Lisa Marie Nicholas

Dr. Lisa Marie Nicholas is a Research Fellow leading the Epigenetics in Diabetes research group at the School of Biomedicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide. She returned to Australia in 2020 to establish her independent research program after completing postdoctoral training at the University of Cambridge and Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden.

Dr. Nicholas earned her PhD from the University of South Australia in 2013, where she investigated how exposure to maternal obesity at conception programs metabolic disease risk in offspring through epigenetic mechanisms. Her undergraduate and Honours studies were completed at the University of Adelaide, where she earned a First Class degree ranked first in her year and was awarded the University Medal.

Her research focuses on understanding how sub-optimal maternal metabolic environments before and during pregnancy program health disadvantages in offspring that persist across the life course. Specifically, she investigates the sex-specific impact of maternal obesity on metabolic outcomes and pancreatic β-cell function, the epigenetic mechanisms regulating functional changes in β-cells, and how these mechanisms are implicated in human β-cell function. Her work bridges developmental biology, epigenetics, and diabetes research using animal models, primary human and rodent islets, and advanced molecular biology techniques.

Dr. Nicholas' publication record shows consistent contributions to understanding developmental programming of metabolic disease, with recent work focusing on sex differences in diabetes risk, epigenetic mechanisms in pancreatic β-cells, and the impact of maternal obesity on offspring health across generations. Her research spans cardiovascular development, pancreatic islet function, and mitochondrial biology in the context of developmental programming.

• University Medal
• First Class Honours degree ranked first in year

Dr. Nicholas has secured significant research funding including a C J Martin Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, grants from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes, the Isaac Newton Trust, Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation, the Society for Endocrinology, and Novo Nordisk UK Research Foundation. She is eligible to supervise Masters and PhD students and currently leads research projects investigating epigenetic networks in pancreatic β-cells and DNA methylation in Aboriginal children exposed to maternal diabetes.

Dr. Nicholas leads the Epigenetics in Diabetes research group with active projects at SAHMRI (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) and the Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences Building, focusing on how maternal metabolic environments program offspring health outcomes through epigenetic mechanisms.