Rate My Professor Sarah Delforce

Dr Sarah Delforce is a postdoctoral researcher in the Pregnancy and Women's Health Group at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) and a member of the Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She currently serves as Project Coordinator (Clinical Research) in the School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. Delforce completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Human Physiology at the University of Newcastle in April 2019, along with a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences and a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (Honours) from the same university. Her research centers on the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in pregnancy and reproductive health, with specific investigations into preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, placental development, trophoblast syncytialisation, and the sex-specific regulation of inflammation and membrane integrity in the onset of labour. Under the supervision of Associate Professor Kirsty Pringle and Emeritus Professor Eugenie Lumbers, her work explores parallels between placentation and tumour development, as well as the impact of oxygen levels and miRNAs on RAS components.

Delforce has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including five first-author papers such as 'Dysregulation of the placental renin-angiotensin system in human fetal growth restriction' (Reproduction, 2019), 'The Angiotensin II type 1 receptor mediates the effects of low oxygen on early placental angiogenesis' (Placenta, 2019), 'Regulation of the prorenin-angiotensin system by oxygen and miRNAs; parallels between placentation and tumour development?' (Placenta, 2017), and 'Expression of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) components in endometrial cancer' (Endocrine Connections, 2017). Recent contributions include co-authorship on 'The soluble (pro)renin receptor promotes a preeclampsia-like phenotype both in vitro and in vivo' (Hypertension Research, 2024) and 'Effects of Inhibitors of the Activity of the Circulating Renin–Angiotensin System on the Growth and Proliferation of Endometrial Cancer Cells' (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2025). She has presented her research nationally and internationally, co-supervised three PhD theses on RAS-related topics in preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and placentation, and secured research grants totaling $63,594. Her accolades include the SRB ANZPRA New Investigator Award (2019), ASMR Best Pecha Kucha Talk (2018), Gordon Research Conference on Angiotensins Poster Presentation Award (2016), and two finalist positions for the David Healy New Investigator Award.