Key discoveries
- Confirmation that low maternal 25(OH)-vitamin D concentration during pregnancy is associated with reduced bone mass in the offspring Demonstration that maternal vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy improves offspring bone mass amongst winter births
- Characterisation of 25(OH)D across pregnancy and determinants of response to treatment
- Elucidation of aetiological factors underlying these epidemiological observations, such as the relationship between placental calcium transporters and offspring bone mass and epigenetic regulation of genes in umbilical cord
- Description of relationships between growth in utero, measured using gestational ultrasound scanning, and skeletal development in childhood