Rate My Professor Christine Jasoni

Professor Christine Jasoni is a developmental neuroscientist who served as Professor in the Department of Anatomy within the University of Otago's Otago School of Biomedical Sciences. She held the position of Head of Department from 2022 to 2024 and was Director of the Brain Health Research Centre from 2016. Holding a PhD in Developmental Neuroscience from the University of Washington, Jasoni's career at Otago spanned senior lecturer to professor roles, with promotion to full professor in 2019. Her research investigates how maternal health conditions during pregnancy, particularly obesity and gestational diabetes, impact fetal brain development. Focusing on the hypothalamus and related circuits, her laboratory uses mouse models to explore molecular mechanisms, including the roles of leptin, cytokines, inflammation, and epigenetic modifications like histone binding and DNA methylation. These studies reveal increased risks for offspring neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and metabolic issues like obesity.

Jasoni's contributions extend to over 45 publications, cited more than 2,175 times, with notable works including 'Maternal Obesity in the Mouse Compromises the Blood-Brain Barrier in the Offspring' (Endocrinology, 2016), 'Do all roads lead to Rome? The role of neuro-immune interactions before birth in the programming of offspring obesity' (Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2015), and 'Anatomical location of mature GnRH neurons corresponds with their birthdate in the developing mouse' (Developmental Dynamics, 2009). Her research informs the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease field, advocating early interventions. Renowned for teaching, she received the University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015 and Otago University Students' Association Supervisor of the Year. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2020 and Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand, she delivered her Inaugural Professorial Lecture in 2020 titled 'Every little thing she does is magic: How our mother's metabolism affects our brain.'