Associate Professor Vicki Clifton

Biography/ Background

Associate Professor Vicki Clifton is a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow and has been employed at the Robinson Institute, Department of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health at the University of Adelaide since January 2008 after many years at the Mothers and Babies Research Centre in Newcastle. She has been appointed as the Director of Clinical Research  Development at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide. A/Prof Clifton has a background in immunology, asthma, fetal growth, reproductive endocrinology and maternal and placental physiology. Her research has examined aspects of placental function which has evolved into an investigation of those factors that program fetal development and neonatal adaptation.

 

 

Qualifications

Degrees:                     1990    Bachelor of Science and Mathematics (Honours I)

                                    The University of Newcastle

 

                                   

1989-1990       Honours Degree Class I

                                    Department of Biology and Faculty of Medicine

                                    The University of Newcastle

                                    Supervisors: Dr David Kay from the Biology Dept.

                                    Professor Alan Husband from the Medical Faculty

 

1991-1996       Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Reproductive Endocrinology

                                    Faculty of Medicine, The University of Newcastle, NSW. Australia

                                    Supervisor: Professor Roger Smith, Dept. of Endocrinology

 

Awards & Achievements

International Prizes

2003                            Gabor Than Medal Award In Placentology

                              Awarded by the International Federation of Placental Associations

1996                            President’s Presenters Award

                                   Awarded by the Society of Gynecologic Investigation for placental vascular research work

National Prizes

2002                                                        Arthur Wilson Memorial Scholarship

Awarded by Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for study of asthma and pregnancy

1994                            Sandoz Junior Scientist of the Year

                                    Awarded by The Endocrine Society of Australia for PhD work

Institutional Prizes

1999                            Hunter Medical Researcher of the Year

Awarded by Hunter Medical Research Institute for studies of the effect of asthma during pregnancy on placental function

1998-1999                                      Brawn Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship

Awarded by The University of Newcastle

1991-1995                   Maternal Health Research Scholarship

                                    Awarded by Maternal Health Research Centre, NSW, Australia

 

 

 

 

Research Interests

A/Prof Clifton has a strong background in immunology, asthma, fetal growth, reproductive endocrinology and maternal and placental physiology. Her research has examined aspects of placental and myometrial function. Her research interests have evolved into an investigation of those factors that program fetal development and neonatal adaptation. She also has a background in changes in maternal physiology during pregnancy with an interest in the complications of asthma and pre-eclampsia.

As an initiative, A/Prof Clifton identified asthma as a common condition in pregnancy that might provide a valuable model in which to study the effects of an inflammatory process on the outcome of the pregnancy. Her results have been startling, identifying an important sex dependent difference in the fetal growth response to maternal asthma. The results have lead to many prizes for her students, publications in the asthma and obstetric literature and reviews in high impact factor journals such as Endocrine Reviews. Clinically this study has demonstrated that asthmatic women require extra care during their pregnancies and resulted in funding by NHMRC (2007-2010) for a randomized control trial for treatment regimes specifically for pregnant asthmatic women. Scientifically this work has started to create a picture of what sex specific factors are involved in preterm delivery and fetal development in pathological pregnancies. This work has been generously funded by The Asthma Foundation of NSW for the last 10 years and by an NHMRC priming grant and 2 project grant for 9 years.  The research in preterm neonates has identified significant differences in physiological stability at birth based on the sex of the neonate and she has formed a strong team to continue to explore this area of research with the combination of Dr Michael Stark, Dr Nicolette Hodyl and Prof Ross Haslam. These studies will have a significant impact on how we treat preterm infants in the future.

Research Funding

1. NHMRC Grants

Past Support

2003-2005                   National Health and Medical Research Council Grant ID 252438

$120 000 per year for 3 years to Dr Vicki Clifton for “The effect of asthma during pregnancy on placental function and fetal development”

Associate Investigators: Prof Peter Gibson, Prof Warwick Giles, Prof Roger Smith, Dr Andrew Bisits, Ms Vanessa Murphy

 

2003                            NHMRC Equipment grant

PG Gibson, VL Clifton, M Boyle and R Scott, Sievers NOA nitric oxide analyzer $36000

 

2000-2002                   National Health and Medical Research Council Priming Grant ID 100900

$70 000 per year for 3 years to Dr Vicki Clifton for “The effect of severe asthma during pregnancy on placental function and fetal HPA”

Associate Investigators: Prof Peter Gibson, Prof Warwick Giles, Prof Roger Smith

 

1999                            NHMRC Equipment Grant

$2000 awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton, Dr Mark Read, Dr Sam Mesiano and Prof Roger Smith

 

Currently Held Grants

 

2009-2011                   NHMRC project grant The effect of chronic maternal asthma and acute exacerbations on placental function and fetal development

                                    Grant ID: 565347 CIA: A/Prof Vicki Clifton. 2009: $180000, 2010: $50 000, 2011: $50 000

 

2009-2011                   ARC Discovery grant DP098759: Dr DM Hodgson; A/Prof VL Clifton; Prof KW Beagley; Prof Y Shavit. The Ontogeny of Pain Behaviour: A Novel Neuroimmune Pathway.

                                    2009 :$  60,000; 2010 :$  40,000 2011 :$  50,000

 

 

2007-2010                   Minister for Health and Aging Award for asthma and pregnancy research

                                    CI: Associate Professor Vicki Clifton

                                    $590 000

 

2007-2010                   NHMRC project grant: Managing asthma in pregnancy: the MAP study Grant ID: 455592

CIA: Prof P Gibson, CIB: Prof VL Clifton, CIC: Dr K McCaffery, Professor M J Hensley   Dr W B Giles  $805 875 for 4 years

 

2008 -2012                  NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. Level A

                                    Grant ID: 510703

CIA A/Prof VL Clifton: The effect of asthma during pregnancy on placental function and fetal development” $150 000 per year for 5 years

 

 

2. Other Sources

Past Support

2004 -2008                  NHMRC Career Development Grant: RD Wright Fellowship

                                    Grant ID: 300786

CIA Dr VL Clifton: The effect of asthma during pregnancy on placental function and fetal development” $89 000 per year for 5 years

2007                   Asthma Foundation of NSW

VL Clifton. The effect of maternal asthma and its treatment on placental p38 MAP Kinase activity

$50 000

2006                   Asthma Foundation of NSW

VL Clifton, PG Gibson, R Smith, W Giles, PI Talbot. The effect of maternal asthma and its treatment on placental and fetal glucocorticoid receptor expression

$50 000

2006                   Asthma Foundation of NSW

VE Murphy, VL Clifton, MJ Hensley, WB Giles, PG Gibson. The relationship between eosinophilic inflammation, viral infection and severe asthma exacerbations during pregnancy. $50 000

 2006                   Asthma Foundation of NSW

VL Clifton, R Smith, N Scott. Effect of maternal asthma during pregnancy on the fetal immune system.  $18 000

2006                   University of Newcastle Near Miss

VE Murphy, VL Clifton, MJ Hensley, WB Giles. Viral infection and asthma exacerbations during pregnancy. $19 000

2006                   University of Newcastle Near Miss

VL Clifton. Maternal asthma during pregnancy alters placental and fetal response to glucocorticoid in a sexually dimorphic manner $10 000

2006                   HMRI grant

                           JJ Hirst and VL Clifton. Neurosteroids in the neonatal brain. $16 000

2006                   HMRI grant

DM Hodgson and VL Clifton Perinatal programming of human anxiety disorders $16 000

2005                   University of Newcastle Research Grant Committee

                           Hodgson, DM, Hansbro P and Clifton, V. The effect of maternal infection on                                predisposition towards asthma in adulthood $12000

2005                   Asthma Foundation of NSW

VL Clifton, R Smith, N Scott. Effect of maternal asthma during pregnancy on the fetal immune system.  $18 000

2004                   University of Newcastle Research Grant Committee

Hodgson, DM and Clifton, V. The effect of maternal inflammation on fetal development, placental function, and neonatal immune competence: an animal model of asthma during pregnancy. $12 000

2003                   Special project grant, University of Newcastle Research Grant Committee

R Smith, VL Clifton, T Zakar, AM Bisits. Use of SELDI-TOF-MS to identify proteins relevant to human labour. $17 000

 

2002-2003                   Arthur Wilson Memorial Scholarship from the Royal Australian and New Zealand Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton (CI) for “The effect of asthma during pregnancy on placental function” $20 000 per year

 

2003                   John Hunter Hospital Charitable Trust Foundation

$10 000 awarded to Dr Ian Wright (CIA) and Dr Vicki Clifton (CIB) for the effect of CRH-like peptides on maternal microvascular circulation during pregnancy

 

2003                   RGC project grant

Dr Vicki Clifton (CIB) and Dr Deborah Hodgson (CIA) “Effect of prenatal exposure to bacteria on placental 11beta HSD activity in the guinea pig” $11 500 for one year

2001                   Hunter Medical Research grant

$25 000 for 1 year to Dr Vicki Clifton (CIB) and Dr Tamas Zakar (CID) for “Glucocorticoid regulation of prostaglandin H synthase

2000                   The Asthma Foundation

$50 000 awarded to Dr Clifton (CIA) for "The Effect of Severe Asthma during pregnancy on placental function and fetal growth".

Associate Investigators: Prof Peter Gibson, Prof Warwick Giles, Prof Roger Smith

1999                   Ramaciotti Foundation Grant

$10 193 awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton (CIA) and Prof Roger Smith (CIB) for The effect of CRH on Gap Junction formation in the human myometrium"

1999                   The Asthma Foundation

$50 000 awarded to Dr Clifton (CIA) and Dr Peter Gibson (CIB), Prof Warwick (CIC) Giles and Prof Roger Smith (CID) for "The Effect of Severe Asthma during pregnancy on placental function and fetal growth".

1998                   The Asthma Foundation Grant

$45 000 for one year awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton (CIA) and Dr Peter Gibson (CIB), Prof Warwick Giles (CIC) and Prof Roger Smith (CID)

1998                   Ramaciotti Foundation Travel Grant

$5000 awarded to Dr Clifton to conduct collaborative studies with the Dept Physiology, University of Toronto and Dept Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mt Sinai Hospital, Toronto Canada in March-April 1998

1998                   Ian Potter Foundation Travel Grant

$1000 to Dr Clifton to conduct collaborative studies with the Dept Physiology, University of Toronto and Dept Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mt Sinai Hospital, Toronto Canada in March-April 1998

                           $45 000

1999                   The Rebecca L Cooper Foundation

                           $15000 awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton for Image Analysis system

1998-1999          Brawn Postdoctoral Fellowship

                           $42 524 p.a. plus $12 000 consumables awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton (CI)

1998                   Research Management Committee Small Grants

                           Awarded to Dr Vicki Clifton, Endocrinology (Chief                                                                        Investigator) and Dr Peter Gibson (Co-investigator) $11 500 for                                                      consumables

 

 

Publications

VC1.                 Husband AJ, Clifton VL. (1989) Role of intestinal immunization in urinary tract defense. Immunol Cell Biol 67(Pt 6):371-376. Citations=3

VC2.                 Clifton VL, Husband AJ, Kay DJ. (1992) Local immunity in the male reproductive tract. Immunol Cell Biol 70:301-307. Citations=3

VC3.                 Kay DJ, Clifton VL, Taylor JS, Boettcher B. (1993) Anti-sperm antibodies and semen profiles in reanastomosed men. Reprod Fertil Dev 5:135-139. Citations=7

VC4.                 Clifton VL, Read MA, Leitch IM, Boura ALA, Robinson PJ, Smith R. (1994) Corticotropin-releasing hormone causes vasodilatation in the human fetal-placental circulation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 79(2):666-669. Impact Factor=5.78, Citations=66

VC5.                 Clifton VL, Read MA, Leitch IM, Boura ALA, Robinson PJ, Smith R. (1995) Corticotropin-releasing hormone-induced vasodilatation in the human fetal-placental circulation: involvement of nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine 3’5’-monophosphate-mediated pathway. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 80(10):2888-93. Impact Factor=5.78, Citations=85

VC6.                 Clifton VL, Owens PC, Robinson PJ, Smith R. (1995) Identification and characterization of a corticotrophin-releasing hormone receptor in human placenta. Eur J Endocrinol 133(5):591-597. Impact Factor=, Citations=27

VC7.                 Clifton VL, Read MA, Boura ALA, Robinson PJ, Smith R. (1996) Adrenocorticotropin hormone causes vasodilatation in the human fetal-placental circulation. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 81(4):1406-1410. Impact Factor=5.78, Citations=13

VC8.                 Clifton VL, Challis JRG. (1997) Placental corticotropin releasing hormone function (review) The Endocrinologist 7:448-458.

VC9.                 Clifton VL, Telfer JT, Teoh TC, Lye SJ, Cameron IT, Challis JRG. (1998) Localisation of corticotropin-releasing hormone and pro-opiomelanocortin peptides in the human myometrium. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83(10):3716-3721. Impact Factor=5.78, Citations=31

VC10.             Patel F, Clifton VL, Challis JRG. (1999) Steroid regulation of prostaglandin dehydrogenase activity and expression in human term placenta and chorio-decidua in relation to labor. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84(1):291-299. Impact Factor=5.78, Citations=49

 

VC11.      McLean M, Bowman M, Clifton V, Smith R, Grossman A. (2000) Expression of the heme oxygenase-carbon monoxide signalling system in human placenta. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 85(6):2345 –2349. Impact Factor=5.78, Citations=26

 

VC12.      Clifton VL, Qing G, Murphy VE, Schwartz J, Madsen G, Smith R. (2000) Localisation and characterization of urocortin during human pregnancy. Placenta 21(8):782-788. Impact factor=2.68. Citations=24

 

VC13.      Gu Q, Clifton VL, Schwartz J, Madsen G, Sha J, Smith R 2001 Characterization of urocortin in human pregnancy. Chin Med J (Engl) 114:618-22

 

VC14.      Clifton VL, Giles WB, Smith R, Bisits AT, Hempenstall P, Kessell CG, Gibson PG. 2001 Alterations of placental vascular function in asthmatic pregnancies. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 164:546-53 Impact factor=8.12, Citations=19 

 

VC15.      Holloway AC, Howe DC, Chan G, Clifton VL, Smith R, Challis JR 2002 Urocortin: a mechanism for the sustained activation of the HPA axis in the late-gestation ovine fetus? Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 283:E165-71 Impact factor=4.43, Citations=5

 

VC16.      Clifton VL, Wallace EM, Smith R 2002 Short-term effects of glucocorticoids in the human fetal-placental circulation in vitro. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87:2838-42

Impact factor=5.78, Citations=7

 

VC17.      O'Dwyer DT, Clifton V, Hall A, Smith R, Robinson PJ, Crock PA 2002 Pituitary autoantibodies in lymphocytic hypophysitis target both gamma- and alpha-Enolase - a link with pregnancy? Arch Physiol Biochem 110:94-8.

 

VC18.      Murphy VE, Zakar T, Smith R, Giles WB, Gibson PG, Clifton VL 2002 Reduced 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 activity is associated with decreased birth weight centile in pregnancies complicated by asthma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87:1660-8

Impact factor=5.78, Citations=22

 

VC19.      Clifton VL, Crompton R, Smith R, Wright IM 2002 Microvascular effects of CRH in human skin vary in relation to gender. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87:267-70

Impact factor=5.78, Citations=13

 

VC20.      Murphy VE, Gibson PG, Giles WB, Smith, R. and Clifton VL.  2003 Maternal asthma is associated with reduced female fetal growth. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 168:1317-23

Impact factor=8.12, Citations=27

 

VC21.      Murphy VE, Clifton VL 2003 Alterations in human placental 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and 2 with gestational age and labour. Placenta 24:739-44

Impact factor=2.68. Citations=14

 

VC22.      Crompton R, Clifton VL, Bisits AT, Read MA, Smith R, Wright IM 2003 Corticotropin-releasing hormone causes vasodilation in human skin via mast cell-dependent pathways. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 88:5427-32

Impact factor=5.78, Citations16

 

 

VC23.      Johnson RF, Mitchell CM, Clifton V, Zakar T 2004 Regulation of 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (PGDH) gene activity, messenger ribonucleic acid processing, and protein abundance in the human chorion in late gestation and labor. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 89:5639-48. Impact factor=5.78 Citations=3.

 

VC24.      Murphy VE, Johnson RF, Wang YC, Akinsanya K, Gibson PG, Smith R, Clifton VL 2005 The effect of maternal asthma on placental and cord blood protein profiles. J Soc Gynecol Investig 12:349-55. Impact factor=2.29, Citations=5

 

VC25.      Clifton VL, Crompton R, Read MA, Gibson PG, Smith R, Wright IM 2005 Microvascular effects of corticotropin-releasing hormone in human skin vary in relation to estrogen concentration during the menstrual cycle. J Endocrinol 186:69-76. Impact factor=3.31. Citations=2

 

VC26.      Vanderlelie J, Venardos K, Clifton VL, Gude NM, Clarke FM, Perkins AV 2005 Increased biological oxidation and reduced anti-oxidant enzyme activity in pre-eclamptic placentae. Placenta 26:53-8. Impact Factor 2.68. Citations =0

 

VC27.      Murphy VE, Gibson PG, Talbot PI, Kessell CG, Clifton VL 2005 Asthma self-management skills and the use of asthma education during pregnancy. Eur Respir J 26:435-41. Impact Factor 3.09. Citations =4

 

VC28.      Osei-Kumah A, Ammit AJ, Smith R, Ge Q, Clifton VL 2005 Inflammatory Mediator Release in Normal Bronchial Smooth Muscle Cells is Altered by Pregnant Maternal and Fetal Plasma Independent of Asthma. Placenta Epub ahead of print Oct 21 2005. Impact factor 2.68. Citations=1

 

VC29.      Clifton VL, Vanderlelie J, Perkins AV 2005 Increased anti-oxidant enzyme activity and biological oxidation in placentae of pregnancies complicated by maternal asthma. Placenta 26:773-9. Impact factor 2.68

 

VC30.      Murphy VE, Gibson P, Talbot PI, Clifton VL 2005 Severe Asthma Exacerbations During Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol 106:1046-1054. Impact factor= 3.51. Citations=3

 

VC31.      Murphy VE, Johnson RF, Wang YC Akinsanya K, Gibson PG, Smith R, Clifton VL 2006 Proteomic study of plasma proteins in pregnant women with asthma. Respirology 11:41-8. Impact factor=0.93 Citations=1

 

VC32.      Clifton VL, Rennie N, Murphy VE 2006 Effect of inhaled glucocorticoid treatment on placental 11beta  hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 activity and neonatal birth weight in pregnancies complicated by asthma. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (in press). Citation=3 Impact Factor =0.43

 

VC33.      Zarzycki PK, Kulhanek KM, Smith R, Clifton VL 2006 Determination of steroids in human plasma using temperature-dependent inclusion chromatography for metabolomic investigations. J Chromatogr A 1104:203-8. Impact factor = 3.36

 

VC34.      Murphy VE, Fittock R, Zarzycki P, Delahunty M, Smith R, Clifton VL 2007 Metabolism of synthetic steroids by the human placenta. Placenta 28:39-46. Impact factor 2.68

 

VC35       Stark MJ, Dierkx L, Clifton VL and Wright IMR 2006 Alterations in the maternal peripheral response in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and the impact of fetal sex. Journal of the Society of Gynecologic Investigation 13:573-578.

 

VC36  Hodyl, N.A, Walker, FR., Krivanek, KN., Clifton, VL., Hodgson, DM. (2007) Modelling prenatal bacterial infection; functional consequences of altered HPA development. Behav Brain Res. 178(1):108-14.

 

VC37  Vicki L. Clifton, Andrew Bisits, Paweł K. Zarzycki (2007) Characterization of human fetal cord blood steroid profiles in relation to fetal sex and mode of delivery using temperature-dependent inclusion chromatography and principal component analysis (PCA) J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 855(2):249-54.

 

VC38  Nicolette A. Hodyl, Klara M. Krivanek, Elizabeth Lawrence, Vicki L. Clifton and Deborah M. Hodgson (2007) Prenatal exposure to a pro-inflammatory stimulus causes delays in immune maturation in the offspring Journal of Neuroimmunology 190(1-2):61-71.

 

VC39  Tolosa, J.M., Schjenken, J.E., Civiti, T.D., Clifton, V.L. and Smith, R. (2007) A column based method to simultaneously extract DNA, RNA and protein from the same sample. Biotechniques. (in press August 2007)

 

VC40 T.M. Mayhew, H. Jenkins, B. Todd, and Vicki L Clifton (2008) Maternal asthma and placental morphometry: effects of severity, treatment and fetal sex. In press in Placenta (Accepted Jan 2008) Editorial reference: PL-07-00095

 

VC41              Stark, MJ., Clifton, VL., Wright, IMR (2008) Sex specific differences in peripheral microvascular blood flow in preterm infants. Pediatric Research (in press accepted January 2008)

 

VC42  Stark, MJ., Clifton, VL., Wright, IMR (2008) Microvascular flow, clinical illness severity and cardiovascular function in the preterm infant. Archives in Childhood Disease (in press accepted Feb 2008)

 

VC43  Engel, P.J, Smith, R., Brinsmead, M.W., Bowe, S.J  and  Clifton, V. L  (2008) Male sex and pre-existing diabetes are independent risk factors for stillbirth Aust New Zealand J Obstet Gynaecol 48: 375-83

 

VC44     Johnson RF, Rennie N, Murphy V, Zakar T, Clifton V, Smith R.2008 Expression of Glucocorticoid Receptor mRNA Transcripts in the Human Placenta at Term.. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 93:4887-4893

 

VC45     Hodyl NA, Krivanek KM, Clifton V.L., Hodgson DM. 2008 Innate immune dysfunction in the neonatal rat following prenatal endotoxin exposure. Journal of Neuroimmunology 204: 126-130

 

VC46     Osei-Kumah A, Smith R, Clifton V.L.. 2008 Maternal and cord plasma cytokine and chemokine profile in pregnancies complicated by asthma. Cytokine. 43(2):187-93.

 

VC47     NM Scott N.A Hodyl, VE Murphy, A Osei-Kumah, H Wyper, D M Hodgson, R Smith, VL Clifton. 2009 Placental cytokine expression co-varies with maternal asthma severity and fetal sex Journal of Immunology 182:1411-20.

 

VC48     Stark, Michael, Clifton V.L., Wright IMR 2009 Carbon Monoxide Is A Significant Mediator Of Cardiovascular Status Following Preterm Birth And May Contribute To Excess Male Deaths. Pediatrics 124:277-84.

 

VC49     Stark MJ, Wright IM, Clifton VL. (2009) Sex-specific alterations in placental 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 activity and early postnatal clinical course following antenatal betamethasone. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 297:R510-4.

 

VC50  Stark MJ, Clifton VL, Wright IM. (2009) Neonates born to mothers with preeclampsia exhibit sex-specific alterations in microvascular function. Pediatr Res. 65:292-5.

 

VC51  Thi T. Vu, J J Hirst1, M Stark, IM. R.Wright, H K. Palliser, N Hodyl, and VL Clifton. 2009 Changes in placental 5α-reductase isoenzyme expression with advancing gestation: effects of fetal sex and glucocorticoid exposure. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2009;21(4):599-607

 

VC52  Prescott SL, Clifton VL. (2009) Asthma and pregnancy: emerging evidence of epigenetic interactions in utero. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 9:417-26. Review.

 

VC53  Clifton VL, Hodyl NA, Murphy VE, Giles WB, Baxter RC, Smith R. (2009) Effect of maternal asthma, inhaled glucocorticoids and cigarette use during pregnancy on the newborn insulin-like growth factor axis. Growth Horm IGF Res. 20:39-48..

 

VC54  Osei-Kumah A, Wark PA, Smith R, Clifton VL.(2009) Asthma during pregnancy alters immune cell profile and airway epithelial chemokine release. Inflamm Res. 2009 Oct 30. [Epub ahead of print]

 

VC55  Clifton VL, Engel P, Smith R, Gibson P, Brinsmead M, Giles WB. (2009) Maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies complicated by asthma in an Australian population. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2009 Dec;49(6):619-26.

 

VC56     Lash GE, Burton GJ, Chamley LW, Clifton VL, Constancia M, Crocker IP, Dantzer V, Desoye G, Drewlo S, Hemmings DG, Hiendleder S, Kalionis B, Keelan JA, Kudo Y, Lewis RM, Manuelpillai U, Murthi P, Natale D, Pfarrer C, Robertson S, Saffery R, Saito S, Sferruzzi-Perri A, Sobrevia L, Waddell BJ, Roberts CT. (2010) IFPA Meeting 2009 workshops report. Placenta. 2010 Mar;31 Suppl:S4-20. Epub 2010 Jan 12.

 

VC57     Hodyl NA, Walker FR, Krivanek KM, Clifton VL, Hodgson DM. (2010) Prenatal endotoxin exposure alters behavioural pain responses to lipopolysaccharide in adult offspring.Physiol Behav. 2010 May 11;100(2):143-7. Epub 2010 Feb 23.

VC58  Zarzycki PK, Zarzycka MB, Slaczka MM, Clifton VL. (2010)Acetonitrile, the polarity chameleon. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2010 Jun;397(3):905-8.

 

VC59  N A Hodyl, H Wyper, RF. Johnson, N Scott, A Osei-Kumah, V E. Murphy, T Zakar, P Gibson, R Smith, and V L Clifton (2010) Sex-specific associations between cortisol and birth weight in pregnancies complicated by asthma are not due to differential glucocorticoid receptor expression Thorax (in press)

 

VC60     VE Murphy, VL Clifton, PG Gibson (2010) The effect of cigarette smoking on asthma control during exacerbations in pregnant women Thorax Accepted April 2010 In press.

 

 

 

Reviews

 

 

VC61.      Schwartz J, Revskoy S, Redei E, Clifton V, Smith R, Cherny R 2002 Corticotrophs and peptides. Arch Physiol Biochem 110:146-53.

 

VC62.      Clifton VL, Murphy VE 2004 Maternal asthma as a model for examining fetal sex-specific effects on maternal physiology and placental mechanisms that regulate human fetal growth. Placenta 25 Suppl A:S45-52. Impact factor= 2.68

 

VC63.      Murphy VE, Gibson PG, Smith R, Clifton VL 2005 Asthma during pregnancy: mechanisms and treatment implications. Eur Respir J 25:731-50. Impact Factor=3.096

 

VC64.      Clifton VL 2005 (invited review) Sexually dimorphic effects of maternal asthma during pregnancy on placental glucocorticoid metabolism and fetal growth. Cell Tissue Res 322:63-71.

 

VC65.      Murphy VE, Clifton VL, Gibson PG 2006 Asthma exacerbations during pregnancy: incidence and association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Thorax 61:169-76. Impact Factor=5.04

 

VC66.      Murphy VE, Smith R, Giles WB, Clifton VL 2006 Endocrine regulation of human fetal growth: the role of the mother, placenta and fetus. Endocr Rev 27:141-169. Impact Factor=18.12

 

VC67       Clifton VL 2006 (invited review) Maternal asthma during pregnancy and fetal outcomes: potential mechanisms and possible solutions. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 6: 306-11.

 

VC68       Osei-Kumah, A, Hodyl, NA and Clifton VL (2008) Proteomics in Asthma Expert Rev in Clin Immunol 4: (in press, Sept 2008).

 

VC69  Clifton VL. (2010) Review: Sex and the human placenta: mediating differential strategies of fetal growth and survival. Placenta. 2010 Mar;31 Suppl:S33-9. Epub 2009 Dec 11.

 

 

 

Book Chapters

 

VC70.  Smith R, Mesiano S, Clifton V, Chan E-C, Zakar T, Nicholson R, Giles W, Bisits A. The Pathway To Human Birth. Ed. Carlos Simón. Cuadernos de Medicina Reproductiva, Editorial Médica Panamericana (peer reviewed) 2003 Volume 9, Number 2.

VC71.  Smith R, Mesiano S, Nicholson R, Zakar T, Chan E-C, Bisits A, Clifton V, Giles W. Control of the Length of Gestation - Lessons from Women. Preterm Birth. Eds. Bennet and Thornton. Publisher: Royal College Obstetrics Gynecology. (peer reviewed) 2004 pp13-27.

VC72. Smith R, Mesiano S, Nicholson R, Clifton V, Zakar T, Chan E-C, Bisits A, Giles W. The Regulation of Human Parturition. In: Birth, Distress and Disease. Eds. Michael L Power, Jay Schulkin. Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK  pp77-90 (peer reviewed) 2005

VC73.  Murphy, V.E., Smith, R., Giles, W.B and Clifton V.L. 2006 The role of the mother, placenta, and fetus in the control of fetal growth during human pregnancy IN "Perinatal Programming: Early Life Determinants of Adult Health and Disease", eds D Hodgson and C. Coe.  p 3-17  Taylor and Francis, UK,

 

 

Professional Associations

I am presently an Executive member of the International Federations of Placental Associations and assumed a number of duties with this Committee which included the co-ordination and implementation of the International Placental Meeting in Melbourne in 2002. I have been the Treasurer, then President Elect and now President of Endocrine Society of Australia (2004-present) which involves multiple administrative duties related to the running of the society. I am an Council member of the Developmental Origins of Adult Disease Society.

 

I am a member of the following Societies:

 

Endocrine Society of Australia

 

Australian Society for Medical Research

 

International Federation of Placental Associations

 

Australian and New Zealand Placenta Research Association

 

Society of Gynecologic Investigation

 

Developmental Origins of Adult Disease

 

Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand

 

I have been involved in the organisation of the First International Placenta Congress held in Sydney in 1994. I also assisted in the organisation of a local meeting, The Pacific Rim Preterm Labour congress in 1997. I have assisted in the running of a satellite conference in our unit, The Beach Babes Conference in 2000. I organized and ran an international satellite meeting in October 2002, Human Pregnancy: Implantation to delivery at The Mothers and Babies Research Centre. I have been part of the local and international organizing committee for all the International Federation of Placental Associations since 2002 and I am committed to being involved in the organization of these conferences until 2009.

Community Engagement

I have been involved in Science Promotion Committee at the University of Newcastle where we organised fund raising for plays to be presented to school children on science promotion. I have been on a number of television programs such as The Today show, Channel 9 and Prime news to discuss my research into asthma and pregnancy. I have also discussed the effect of asthma on pregnancy on ABC National Radio and also in our local newspaper, The Newcastle Morning Herald and the Advertiser. I have been spokesperson in the Medical Observer for the use of the asthma drug, budesonide to promote its use during pregnancy. I have been a driving force for the promotion of the care of pregnant asthmatic women in collaboration with the NSW government department of Health and Asthma NSW which resulted in a state wide campaign in September 2006 with the production and state wide distribution of pamphlets for health professionals and pregnant women. I am currently a director on the Board of Asthma SA (2008-present) with a continued focus on improving the care of asthmatic women during pregnancy. I am also a member of Asthma Australia Medical and Scientific Advisory (2008-present) Committee.

Entry last updated: Thursday, 28 Jul 2011