Carol A. Bagnell

Research

Studies in my laboratory focus on improving our understanding of (1) maternal programming of development by testing the lactocrine hypothesis and (2) the role of the hormone relaxin in reproduction.

Maternal contributions to offspring development begin at conception, continue during gestation, but do not end at birth. The role of nursing as a means of extending communication between mother and offspring into the postnatal period is of interest in our laboratory. Our group defined the term lactocrine as a means of maternal delivery of milk-borne bioactive factors into the circulation of offspring as a consequence of nursing. Porcine milk contains relaxin that is transmitted into the peripheral circulation of neonates only if they are allowed to nurse. These studies indicate that a window of opportunity for transmission of milk-borne bioactive factors, including relaxin, from mother to neonate is open during the first few days of life. Data from our porcine model provide compelling evidence that maternal programming of neonatal female reproductive tract development requires lactocrine signaling from birth.

Current studies center on the short-term effects of milk-borne factors on neonatal development as well as the long-term consequences of lactocrine signaling on reproductive health and fertility in adulthood. Studies focus on transcriptomic and proteomic changes in neonatal and adult reproductive tissues as a function of nursing. Since all mammals evolved to nurse, this research has broad implications for understanding maternal contributions to postnatal reproductive tract programming in both humans and domestic animals.

Experience

Title	Location	Year
Chair	Dept. of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University	2020 - 2024
Director	Graduate Program in Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences Rutgers University	2014 - 2020
Chair	Dept. of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University	2008 - 2014
Professor	Dept. of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University	2002 - present
Visiting Scientist	Merck & Co., Inc. Dept. of Atherosclerosis & Endocrinology	2001 - 2002
Associate Professor	Dept. of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University	1994
Associate Chair	Dept. of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University	1995
Assistant Professor	Dept. of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University	1988
Associate Researcher	Pacific Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) Dept of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology University of Hawaii	1987
Assistant Researcher	Pacific Biomedical Research Center (PBRC) Dept of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology University of Hawaii	1985

Education

Degree	Location	Year
Postdoc	University of Hawaii	1984
Ph.D.	Medical College of Georgia	1983
M.S.	West Virginia University	1976
B.S.	Glassboro State College, NJ	1974

Members of the Bagnell Laboratory

Name	Title
Teh-Yuan Ho	Research Associate