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Dr James Cuffe

Lecturer

School of Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
j.cuffe1@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 53180

Overview

Dr Cuffe Completed his PhD at The University of Queensland before being awarded a competitive research fellowship to Join Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Dr Cuffe returned to UQ in 2018 as a lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences and to establish his own research team. Dr Cuffe has a broad range of research interests including investigating early origins of chronic disease, endocrine regulation of fetal development, placental regulation of pregnancy complications and sex differences in basic physiology. He is most recognised for his research in the field of placental biology where he has investigated how maternal perturbations such as stress, hypoxia, altered nutrition or maternal disease all affect placental development and program disease in the mother after pregnancy as well as her offspring. Dr Cuffe has an exceptional track record and is excited to take new honours and PhD students into his research laboratory.

Research Interests

  • Placental regulation of gestational diabetes
    I am interested in understanding how the placenta regulates maternal glucose homeostasis and how placental dysfunction may contribute to gestational diabetes mellitus.
  • Effects of glucocorticoids on placental development and programmed disease
    I am interested in understanding the role of placental glucocorticoid signalling in fetal development and long term disease
  • Effects of diet on placental formation and offspring physiology
    I am interested in understanding how different micronutrients and specific components of out diet regulate how the placenta functions. In turn I am interested in understanding how these placental defects contribute to poor maternal health and offspring disease.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Science (Honours), The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

  • The importance of adequate micro nutrient intake for maternal and fetal health during pregnancy

    Doctor Philosophy

  • The impact of periconceptional ethanol exposure on maternal and offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and associated behaviours in a rat model.

    (2019) Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Targeting the placenta for treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus

    Gestational diabetes is a disease caused by placental dysfunction and yet current treatments all target controlling maternal glucose control. The placenta secretes hormones which alter maternal glucose control, so if we were to restore normal placental secretion of hormones, we may be able to more effectively treat gestational diabetes. This project will investigate the role of currently used treatments such as metformin on placental secretion of factors implicated in gestational diabetes mellitus.

  • Understanding how stress during pregnancy influences long term maternal disease

    Stress during pregnancy contributes to a range of pregnancy complications and programs offspring to develop a range of chronic diseases. Indeed, many of our most common chronic diseases may have their origin in the womb. The placenta controls all aspects of pregnancy and stress during pregnancy is known to impair placental function. This project will cahracterise the molecular pathways which

  • Investigating placental contributions to complications of pregnancy

    The placenta regulates all aspects of pregnancy health. It secretes factors into the maternal system to control maternal blood glucose concentrations, blood pressure and neurological function. This study will investigate key pathological processes in the placenta which may contribute to gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book Chapter

  • The developmental origins of renal dysfunction

    Cuffe, James S. M., Walton, Sarah L. and Moritz, Karen M. (2016). The developmental origins of renal dysfunction. In Cheryl S. Rosenfeld (Ed.), The epigenome and developmental origins of health and disease (pp. 291-314) London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-801383-0.00015-3

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • The importance of adequate micro nutrient intake for maternal and fetal health during pregnancy

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

  • The impact of periconceptional ethanol exposure on maternal and offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and associated behaviours in a rat model.

    (2019) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Targeting the placenta for treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus

    Gestational diabetes is a disease caused by placental dysfunction and yet current treatments all target controlling maternal glucose control. The placenta secretes hormones which alter maternal glucose control, so if we were to restore normal placental secretion of hormones, we may be able to more effectively treat gestational diabetes. This project will investigate the role of currently used treatments such as metformin on placental secretion of factors implicated in gestational diabetes mellitus.

  • Understanding how stress during pregnancy influences long term maternal disease

    Stress during pregnancy contributes to a range of pregnancy complications and programs offspring to develop a range of chronic diseases. Indeed, many of our most common chronic diseases may have their origin in the womb. The placenta controls all aspects of pregnancy and stress during pregnancy is known to impair placental function. This project will cahracterise the molecular pathways which

  • Investigating placental contributions to complications of pregnancy

    The placenta regulates all aspects of pregnancy health. It secretes factors into the maternal system to control maternal blood glucose concentrations, blood pressure and neurological function. This study will investigate key pathological processes in the placenta which may contribute to gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction.

  • Investigating how micro-nutrient deficiencies during pregnancy lead to metabolic and renal disease in offspring.

    Given that only 1 in 20 Australians consume the recommended dietary intake of fruit and vegetables, most Australians would be deficient in key micronutrients when they fall pregnant. Deficiencies in these micronutrients is known to increase maternal risk of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia but their influence on offspring physiology is less well understood. This study will investigate the role of specific micronutrients in fetal development and offspring physiology. Most particularly, this project will focus on diabetes and renal disease in offspring, two comorbid conditions known to be affected by events that occur before birth.

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Links

ResearcherID: H-1003-2016

ORCID: 0000-0002-2675-8149

Scopus ID: 36087090300

Google Scholar ID: TSjgCPoAAAAJ

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