Epigenetics & Gene-Environment Interactions

Martha Susiarjo is an Associate Professor in the department of Environmental Medicine, and member of the Environmental Health Sciences Center. She received her PhD in Genetics from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Susiarjo’s research is supported by an R01 grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The lab employs bisulfite sequencing analysis, mouse genetics and embryology, molecular biology, and next generation sequencing.

Research in the Susiarjo Lab investigates the underlying mechanisms of the developmental origin of health and disease focusing on how epigenetic mechanisms mediate gene-environment interaction. Her laboratory uses imprinted genes as epigenetic markers to test the effect of environmental exposure on DNA methylation regulation on fetal and placental development. Additionally, she is also interested in elucidating the role of environmental exposure on maternal health during pregnancy and the potential beneficial role of nutritional supplementation. The Susiarjo laboratory contributes to our understanding of how exposure to environmental contaminants, especially endocrine disruptors including bisphenol A (BPA) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), may adversely influence health by affecting expression of genes relevant to development and disease. In the US, child and maternal health disparities are associated with environmental contaminants that are more commonly found in the homes and communities of people of color and low socioeconomic status. Therefore, this research may help us better understand how health inequities experienced by communities may be related to their disproportionate exposure to multiple environmental contaminants.

Our laboratory is committed to celebrating an inclusive work and training environment that is diverse and culturally rich. We believe that individuals from different backgrounds, nationalities, colors, sexes, races, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, and other unique identifiers contribute knowledge and perspectives that are collectively essential to the excellence in scientific research and to the success of our academic development.

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