Kasia Siemienowicz
kasia siemienowicz

Dr Kasia Siemienowicz BSc (Hons) MSc PhD AFHEA

Lecturer

 0131 455 3458

  K.Siemienowicz@napier.ac.uk

  

Biography

Dr Kasia Siemienowicz is a Lecturer of Biomedical Science in the School of Applied Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, UK.

Kasia’s research focuses upon understanding how altered hormonal exposure during fetal life affects development and predisposition to adult disease, to ensure best lifelong health opportunities for our children and providing information regarding possible treatment routes.

Kasia has a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from the Edinburgh Napier University and MSc by Research (with Distinction) in Reproductive Sciences from the University of Edinburgh. In 2013 she was awarded an MRC Studentship to study for her PhD in the lab of Prof. Colin Duncan at QMRI Centre for Reproductive Health, the University of Edinburgh. She was awarded her PhD in 2017 with a thesis examining causes and consequences of dysregulation in an ovine model of PCOS. Following on from her PhD she has worked as a Research Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Mick Rae at Edinburgh Napier University and in the laboratory of Prof. Colin Duncan at the University of Edinburgh.

Kasia is a member of Society for Reproduction and Fertility, Royal Society of Biology, Endocrine Society, and Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

In the past years Kasia won two prestigious awards: Young Investigator Award from the European Society of Endocrinology (for her work on the role of the adipose tissue in the pathology of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and best postgraduate student prize from the Society of Reproduction and Fertility (for her research on mechanistic underpinnings of obesity in PCOS). She was also shortlisted as a finalist for the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) Early Career Researcher Prize, which awards outstanding early career scientists whose work shows excellent potential to make impact in the field of life sciences. Kasia’s research on the nature of obesity in PCOS and its therapeutic amelioration was featured in the New Scientist magazine. Her research has also illuminated a number of potential novel therapeutic routes, and these are now the underpinnings of both publications and funding applications.

School

Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

Esteem

Conference Organising Activity

  • Poster presentation: Sexual dimorphism in liver function using an ovine model: implications for health and disease
  • Poster presentation: Prenatal androgen exposure disturbs female liver phenotype in an ovine model of PCOS. Fertility 2020 Conference.
  • Poster Presentation: Dyslipidaemia and altered hepatic function in males - consequences of androgen excess in fetal life. European Congress of Endocrinology.
  • Poster Presentation: Decreased hepatic detoxification potential in males - consequences of androgen excess in fetal life. European Congress of Endocrinology.
  • Poster Presentation: Fetal androgen excess determines adult male health via hepatic dysfunction and dyslipidaemia. Mechanisms and Evolution of Integrational Change Conference
  • Oral Presentation: Exaggerated metabolic changes during puberty precede adult obesity and hyperlipidemia in an Ovine Model of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Society of Reproduction and Fertility.
  • Oral Presentation: Impaired adipose function in PCOS – evidence that the primary abnormalities are in subcutaneous rather than visceral fat. European Congress of Endocrinology.
  • Chair of the SRF Annual Conference, Oral Communications
  • Poster Presentation: Altered adipocytes in an Ovine Model of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Society for Endocrinology.
  • Oral Presentation: Obesity in PCOS: a consequence of prenatally programmed reduced energy expenditure. Society of Reproduction and Fertility.
  • Oral Presentation: Potential role of FGF21 in the metabolic pathophysiology of an ovine model of polycystic ovary syndrome. Society of Reproduction and Fertility.
  • Poster Presentation: The pathophysiology of increased hepatic IGF-1 expression in an ovine model of polycystic ovary syndrome. European Society of Endocrinology.

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External examiner for Edge Hill University MRes student

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Edinburgh Napier University Above and Beyond Research & Innovation Winner
  • European Society of Endocrinology Science Meeting Grant
  • SRF Student Prize, Society for Reproduction and Fertility
  • Science Meeting Grant, European Society of Endocrinology
  • Young Investigator Award, European Society of Endocrinology
  • BES Grant, Society for Endocrinology

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Member of Society for Endocrinology
  • Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy
  • Member of European Society of Endocrinology
  • Member of Society for Reproduction and Fertility

 

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Date


14 results

Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Risk of Liver Disease in an Ovine Model of “PCOS Males”

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K. J., Filis, P., Thomas, J., Fowler, P. A., Duncan, W. C., & Rae, M. T. (2022)
Hepatic Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Risk of Liver Disease in an Ovine Model of “PCOS Males”. Biomedicines, 10(6), Article 1291. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10061291
First-degree male relatives of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) sufferers can develop metabolic abnormalities evidenced by elevated circulating cholesterol and triglycerides, ...

Pubertal FGF21 deficit is central in the metabolic pathophysiology of an ovine model of polycystic ovary syndrome

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K. J., Furmanska, K., Filis, P., Talia, C., Thomas, J., Fowler, P. A., …Colin Duncan, W. (2021)
Pubertal FGF21 deficit is central in the metabolic pathophysiology of an ovine model of polycystic ovary syndrome. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 525, Article 111196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2021.111196
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), affecting over 10% of women, is associated with insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidaemia, fatty liver and adipose tissue dysfunction. Its p...

Early pregnancy maternal progesterone administration alters pituitary and testis function and steroid profile in male fetuses

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K. J., Wang, Y., Marečková, M., Nio-Kobayashi, J., Fowler, P. A., Rae, M. T., & Duncan, W. C. (2020)
Early pregnancy maternal progesterone administration alters pituitary and testis function and steroid profile in male fetuses. Scientific Reports, 10(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78976-x
Maternal exposure to increased steroid hormones, including estrogens, androgens or glucocorticoids during pregnancy results in chronic conditions in offspring that manifest in...

Aberrant subcutaneous adipogenesis precedes adult metabolic dysfunction in an ovine model of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K. J., Coukan, F., Franks, S., Rae, M. T., & Colin Duncan, W. (2021)
Aberrant subcutaneous adipogenesis precedes adult metabolic dysfunction in an ovine model of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 519, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2020.111042
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects over 10% of women. Insulin resistance, elevated free fatty acids (FFAs) and increased adiposity are key factors contributing to meta...

Insights into manipulating postprandial energy expenditure to manage weight gain in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K., Rae, M. T., Howells, F., Anderson, C., Nicol, L. M., Franks, S., & Duncan, W. C. (2020)
Insights into manipulating postprandial energy expenditure to manage weight gain in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). iScience, 23(6), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101164
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to be obese and have difficulty in losing weight. They demonstrate an obesity-independent deficit in adaptive energ...

Dyslipidaemia and altered hepatic function in males - consequences of androgen excess in fetal life

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K., Filis, P., Shaw, S., Douglas, A., Thomas, J., Howie, F., …Rae, M. (2019)
Dyslipidaemia and altered hepatic function in males - consequences of androgen excess in fetal life. Endocrine abstracts, 63, https://doi.org/10.1530/endoabs.63.P669
Introduction: Adult male offspring of women with PCOS have increased dyslipidaemia, characterised by elevated triglycerides (TG), increased total and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), ...

Fetal androgen exposure is a determinant of adult male metabolic health

Journal Article
Siemienowicz, K. J., Filis, P., Shaw, S., Douglas, A., Thomas, J., Mulroy, S., …Rae, M. T. (2019)
Fetal androgen exposure is a determinant of adult male metabolic health. Scientific Reports, 9, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56790-4
Androgen signalling is a critical driver of male development. Fetal steroid signalling can be dysregulated by a range of environmental insults and clinical conditions. We hypo...

Exaggerated metabolic changes during puberty precede adult obesity and hyperlipidemia in an ovine model of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Presentation / Conference
Siemienowicz, K., Coukan, F., Lerner, A., Franks, S., Rae, M., & Duncan, C. (2016, July)
Exaggerated metabolic changes during puberty precede adult obesity and hyperlipidemia in an ovine model of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Paper presented at Society for Reproduction and Fertility Annual Conference

Developmental programming of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): prenatal androgens establish pancreatic islet α/β cell ratio and subsequent insulin secretion

Journal Article
Ramaswamy, S., McNeilly, A. S., Rae, M. T., Ramaswamy, S., Grace, C., Mattei, A. A., …Rae, M. T. (2016)
Developmental programming of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): prenatal androgens establish pancreatic islet α/β cell ratio and subsequent insulin secretion. Scientific Reports, 6(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27408
Exogenous androgenic steroids applied to pregnant sheep programmes a PCOS-like phenotype in female offspring. Via ultrasound guidance we applied steroids directly to ovine fet...

Impaired adipose function in PCOS - evidence that the primary abnormalities are in subcutaneous rather than visceral fat

Presentation / Conference
Siemienowicz, K., Coukan, F., Lerner, A., Franks, S., Rae, M., & Duncan, C. (2016, May)
Impaired adipose function in PCOS - evidence that the primary abnormalities are in subcutaneous rather than visceral fat. Paper presented at European Congress of Endocrinology