Research Concentration

Dr. Gumusoglu directs the Molecular Investigation of Neuroscience, Development, and Obstetrics Lab (MINDFOL) at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Her research utilizes translational approaches to understand the mechanisms by which complications of pregnancy such as infection, stress, and diseases like preeclampsia influence offspring and peripartum brain risk. Ongoing work examines prenatal and peripartum brain programming by neuroimmune and endocrine factors in the placenta-brain axis such as extracellular vesicles and immune cells. The lab's goal is to improve the specificity and efficacy of gestational prevention, detection, and treatment measures for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism in kids, and psychiatric disorders such as peripartum depression in birthing people.