Laura Hewitson

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Laura Hewitson
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Birmingham, England
Alma materUniversity of Essex
University of York
Occupation(s)Affiliate Scientist at Washington National Primate Research Center
Research Director at Johnson Center for Child Health and Development
Scientific career
ThesisEnergy metabolism of the trophectoderm and inner cell mass of the mouse blastocyst. (1993)

Laura Charlotte Hewitson

Oregon Health Sciences University from 1997 to 2001.[5] From 2002 to 2010 she was an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine[6] and a member of the Magee-Women's Research Institute and Foundation (MWRI&F) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[6]

Education

In 1990, Hewitson graduated with honors in biology from the

Research

Hewitson's research has primarily focused on embryo metabolism, cytoskeletal dynamics, centrosome abnormalities during fertilization, assisted reproductive technology (ART) in non-human primates and infant primate neonatal development.

autism spectrum disorders (ASD).[4][6] Her research has been funded through the National Institutes of Health,[7] as well as private foundations.[4][6][7]

Hewitson's work on primate fertilization examined the role of the centrosome during assisted reproduction and identified unique check-points during the first cell cycle.[7] She also explored the safety of new methods of assisted reproduction by producing infant primates by ART to follow their early development and behavior (see Selected Publications).

Hewitson's more recent research has focused on the study of genetic versus epigenetic (environmental) causes of

neurodevelopmental disorders.[4][6] While at the University of Pittsburgh she researched the possible connection between pediatric vaccines and behavior and presented some of this research at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in 2008[8] and the Neurobehavioral Teratology Society (NBTS) meeting in 2011.[9] She is now continuing this research with colleagues at the WaNPRC.[10][11] Hewitson is also collaborating with colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School to identify blood biomarkers for autism.[2] With funding from the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative[12] and the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP),[13]

Awards and achievements

In 2010, Hewitson was the recipient of the Invisible Disabilities Association Honors Research Award for her research in autism.[14]

Hewitson's work has been published in many journals, such as

, Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis, Autism Research and Treatment, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, and the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics.

Selected publications

  • Hewitson, L.C., Leese, H.J. (1993) Energy metabolism of the trophectoderm and inner cell mass of the mouse blastocyst. J Exp Zool. 267:337-343.
  • Hewitson, L.C., Martin, K.L., Leese, H.J. (1996) Effects of metabolic inhibitors on mouse preimplantation embryo development and the energy metabolism of isolated inner cell masses. Mol Reprod Dev. 43:323-330.
  • Hewitson, L., Simerly, C., Tengowski, M.W, Sutovsky, P., Navara, C.S., Haavisto, A.J. and Schatten, G. (1996) Microtubule and chromatin configurations during rhesus intracytoplasmic sperm injection: Successes and Failures. Biol. Reprod. 55:271–280.
  • Hewitson, L., Haavisto A, Simerly C, Jones J and Schatten G (1997) Microtubule organization and chromatin configurations in hamster oocytes during fertilization, parthenogenetic activation and after insemination with human sperm. Biol.Reprod. 57: 967–975.
  • Hewitson L, Takahashi D, Dominko T, Simerly C, and Schatten G. (1998) Fertilization and embryo development to blastocysts after intracytoplasmic sperm injection in the rhesus monkey. Hum Reprod 13:3449-3455.
  • Schatten G, Hewitson L, Simerly C, Sutovsky P and Huszar G. (1998) Cell and Molecular Biological Challenges of ICSI: A.R.T. Before Science? J Law Med Ethics 26:29-37.
  • Hewitson, L, Dominko, T, Takahashi, D, Ramalho-Santos, J, Sutovsky, P, Fanton, J, Jacob, D, Monteith, D, Neuringer, M, Battaglia, D, Simerly, C, and G. Schatten. (1999) Births of ICSI monkeys: unique checkpoints during the first cell cycle of fertilization. Nature Medicine 5:431-433.
  • Ramalho-Santos, J., Moreno, R.D., Sutovsky, P., Chan, A.Q.., Hewitson, L., Wessel G.M., Simerly C.R., and Schatten, G. (2000) SNAREs in mammalian sperm: possible implications for fertilization. Dev Bio 223:54-69.
  • Hewitson, L., Martinovich, C., Simerly, C., Takahashi, D., Schatten, G. (2002) Intracytoplasmic injection of rhesus testicular sperm (TESE-ICSI) and elongated spermatids (ELSI) results in healthy offspring. Fertil Steril. 77:794-801.
  • Simerly, C., Dominko, T., Navara, C., Payne, C., Capuano, S., Gosman, G., Chong, K.Y., Compton, D., Hewitson, L., and Schatten, G. (2000) Molecular Correlates of Primate Nuclear Transfer Failures. Science 300: 297–299.
  • Dettmer, AM, Houser, LA, Ruppenthal, GC, Capuano, S, Hewitson, L. (2007) Growth and developmental outcomes of three high-risk infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Am J Primatol. 69: 503–518.
  • Hewitson, L., Lopresti, B., Mason, N.S, Stott, C. and Tomko, J. (2010) Influence of pediatric vaccines on amygdala growth and opioid ligand binding in rhesus macaque infants: A pilot study. Acta Neurobiologiae Exp 70: 147–164.
  • Bharathi S. Gadad, Laura Hewitson, Keith A. Young, and Dwight C. German, "Neuropathology and Animal Models of Autism: Genetic and Environmental Factors," Autism Research and Treatment, vol. 2013, Article ID 731935, 12 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/731935
  • Schutte C, Hewitson L. Relationship between Stereotyped Behaviors and Restricted Interests (SBRIs) measured on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and diagnostic results. Open Access Autism 2014 Aug 11;2(2):15.
  • Curtis B, Liberato N, Rulien M, Morrisroe K, Kenney C, Yutuc V, Ferrier C, Marti CN, Mandell D, Burbacher TM, Sackett GP, Hewitson L. Examination of the Safety of Pediatric Vaccine Schedules in a Non-Human Primate Model: Assessments of Neurodevelopment, Learning, and Social Behavior. Environmental Health Perspectives, Feb 18, 2015

References

  1. ^ "WorldCat Identities entry for Laura Charlotte Hewitson". worldcat.org.
  2. ^ a b c d "Laura Hewitson Biography". Johnson Center for Child Health and Development.
  3. ^ "WaNPRC Study Examines Safety of Pediatric Vaccines, Such as MMR – Washington National Primate Research Center". wanprc.org. 24 February 2015.
  4. ^
    PMID 24151553
    .
  5. ^ a b c JCCHD. "The Johnson Center for Child Health & Development : Staff". www.johnson-center.org.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Laura C. Hewitson, Ph.D." Archived from the original on 2005-04-24.
  7. ^
    S2CID 6564806
    .
  8. ^ Hewitson L, et al. (May 2008). "Pediatric vaccines influence primate behavior, and amygdala growth and opioid ligand binding". International Meeting for Autism Research.
  9. .
  10. .
  11. .
  12. ^ "Identification of candidate serum antibody biomarkers in autism". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (DoD CDMRP)". Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  14. ^ "2010 Research Award – Laura Hewitson PhD – Invisible Disabilities Association – IDA". invisibledisabilities.org.