Savanna Smith successfully defends PhD dissertation
Big congrats to Savanna Smith on successfully defending her PhD dissertation!
Savanna completed her PhD in Integrative Physiology under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Cunningham, defending her dissertation titled “The Effects of Placental Ischemia on Postpartum Dams and Their Adult Offspring, with Sex Considered as a Biological Variable.”
Pregnancies complicated by placental ischemia (low tissue oxygenation) are associated with negative long-term health outcomes like hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and cerebrovascular diseases for both the mother and baby later in life. In Savanna’s dissertation, she investigated mechanisms within the brain and the kidney that could contribute to these negative health outcomes in dams and offspring using a rodent model of placental ischemia. Understanding the origins of these diseases following placental ischemic pregnancy is important, so that we can eventually detect or prevent the development of these long term outcomes in patients who have had or experienced placental ischemic pregnancy.
This August, Savanna will begin an exciting new chapter as an Assistant Professor of Biology at Abilene Christian University. While at ACU, she plans to continue collaborating with Dr. Cunningham on this research by investigating the downstream effects of estrogen in this model. She aims to help undergraduate students get involved in research early, so that they can better grasp the translatability of research.
Congratulations, Dr. Smith! We look forward to seeing all you accomplish next!