The ultimate aspiration of our scientific research endeavors is to assist in human well-being. The lab has a strong commitment to identify the etiology of developmental disorders, with the goal of translating these findings clinically, and reaching the children affected by these disorders. Employing a whole animal physiologic and cellular/molecular approach, the lab envisions assessing the effects of pharmacological and/or nutraceutical agents on prevention and treatment of gestational/developmental disorders

Word cloud on different lines of research being followed in the Lab

The overall long term goals of the lab are five fold:

1. Mechanism discovery: to investigate the interaction between mayternal and fetal organ systems as it relates to pregnancy-adaptations in the etiology of gestational and early life disorders;
2. Biomarker discovery: to develop state of the art non-invasive biomarkers and signature profiles during gestation both in healthy and pathophysiologic states;
3. Therapeutic discovery: to predict, propose, and develop nutritional and pharmacologic therapeutic strategies that will have a practical clinical potential to prevent and/or ameliorate adverse pregnancy pathologies and developmental adaptations;
4. Fetal programing of adult-onset diseases: to investigate fetal programing of adult-onset disease states;
5. Strategic improvement of quality of life: to discover means to enhance the developmental environment that may have enduring and life-long health benefits for the offspring.

Dr. Jay Ramadoss is a professor in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Physiology and the C.S. Mott Center. He received his bachelors degree and masters degree in electronics and instrumentation engineering and chemistry, respectively, from BITS, Pilani in India, and his doctoral degree in biomedical sciences with an emphasis in fetal physiology from Texas A&M University. He performed postdoctoral studies in the area of reproductive physiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is a member of the Research Society on Alcoholism, the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group, the Society for Reproductive Investigation and the Perinatal Research Honor Society.

Dr. Ramadoss has served on over 20 National Institutes of Health Study Sections, as a reviewer for 22 peer-reviewed journals, and serves as an editorial board member/editor of select journals/special issues in his field. Widely published, he has secured numerous research grants and academic awards.

Through its lab members, the Ramadoss Lab is a steering force in generating knowledge in perinatology and novel physiologic approaches that improve pregnant women and children’s health through the innovation of basic and translational medical science.

The mission of the Ramadoss lab has its base in that of C. S. Mott Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Thus, as a research lab our unique mission is to:

• Discover etiologies underlying gestational disorders
• Develop empowering technologies for diagnosis and development of biomarkers
• Generate new knowledge that will improve pregnant women’s and children’s health with preventive and ameliorative strategies

Engaging driven and talented researchers, the lab operates closely with basic science and clinical researchers to understand critical problems in obstetric medicine and solve them using our scientific expertise.

Illustration of cardiovascular system
Source: NHLBI

Fetal growth, neonatal birth weights and survival are all directly related to major vascular adaptations in normal pregnancies. The lab’s work demonstrates substantial vascular endothelial programming in pregnancy, adaptations to blood pressure, and uterine arterial vasodilation to accommodate the blood flow and nutrient requirement of the growing fetus.

Illustration of respiratory system
Source: NHLBI

Our research utilizes validation methods including ultra-high-frequency ultrasonography, flexiVent, microspheres, RNA-SEQ, high throughput immunoassays, pressure myography, and chromatin immunoprecipitation to assess environmental consequences of secondhand vaping of e-cigarette and to phenotype both maternal and developmental physiologic responses

FASD in the United States
Source: NIH

Although alcohol produces a range of growth and neurodevelopmental deficits, we are only beginning to understand the specific molecular targets of alcohol (ethanol). Our lab employs a multi-tiered holistic approach (whole animal physiologic and cellular/molecular) and utilizes powerful validation methods including ultra-high frequency ultrasonography, microspheres, RNA-seq, pressure myography, HPLC, electrophysiology, and 3D dendrite morphology assays to assess alcohol teratogenesis.

Illustration of the brain
Source: NIH

The laboratory has moved from merely cataloging alcohol-induced fetal deficits to identifying factors contributing to the etiology of FASD. The lab has developed methods to identify novel etiological factors affecting FASD outcomes. This was aided by exploiting the similarities in molecular targets of alcohol between the mother’s uterine blood vessels and the fetal brain arteries. Since much of the FASD field focusses on neurobiology and behavior, our physiologic approach to characterize fetal brain hemodynamics is both novel and valuable. Employing a whole animal physiologic and cellular/molecular approach, the lab envisions assessing the effects of pharmacological and/or nutraceutical agents on prevention of FASD.

High throughput approaches
Source: Reprod Toxicol. 2018.76: 84–92

We have utilized mass spectrometric technologies to identify protein targets of alcohol in fetal brain regions, the placenta, and the mother’s uterine artery in a rat model. Identifying etiological cues from these explorations, and clustering these cues into patterns, we developed a model of the uterine artery’s adaptations in FASD, and directly related these adaptations to the cardinal outcome of fetal growth restriction.

We have utilized several novel complimentary quantitative mass spectrometric approaches including non-labeled (label-free) nano LC MS/MS, gel-based 2-D DIGE MALDI TOF/TOF, and label-based methods like iTRAQ nano LC MS/MS to study differential protein signatures during pregnancy and also validated them.

My teaching is focused on large classroom biomedical education focused on engineering analysis of living systems, quantitative aspects of physiology, engineering applications to clinical medicine, body fluid balance, solute transport, endocrinology, reproduction physiology, neurophysiology, skeletal and smooth muscle physiology, vascular physiology, cardiac physiology, and renal physiology.

Major Courses taught/directed:

• Pregnancy, Parturition, and Lactation
• Renal, Fluids, and Electrolytes
• Physiology for Bioengineers I
• Physiology for Bioengineers II

• Ramadoss, J., Magness, R. R. Multiplexed Digital Quantification of Binge Alcohol-Mediated Alterations in Maternal Uterine Angiogenic mRNA Transcriptome. Physiol. Genomics. 2012. 44:622-8.
• Ramadoss, J., Liao, W.X, Chen, D.B., Patankar, M.S., Magness. Endothelial Caveolar Hub Regulation of ATP-induced eNOS Subcellular Partitioning and Domain-Specific Phosphorylation. Hypertension. 2012. 59:1052-59. (96th percentile rank in peripheral vascular disease)
• Ramadoss, J., Lunde, E.R., Chen, W.J., Cudd, T.A. Acid-sensitive ion channels prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Cerebellar Injury. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 2008. 295: R596-603. Selected for journal Podcast
• Ramadoss, J., Wu, G., Cudd, T.A. Ethanol-mediated acidemia reduces availability of glutamine and related amino acids in maternal plasma in pregnant sheep. Alcohol. 2008. 42:657-666.
• Ramadoss, J., Magness, R. R. Vascular Effects of Maternal Alcohol Consumption. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2012. 303:H414-21. Selected for journal special coverage, Editor’s pick, and Podcast interview
• Ramadoss, J., Magness R.R., Alcohol-Induced Alterations in Maternal Uterine Endothelial Proteome: A Quantitative iTRAQ Mass Spectrometric Approach. Reproductive Toxicology 2012. 34: 538– 544.
•  Ramadoss, J., Pastore, M.P., Magness, R.R. Endothelial Caveolar Subcellular Domain Regulation of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2013 Nov;40(11):753-64. Special Series article on Developmental Origins of Health & Disease
• Sawant, O.B., Ramadoss, J., Wu, G, Hankins, G. D., Washburn. S.E. Effects of gestational binge alcohol exposure and glutamine supplementation on maternal-fetal hemodynamics, uterine and fetal blood flow. Amino Acids. 2014 Aug;46(8):1981-96.
• Davis-Anderson, K., Wesseling, H., Seibert, L. M., Lunde, E.R., Naik, V. D., Steen, H., Ramadoss, J. Fetal Regional Brain Protein Signature in FASD Rat Model. Reprod Toxicol. 2018 Mar;76:84-92. Selected for journal cover page illustration
• Orzabal, M., Ramadoss, J. Impact of Electronic Cigarette Aerosols on Pregnancy and Early Development. Curr Opin Toxicol. 2019 Apr;14:14-20.
• Lee, J. Lunde-Young, E.R., Naik, V.D., Ramirez, J.I., Orzabal, M., Ramadoss, J. Chronic binge alcohol exposure during pregnancy alters mROR signaling pathways in rat fetal hippocampus. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2020 Jun;44(6):1329-1336. high Altmetric score.
• Ramadoss, J., Lia, W.X., Chen, D.B., Magness R.R. High throughput caveolar proteomic signature profile for maternal binge alcohol consumption. Alcohol 2010. 44:691-697. Selected for special issue on Diagnosis of FASD
• Jobe, E.O, Ramadoss, J., Koch, J.M., Zheng, J., Magness, R.R. Estradiol-17beta, Its Hydroxylated and Methoxylated Metabolites, Stimulates Proliferation of Uterine Artery Endothelial Cells from Pregnant Sheep. Hypertension 2010. 55:1005-1011. (96th percentile rank in peripheral vascular disease)
• Koch, J.M.^†, Ramadoss, J.^†, Magness R.R. Proteomic profile of uterine luminal fluid from early pregnant ewes. J. Proteome Res. 2010. 9:3878-3885. ^†equal contribution. (90th percentile CiteScore rank in Chemistry)
• Ramadoss, J., Magness, R.R. 2-D DIGE Uterine Endothelial Proteomic Profile for Maternal Chronic Binge-Like Alcohol Exposure. J Proteomics. 2011.18:2986-94. (92th percentile CiteScore rank in Biophysics)