Julie Lafond

Dr. Julie Lafond serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), where she leads research on critical mother-fetus nutrient exchange mechanisms during pregnancy.

Her primary research domains include:

• Placental transport physiology of calcium and lipids
• Molecular characterization of syncytiotrophoblastic membranes (BPM and BBM)
• Hormonal regulation of fetal nutrient uptake
• Maternal dietary impacts on fetal development
• Pathological mechanisms in preeclampsia and gestational diabetes

Dr. Lafond's program receives active funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (IRSC) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (CRSNG). She supervises graduate students using advanced molecular techniques including HPLC, RT-PCR, and real-time PCR to investigate membrane transporters and signaling pathways.

Her laboratory conducts both fundamental and applied research using human placental tissue and rabbit models, with particular focus on how maternal nutrition and environmental contaminants affect fetal programming of obesity and metabolic disorders.