Maternal health and nutrition shapes the long‐term health of the offspring.  As the overall health and well-being of women in the US continues to decline,  increased and earlier rates of cardio-metabolic diseases are occurring in childhood.  And yet, fundamental knowledge on the primary drivers and cellular changes resulting in increased risk is lacking. This limits are ability to develop effective interventions for mom and baby. A primary goal of the McCurdy lab is to learn how the early life environment alters cellular metabolism and why/how poor maternal health promotes a phenotype of “accelerated aging” in offspring.

Promoting “maternal capital” may not only improve maternal and child health, but also combat gender and racial inequality. – JCK Wells

The Maternal Capital Hypothesis: Giving Mothers Central Place in Evolutionary Perspectives on Developmental Plasticity and Health. Am J Hum Biol. 2025;37(6):e70084.