Current Position

Research Associate

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

 

Research Summary

My current work is focused on two research areas:

1. Using novel in vivo conditional deletions in the mouse i’m aiming to understand the molecular mechanisms by which the imprinted insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2) gene regulates the normal development of placental vasculature during late gestation;
2. I’m also studying the epigenetic basis of the so-called “nutritional programming” of adult diseases, a phenomenon by which suboptimal diet during critical periods of development is associated with risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity in later life. I’m particularly interested in understanding the role of altered promoter-enhancer interactions in this phenomenon.

 

Publications

Ferron SR, Radford EJ, Domingo-Muelas A, Kleine I, Ramme A, Gray D, Sandovici I, Constancia M, Ward A, Menheniott TR & Ferguson-Smith AC (2015). Differential genomic imprinting regulates paracrine and autocrine of IGF2 in mouse adult neurogenesis. Nat. Commun (in press).

Shen H, Cavallero S, Estrada KD, Sandovici I, Kumar SR, Makita T, Lien CL, Constancia M & Sucov HM (2015). Extracardiac control of embryonic cardiomyocyte proliferation and ventricular wall expansion. Cardiovasc. Res. 105: 271-278.

Sandovici I, Hammerle CM, Ozanne SE & Constancia M (2013). Developmental and environmental epigenetic programming of the endocrine pancreas: consequences for type 2 diabetes. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 70: 1575-1595.

Haley VL, Barnes DJ, Sandovici I, Constancia M, Graham CF, Pezzella F, Buehnemann C, Carter E & Hassan AB (2012). Igf2 pathway dependency of the Trp53 developmental and tumor phenotypes. EMBO Mol. Med. 4: 705-718.

Sandovici I, Hoelle K, Angiolini E & Constancia M (2012). Placental adaptations to the maternal-fetal environment: implications for fetal growth and developmental programming. RBM online. 25(1): 68-89.

Ozanne SE, Sandovici I & Constancia M (2011). Maternal diet, aging and diabetes meet at a chromatin loop. Aging (Albany NY). 3(5): 548-554.

Angiolini E, Coan PM, Sandovici I, Iwajomo OH, Peck G, Burton GJ, Sibley CP, Reik W, Fowden AL & Constancia M (2011). Developmental adaptations to increased fetal nutrient demand in mouse genetic models of Igf2-mediated overgrowth. FASEB J. 25(5): 1737-1745.

Sandovici I, Smith NH, Nitert MD, Ackers-Johnson M, Uribe-Lewis S, Ito Y, Jones RH, Marquez VE, Cairns W, Tadayyon M, O’Neill LP, Murrell A, Ling C, Constancia M & Ozanne SE (2011). Maternal diet and aging alter the epigenetic control of a promoter-enhancer interaction at the Hnf4a gene in rat pancreatic islets. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 108(13): 5449-5454.

Sandovici I & Sapienza C (2010). PDRM9 sticks its zinc fingers into recombination hotspots and between species. F1000 Biology Reports. 2: 37.

Coan PM, Angiolini E, Sandovici I, Burton GJ, Constancia M & Fowden AL (2008). Adaptations in placental nutrient transfer capacity to meet fetal growth demands depend on placental size in mice. J Physiol. 586(Pt 18): 4567-4576. 

Sandovici I, Kassovska-Bratinova S, Vaughan JE, Stewart R, Leppert M & Sapienza C (2006). Human imprinted regions are historical hot-spots of recombination. PLoS Genetics. 2(7): 944-954.

Angiolini EJ, Fowden A, Coan P, Sandovici I, Ferguson-Smith A, Smith P, Dean W, Burton G, Tycko B, Reik W, Sibley C & Constancia M (2006). Regulation of placental efficiency for nutrient transport by imprinted genes. Placenta. (Suppl A: S98-S102).

Constancia M, Angiolini E, Sandovici I, Smith P, Smith RJ, Kelsey G, Dean W, Ferguson-Smith AC, Sibley CP, Reik W & Fowden AL (2005). Adaptation of nutrient supply to fetal demand in the mouse involves interaction between the Igf2 gene and placental transporter systems. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 102(52): 19219-19224. 

Sandovici I, Kassovska-Bratinova S, Loredo-Osti JC, Leppert M, Suarez A, Stewart R, Bautista FD, Schiraldi M & Sapienza C (2005). Interindividual variability and parent of origin DNA methylation differences at specific human Alu elements. Hum. Mol. Genet. 14(15): 2135-2143.

Sandovici I, Naumova AK, Leppert M, Linares Y & Sapienza C (2004). A longitudinal study of X-inactivation ratio in human females. Hum. Genet. 115(5): 387-392.

Sandovici I, Leppert M, Red Hawk P, Suarez A, Linares Y & Sapienza C (2003). Familial aggregation of abnormal methylation of parental alleles at the IGF2/H19 and IGF2R differentially methylated regions. Hum. Mol. Genet.  12(13):  1569-1578.