Growth restriction causes heart disease

Dr. David Barker championed the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis (DoHAD), which states that a brief period of malnutrition in early life causes permeant programing to developing structures. This programing increases the incidence of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, Type II diabetes and some types of cancer.

Finding ways to reduce chronic disease

Dr. Ferguson’s lab is currently investigating how early life nutrition influences cardiovascular function and exercise capacity with the long term goal of developing therapeutic countermeasures for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.