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University of Missouri

Laura C. Schulz, PhD

Laura Schulz portrait

Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, School of Medicine
Adjunct Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Science
Director, School of Medicine OneHealth Biorepository (OHB)
Director, ObGyn Research Success Core

NextGen Focus Area: Placental Development, Gestational Diabetes, Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, Pregnancy Health

Laura Schulz’s research focuses on pregnancy health for both mothers and offspring. There are three major areas of study in her laboratory.  One is the use of stem cell models, including induced pluripotent stem cells and induced trophoblast stem cells to model the development of placental trophoblast cells in both healthy pregnancy and in preeclampsia. The second utilizes mouse models to better understand how the maternal environment, particularly maternal myostatin concentrations, affects placental function to impact musculoskeletal health of offspring, especially those with compromised bone health. The third is focused on the role of the placenta in the development of gestational diabetes and its impact on offspring.

Precision Health Impact:

  • Identifying causes of preeclampsia
  • Testing novel approaches to ameliorate brittle bone disease
  • Understanding the pathophysiology of gestational diabetes

Publications:

Oestreich AK, Kamp WM, McCray MG, Carleton SM, Karasseva N, Lenz KL, et al. Decreasing maternal myostatin programs adult offspring bone strength in a mouse model of osteogenesis imperfecta. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Nov 22;113(47):13522–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.1607644113 PubMed PMID: 27821779; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5127318.

Sheridan MA, Yang Y, Jain A, Lyons AS, Yang P, Brahmasani SR, et al. Early onset preeclampsia in a model for human placental trophoblast. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Mar 5;116(10):4336–45. doi:10.1073/pnas.1816150116 PubMed PMID: 30787190; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6410818.

Opoku R, DeCata J, Phillips CL, Schulz LC. Effect of Genetically Reduced Maternal Myostatin on Late Gestation Maternal, Fetal, and Placental Metabolomes in Mice. Metabolites. 2023 Jun 1;13(6):719. doi:10.3390/metabo13060719 PubMed PMID: 37367877; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10302353.

Pennington KA, van der Walt N, Pollock KE, Talton OO, Schulz LC. Effects of acute exposure to a high-fat, high-sucrose diet on gestational glucose tolerance and subsequent maternal health in mice. Biol Reprod. 2017 Feb 1;96(2):435–45. doi:10.1095/biolreprod.116.144543 PubMed PMID: 28203773.

Khan T, Choi S, Rutledge S, Seetharam AS, Schulz LC, Tuteja G, et al. Two classes of syncytiotrophoblast nuclei form following BAP-driven human pluripotent stem cell differentiation. Placenta. 2025 Sep;169:123–32. doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2025.07.081 PubMed PMID: 40768794; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12377291.

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Email: schulzl@health.missouri.edu
Department website: https://medicine.missouri.edu/faculty/laura-c-schulz-phd