M. Maya Kaelberer, Ph.D.

Research

My lab will explore how maternal diet can lead to a lifelong craving for sugary foods. Food preferences are established in utero, shaped by a baby’s exposure to what their mom was eating during pregnancy. But while this maternal influence on the future development of a “sweet tooth” is well recognized, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. During my time as a postdoctoral fellow, I discovered a specialized type of sensory cell in the gut that responds to real sugar, but not to artificial sweeteners—a preference these “neuropod” cells then communicate to the brain. Now, combining RNA sequencing with advanced techniques for measuring neural activity, we will assess how feeding pregnant mice a high-sugar “cafeteria diet” that includes sweetened condensed milk alters gene activity in the neuropod cells of their offspring at various developmental stages. In addition, we will investigate how activating these neuropod cells signals the brain to boost sugar consumption. These findings could shape dietary guidelines during pregnancy and suggest novel interventions for preventing childhood obesity.