It is widely accepted that early life influences shape our development and health and behavioural outcomes across the lifecourse. Epigenetic mechanisms are increasingly implicated in these complex interactions and provide a key to understanding (i) what aspects of our environment impact upon gene regulation, (ii) how our environment and way of living become embodied in human biology, over what time frame and with what degree of persistence and (iii) how social and biological inequality may influence development and health.

Environmental chemicals which are known to interfere with the intra-cellular signalling and regulatory effects of human hormones (particularly the male and female sex hormones, respectively androgen and estrogen) are collectively termed endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Exposure to anti-androgenic EDCs, especially during critical perinatal developmental period, is thought to have broad biological effects, possibly contributing to increased risk of congenital malformations of the reproductive tract and male infertility. However, detailed mechanistic characterisation of the impacts of exposure to EDCs, especially to broad regulatory features such as epigenetic modifications, has yet to be performed.

This project builds upon a substantial foundation of epigenetic research in richly
characterised longitudinal cohort studies to explore how early life EDC exposures may perturb the epigenome. We will utilise the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which currently has the most extensive collection of longitudinal epigenetic data of any birth cohort study in the world, as a platform to address the impact of EDC exposures. Specifically, we will utilize the exposure measurements of the CONTAMED (contaminant mixtures and human reproductive health) study which previously measured several potential EDCs (paracetamol, dichloro-anilines, phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A, triclosan, o-phenylphenol, and parabens) in three different types of biological samples (urine, plasma, placenta), to understand how these compounds influence epigenetic signatures and downstream outcomes.