Rate My Professor Maria Bowman

Maria Bowman serves as an HMRI Research Assistant in the School of Medicine and Public Health within the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle, Australia. With a BSc (Hons), she has dedicated over three decades to research in endocrinology, holding positions at the university since 1990, including Research Assistant in Medicine, Clinical Research Officer from 2005 to 2007, and a brief stint as Research Assistant in Organic Chemistry. Her expertise encompasses radioimmunoassays—from label preparation and antibody analysis to assay optimization for rare peptides—alongside molecular techniques like PCR and DNA/RNA extractions, cell culturing of pituitary cells, and perifusion studies using sheep and rat tissues. She is proficient in data management using Excel, Access, and Endnote, and has clinical experience in respiratory studies involving spirometry, exhaled gas measurements, and participant recruitment.

Bowman's research centers on maternal-fetal endocrinology, notably the regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and its implications for preterm birth and labor onset. Key publications include "Sex-specific associations between placental corticotropin releasing hormone and problem behaviors in childhood" (Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2024), "Revisiting the placental clock: Early corticotrophin-releasing hormone rise in recurrent preterm birth" (PLOS ONE, 2021), "Can Placental Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Inform Timing of Antenatal Corticosteroid Administration?" (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2019), "Promoter Methylation Pattern Controls Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Gene Activity in Human Trophoblasts" (PLoS ONE, 2017), and "Patterns of Plasma Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone, Progesterone, Estradiol, and Estriol Change and the Onset of Human Labor" (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2009). Earlier works feature "Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone in Baboon Pregnancy" (1993). She has contributed to 19 journal articles, 13 conference papers, and a book chapter on CRH in parturition regulation (2000). Her efforts have garnered over 660 citations, influencing studies on placental clocks and hormone profiles in twin and obese pregnancies. Additionally, she supports grant submissions, ethics applications, and laboratory operations as part of the Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science.