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Karen Forbes

@drkarenforbes.bsky.social

Associate Professor at University of Leeds. Mum. Placenta researcher. Interested in nutrition, diabetes, microRNAs, extracellular vesicles, DOHaD, cardiovascular health, womens health & outreach.

358 Followers  |  357 Following  |  11 Posts  |  Joined: 07.08.2024  |  2.1807

Latest posts by drkarenforbes.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Thanks to the sponsors @oni-bio.bsky.social, Analytik & Beckman Coulter Life Sciences and to all attendees, speakers and chairs for making this an excellent event. The future of EV research in the North is bright! 🀩 #NorthernEVNetwork

23.07.2025 17:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Recently we hosted the inaugural #NorthernEVNetwork meeting @universityofleeds.bsky.social which provided an excellent networking opportunity for EV researchers & highlighted the huge diversity and expertise in #extracellularvesicle research that is being conducted in Northern England.

23.07.2025 17:48 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Great to have @drkarenforbes.bsky.social opening the first Northern EV network meeting @universityofleeds.bsky.social ! Looking forward to a full day of all things #EVs

11.07.2025 09:00 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Do you have ideas on how to improve sustainability of scientific conferences and meetings? While still keeping them fun, frutiful, and fulfilling?

Do you want to share your ideas to help inspire positive change?

Do you want to win Β£250?

Act fast! Essay competition! Deadline TOMORROW!

19.06.2025 18:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Syncytin-1 Is Responsible for the Fusion Between Human Trophoblasts and Endometrial Stromal Cells - PubMed Syncytiotrophoblasts (STs) are multinucleated cells formed by the fusion of trophoblasts and play critical roles in placental development and function. Retrovirus-derived fusogenic proteins, known as ...

Trophoblast and endometrial stromal cells fuse?! I had no idea.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40509769/

13.06.2025 11:06 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
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Endothelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition in the fetoplacental macrovasculature and microvasculature in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes Abstract figure legend Transforming growth factor (TGF)-Ξ²2 and interleukin (IL)-1Ξ² induced morphological and molecular changes consistent with endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) in HUVECs ...

Recent paper from our team investigating endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in fetoplacental vasculature in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes #pregnancy #placenta #EndMT #reprorocks

physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

19.06.2025 20:37 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Physiological glucose levels associated with gestational diabetes impact the human placental transcriptome in an ex vivo model Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases the risk of pathological fetal growth, including rates of large-for-gestational age (LGA) infants, which…

Our latest paper where we modelled in-vivo glucose levels to investigate the impact of diabetes on the placenta, is now out. Congratulations to all co-authorsπŸ₯³ #diabetes #pregnancy #placenta #glucose

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

19.06.2025 20:33 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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ICYMI: What causes vascular injury in type 2 diabetes?

Aida Collado & team show extracellular vesicles produced by red blood cells are taken up by endothelial cells, leading to impaired vascular relaxation: buff.ly/e4UMYB1

24.05.2025 15:33 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Fetoplacental extracellular vesicles deliver conceptus-derived antigens to maternal secondary lymphoid tissues for immune recognition @jci-insight.bsky.social
insight.jci.org/articles/vie...

23.05.2025 03:57 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Northern EV Network - Inaugural meeting The Northern EV Network aims to bring together scientists interested in extracellular vesicle research across the North of England.

We are delighted to announce that registration for the first Northern EV Network Annual Meeting 2025, in Leeds on Friday 11th July, is now open!

For Registration: eventbrite.com/e/northern-e...

For Abstract Submission-deadline 15th June: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

24.05.2025 16:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This Friday - last chance to apply! Please spread the word in your networks πŸ“£

forms.office.com/e/kAq9TpwpUh

18.03.2025 16:06 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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We attended another fab @socendocrinology.bsky.social
BES meeting last wk!
I had the pleasure of delivering the 'What's new' update, we had a great Repro Network session, Abbie & Georgia received highly recommended awards for their posters & made the best endocrine organ at the Quiz🀩 #reprorocks

18.03.2025 16:08 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Join us on Feb 18th to listen to Dr. Joy Wolfram on recent breakthroughs in EV manufacturing & drug delivery, shaping the future of patient care.

⏰TimeZone: notime.zone/OIRUsoy1fNI9g
🎯Join the SNEV network for FREE: shorturl.at/PBVAL

07.02.2025 17:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Well done to our very own @jessicaedgejce on giving a BRILLIANT talk in the @srf_societyuk Post Doc prize session!! πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ #reprorocks

08.01.2025 16:07 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Pregnancy Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis Type 2 diabetes (T2D) now accounts for the majority of pre-existing diabetes affecting pregnancy in the UK. Our aim was to determine its impact on pregnancy outcomes compared to type 1 diabetes (T1D), gestational diabetes (GDM) and non-diabetes pregnancies.

In our latest article we report striking rates of adverse outcomes in pregnancies complicated by type 2 Diabetes including increased perinatal mortality compared to other types of diabetes in pregnancy. www.ajog.org/article/S000...

03.01.2025 12:17 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Bovine endometrial organoids: A new tool to study conceptus-maternal interactions in mammals In cattle, communication between endometrium and conceptus during the peri-implantation period is crucial for successful pregnancy. Understanding these interactions is vital as most early pregnancy lo...

Looking for some festive reading? Check out our new paper on developing a bovine endometrial organoid model. Congrats to Jess, Olga, Haidee, Sam, Gianluca Elena VirgΓ­nia, Karen, Mary & Pete #reprorocks πŸ₯³πŸ₯³ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

22.12.2024 07:59 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Come and celebrate our 150th year. Explore our events, our history, and the foundation we’ve built for the future.

I'm hiring! Exciting role for researcher with experience in multiomics data integration/systems modelling, and passion for women's health research. Initial contract for 3 years. Great opportunity to join our team @robsinstitute.bsky.social. Please share.

careers.adelaide.edu.au/cw/en/job/51...

18.12.2024 21:37 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Placenta-tropic VEGF mRNA lipid nanoparticles ameliorate murine pre-eclampsia - Nature A platform for mRNA lipid nanoparticle delivery to the placenta to treat pre-eclampsia is shown to improve fetal and maternal health in mice and has potential clinical applications in obstetric disorders and women's health.

A potential new mRNA-based therapy for pre-eclampsia is demonstrated in a mouse study published in Nature. The method involves targeted delivery of mRNA to the placenta to restore normal maternal blood pressure and improve foetal health. πŸ§ͺ

12.12.2024 20:31 β€” πŸ‘ 81    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 3
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Worldwide trends in diabetes prevalence and treatment from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 1108 population-representative studies with 141 million participants In most countries, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, diabetes treatment has not increased at all or has not increased sufficiently in comparison with the rise in prevalence. The bu...

Worldwide trends in diabetes prevalence and treatment from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 1108 population-representative studies with 141 million participants πŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬πŸ”¬πŸ₯Ό #Diabetes #Type1diabetes #Type2diabetes #MedSky #Lancet
Full details πŸ‘‡
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

26.11.2024 18:30 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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17.11.2024 02:19 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ“Œ

17.11.2024 02:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The source of the wonderful,,

πŸŽˆβ–ΆοΈStarter Pack Directoryβ—€οΈπŸŽˆ

Just search for the kinds of followers you'd like to pop up in your feed, open the Starter Pack that looks good & use the 'Follow All' button to do as the name suggests! Next, search for more!
Easy πŸ«›

17.11.2024 01:56 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 1
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On my way back from another fabulous week in Brussels πŸ‡§πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί
Wonderful people and great science (and beer)!

15.11.2024 18:56 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0


Here is a link to my developmental biology starter pack. Please add and follow.

go.bsky.app/M5AgJhn

09.11.2024 23:49 β€” πŸ‘ 187    πŸ” 116    πŸ’¬ 81    πŸ“Œ 13
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Our BHF funded PhD student Manon Owen successfully defended her PhD recently.

Congratulations Manon! 🀩πŸ₯³πŸ₯‚

Manon investigated the role of metformin, extracellular vesicles & miRNAs on placental & fetal development in GDM. πŸ‘€ papers will follow soonπŸ‘€

#miRNA #extracellularvesicles #DevBio #reprorocks

10.11.2024 09:01 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@drkarenforbes is following 20 prominent accounts