Dr. Leah Gilbert investigates mental and metabolic health in the perinatal period at the Institute of Higher Education and Research in Healthcare (IUFRS) at UNIL/CHUV. An SNSF Postdoc.Mobility Fellowship now allows her to join The University of Sydney Nepean Clinical School, where she will lead the “PsyNBIOsis” study.
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs in a significant number of pregnancies. In Australia, this number can be as high as 12% of all pregnancies. Over their lifespan, infants born to mothers with GDM have a higher risk to develop obesity and metabolic disorders than infants of mothers without GDM.
Dr. Leah Gilbert’s research at the Institute of Higher Education and Research in Healthcare (IUFRS-UNIL/CHUV) is focused on different aspects of mental and metabolic health in the perinatal period. For her project “PsyNBIOsis”, designed to understand how maternal mental health and GDM status impact the development of maladaptive nutrition, eating, and sleeping behavior in infants, she was recently awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Postdoc.Mobility Fellowship. For the coming two years, Dr. Gilbert joins The University of Sydney Nepean Clinical School, where she will work together with Prof. Nanan and Ass.Prof. Hibbert to determine whether modifiable risk factors (such as mental health, nutrition and behavior) lead to higher body measurements in infants born to pregnancies with depression, anxiety and GDM. This research is of critical importance to inform the development of future psychological, behavioral and nutritional interventions to reduce the risk of obesity in infants and to reduce its related health and economic costs.
Dr. Gilbert obtained her PhD in Life Sciences at UNIL in 2021 under the supervision of Profs. Horsch and Puder. Following her thesis defense, she continued coordinating the SNSF-funded trial “MySweetheart” (PIs: Profs Puder and Horsch), and is currently performing her postdoctoral work on childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in high-risk patients and community samples alongside Prof. Horsch.