Please join Wayne State University's Center for Leadership in Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR) and Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES) for their upcoming hybrid seminar on February 19, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. The seminar is free; registration is required.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Nadia Saadat, research investigator, Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Saadat will present, "Understanding the Relationship: Maternal Environment, Metabolic health and Pregnancy Outcomes."

Abstract:

Pregnancy is characterized by physiological and metabolic adaptations crucial for the normal progression of pregnancy and fetal development. However, these adaptations may increase susceptibility to environmental exposures and stressors. Exposure to environmental toxicants, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), has been linked to adverse birth outcomes. Dr. Saadat is investigating the relationship of circulating PFAS levels with maternal inflammation as one of the pathways linked to adverse birth outcomes in Detroit and other communities in the Midwest. Dr. Saadat has also identified proteome signatures associated with circulating PFAS; and will discuss how these associations may affect fetal growth and pregnancy outcomes. The talk will conclude with a discussion on how maternal metabolic state such as high BMI may contribute as a stressor shaping biological response to environmental chemicals. Human exposures typically involve concurrent exposure to multiple chemicals rather than isolated exposure to a single chemical. Dr. Saadat will present preliminary findings from our early-pregnancy urinary exposome study, suggesting a differential impact of environmental exposures depending on maternal BMI status.

Bio:

Dr. Saadat is a research investigator at the University of Michigan. Dr. Saadat’s research focuses on applying comprehensive integrative approaches to examine how the prenatal environment and metabolic factors influence pathways that affect the baby’s growth and pregnancy outcomes. She is studying changes in maternal metabolic profiles and inflammation during pregnancy, and the impact of maternal environmental exposures and stressors. She has expertise in using omics and multi-omics approaches to uncover patterns and trends in big data. She earned her MS and PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism from Wayne State University and was selected as one of the three postdoctoral scholars with ReBUILDetroit program. Later she received postdoctoral training in maternal and child health and developmental origins of metabolic diseases at the University of Michigan. She received career development K12 award from the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) at the University of Michigan to investigate the impact of maternal environment and metabolic health in relation to adverse birth outcomes.