PIPPI Lab

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the number one complication of childbirth, affecting one in every five to seven perinatal individuals, and are a leading cause of maternal perinatal morbidity and mortality. Research on the biological etiology of these disorders has focused largely on genetics and epigenetics, hormonal fluctuation, and the HPA axis.  A small but growing body of literature tackles the role of immune system dysregulation, specifically on perinatal psychoneuroimmunology.  Psychoneuroimmunology studies the interaction between immunity, the endocrine system, and the central and peripheral nervous systems. 

Pregnancy is an ideal time to study psychoneuroimmunology, for even healthy pregnancy is associated with significant changes in immune functioning as the body adapts to the presence of a foreign intruder (the fetus).  Immune dysregulation in pregnancy has been associated with several pregnancy morbidities, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, recurrent spontaneous abortion, and preterm birth.  Because these morbidities are also associated with perinatal mental illness – and because depression and anxiety outside of pregnancy have also been associated with immune dysregulation – the psychoneuroimmunology of pregnancy is a field particularly ripe for new research.   

Our lab, led by Dr. Lauren M. Osborne, focuses on clinical and translational studies of biological mechanisms of affective and anxiety disorders at times of reproductive transition. We investigate changes in immune functioning across pregnancy and postpartum, integrating human and in vitro experiments to examine how neuroimmune factors or their changes contribute to the development and exacerbation of psychiatric diseases and their treatment response. We have an interdisciplinary approach and work closely with other basic science and neuroimaging laboratories to address our research questions.