Ashley Howard

Ashley Howard is a 2024-2028 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She graduated from the University of Kansas in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and a minor in Spanish. Her graduate research explores how the placenta affects fetal development and long-term health outcomes, with particular interest in the placenta-heart axis. A growing body of evidence implicates abnormal placentation in the genesis of congenital heart defects (CHDs), one of the most common classes of birth defects worldwide. Using human and animal models, she hopes to elucidate the molecular mechanisms through which these two systems interact with each other and identify possible avenues for intervention to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes. 

Mentor: Dr. Kaela M. Varberg, University of Kansas Medical Center