DrDeirdre Brennan

Dr. Deirdre Brennan is a developmental biologist whose research focuses on the study of congenital birth defects, in particular the underlying mechanisms of teratogenesis. A teratogen can consist of any agent capable of disrupting normal embryo-fetal development following exposure during pregnancy. Alcohol, one of the oldest intoxicants in the world, has long been documented as a human teratogen and is a primary research interest. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) consists of a complex phenotype of morphological and neurological deficits in the offspring of alcohol abusing mothers. Work in the lab to date has focused on exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms of FAS-related ocular defects using both in vitro (retinal pigment epithelium) and in vivo (chick embryo) model systems. Utilising a variety of microscopy, immunohistochemical and molecular biology techniques, recent studies have explored disruption to the sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling pathway - a pivotal event underlying ethanol's teratogenicity.