Janna Morrison

Professor Janna Morrison is a Professor of Physiology at the University of South Australia within the Clinical & Health Sciences school. She is based at the City West Campus (HB5-28) and serves as a Research Degree Supervisor. Her research primarily focuses on fetal physiology and developmental origins of health and disease, with particular emphasis on placental function, cardiovascular development, and respiratory systems in animal models.

Dr. Morrison's research interests span fetal physiology, placental development, developmental origins of health and disease, cardiovascular development, respiratory development, and pregnancy complications. Her work frequently utilizes sheep models to investigate how maternal conditions affect fetal development and how these developmental changes may program health outcomes later in life. She has made significant contributions to understanding intrauterine growth restriction, fetal cardiac development, and the pulmonary surfactant system.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on using advanced imaging techniques like MRI to assess maternal-fetal physiology, investigating sex-specific responses to developmental challenges, and exploring interventions that might mitigate adverse programming effects. Her research bridges basic science with potential clinical applications in perinatal medicine.

Professor Morrison has received funding from major Australian research councils including ARC and NHMRC grants (DP190102263, DP220103289, 511340). She leads the Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group within the Health and Biomedical Innovation division at UniSA.

Her laboratory work frequently involves collaborations with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and utilizes sophisticated techniques including cardiac MRI feature tracking, redox monitoring systems, and molecular analysis of tissue samples from animal models.