University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Julian Lab

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Colleen G. Julian, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics

In the Julian Lab, our research centers on the mechanisms driving human adaptation to hypoxia and the role of disrupted oxygen homeostasis in regulating fetal growth and maternal vascular adaptation to pregnancy. Using the natural laboratory of high altitude, our work takes advantage of naturally occurring variability between human populations in the frequency of hypoxia-associated vascular disorders of pregnancy to study genes and biologic pathways important for the development of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction, two interrelated pregnancy complications that constitute a major cause of maternal and infant mortality worldwide. By integrating molecular, physiologic, and novel analytical approaches, our long-term goal is to identify potential therapeutic targets to improve maternal and infant health outcomes and to design more effective methods to detect individuals at risk for hypoxia-related disease.

Who We Are

With the long-term goal of improving maternal-infant health outcomes, our team integrates robust molecular, physiologic, and analytical approaches to study the central mechanisms underlying human adaptations to hypoxia and their effects on regulating fetal growth and vascular responses to pregnancy.