Rosie Brown

Biography

 Dr Brown is a Research Fellow in Department of Anatomy at University of Otago School of Biomedical Sciences, New Zealand. Dr Brown's research seeks to understand how a mother's brain adapts during pregnancy to facilitate a change in behaviour to allow her to care for her young. She is the author of several articles published in many reputed journals.    

Research Interest

  Investigating the mechanism of hormone transport into the brain. The blood brain barrier prevents large hormones diffusing from the blood into the brain, where they need to exert key biological actions. It is thought that hormones such as prolactin, leptin and insulin, require transporter proteins, but the nature of these transporters is unknown. The role of prolactin in the initiation of maternal behaviour. We are seeking to understand how a prolactin sensitive neural network is involved in a wide range of behavioural changes during pregnancy. How elevated levels of prolactin cause infertility.