Deputy Programme lead for the BM6 widening access to medicine degree (see Teaching section). Her outreach activities introduce both the public and school children to reproductive science and making healthy life choices.

Qualifications

(2013) Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
(2013) PG Cert in Academic Practice, Education, University of Southampton
(2005) PhD, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton
(2001) Ist Class BSc (Hons), Molecular Cell Biology, University of Southampton

Dr Jane Cleal

Research interests

Connect with Jane

Research

Research groups

Research interests

Research projects

Completed projects

Publications

Supervision

Current PhD Students

External roles and responsibilities

Biography