Jayne Martin Carli, PhD, CLC
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
University of Colorado, School of Medicine
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Reproductive Sciences
Research
Dr. Martin Carli researches the molecular biology of lactation and its relationship to maternal metabolism. She is currently using milk samples to identify the mechanisms underlying poor milk production in women with obesity and/or gestational diabetes. Her future work will expand experimental capabilities in human lactation and will focus on the mechanisms underlying mammary function in humans, with particular interest in the ability of the mammary epithelium to transform nutrients from the maternal circulation into complete infant nutrition.
Training
PhD
2017
Columbia University Medical Center
I conducted my graduate work investigating genetic determinants of adipocyte development and function under the guidance of Rudolph Leibel, MD, a preeminent leader in the molecular genetics of body weight maintenance. My mechanistic investigations highlighted the complexity of body weight regulation and pointed toward adipose tissue as an important determinant of both adiposity and metabolic health.
Postdoctoral Fellowship
2018-2024
University of Colorado
School of Medicine
After the birth of my daughter, I became acutely aware of the links between maternal metabolic health and lactation success. I sought a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado to address important knowledge gaps regarding the mechanisms controlling human lactation, which have important implications for the long-term metabolic health of neonates and their mothers. I gained mentorship from Dr. Jocob Friedman, Dr. James McManaman, Dr. Jenifer Monks, Dr. Linda Barbour and Dr. Teri Hernandez. I worked to identify how to best utilize human milk samples as “liquid breast biopsies” to interrogate human mammary function non-invasively. I published the first profile of cells from human milk by single cell RNA sequencing and I conducted comparative proteomics to illuminate the mechanisms of milk fat globule secretion. I obtained training in human subjects research to use milk samples to identify the mechanisms underlying poor milk production in participants with obesity and/or gestational diabetes.