01
Gestational environment
Hypoxia, nutrition, and other early signals shape the developmental trajectory.
Fetal programming · Aging · Senescence
The beginning of life can shape the way we age.
We investigate how conditions during gestation program molecular mechanisms that accelerate cellular senescence and increase susceptibility to chronic disease.
- Approach
- Life course
- Scale
- From cell to organism
- Purpose
- Prevent future disease
FetalAge Lab
Fetal Programming, Aging & Cellular Senescence
Our question
A trajectory that begins before birth.
We connect gestational signals to cellular mechanisms and health outcomes that emerge years later.
02
Molecular programming
Epigenetic, metabolic, and mitochondrial changes persist after birth.
03
Cellular senescence
We study cell-cycle arrest, damage, inflammation, and the SASP secretory phenotype.
04
Biological aging
We link early-life mechanisms to organ dysfunction and chronic disease.
Research areas
Developmental biology through a life-course lens.
Our laboratory integrates physiology, molecular biology, and omics to understand the early origins of aging.
01DOHaD
Fetal programming
How adverse exposures during gestation alter development and future health.
02SASP
Cellular senescence
Mechanisms driving the accumulation of senescent cells and their inflammatory signaling.
03AGE
Systemic aging
Liver, metabolic, vascular, and brain aging trajectories across the life course.
04OMICS
Epigenetics and transcriptomics
Molecular signatures linking the prenatal environment to persistent offspring phenotypes.
Fondecyt Initiation Grant No. 11261218 · ANID
The fetal dilemma and accelerated liver senescence.
We study whether adverse prenatal exposure induces early hepatocyte senescence, a persistent SASP phenotype, and greater metabolic vulnerability in adulthood.
ModelGuinea pig
WindowGestation → adulthood
IntegrationFunction · Histology · Omics
How we investigate
From integrative physiology to molecular signatures.
We combine experimental models and multiscale analyses to examine the same phenomenon from the whole organism to genes and proteins.
01Gestational hypoxia models02Molecular biology03Histology and immunodetection04Mitochondrial bioenergetics05RNA-seq and pathway analysis06Senescence biomarkers07Oxidative stress08Integrative physiology
Santiago · Chile
Principal investigator
Dr. Esteban Gabriel Figueroa Becerra
Engineer and MSc in Biotechnology from Universidad Andrés Bello, PhD in Nanosciences specializing in Nanopharmacotherapy from the University of Barcelona, with postdoctoral training at Universidad de O'Higgins.
He is currently a faculty researcher at the School of Midwifery, Universidad San Sebastián, and principal investigator of Fondecyt Initiation Grant No. 11261218. His work connects fetal programming, gestational hypoxia, oxidative stress, and cellular senescence to study the early origins of chronic disease.
- Training
- Biotechnology · Nanosciences
- Affiliation
- Universidad San Sebastián
- ORCID
- 0000-0003-1316-738X
Scientific network
USSUOHUniversidad de ChileTranslational medicine
Research training
Student interns
Amanda Albornoz, Belén Pino, and Vanesa Uribe, fourth-year Midwifery students at Universidad San Sebastián.
- 01Amanda Albornoz
- 02Belén Pino
- 03Vanesa Uribe
Scientific output
Selected publications.
20research outputs listed in the USS profile
Original article · First author
Lung Vascular Remodeling and Oxidative Damage Induced by Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia
Review · Corresponding author
Exercise, Cellular Senescence, and Cancer: Novel Perspectives on Functional Aging Through Block Strength Training in Older Adults
Original article
Prenatal Melatonin Modulates Cardiovascular Function and Oxidative Stress in Guinea Pig Neonates Under Normoxic and Hypoxic Gestation
Original article
Oxidative Stress and NLRP3 Inflammasome as Markers of Cardiac Injury Following Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Original article
Oxidative Stress in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Impact of Combined Oral Contraceptives
Review
Blood-brain barrier dysfunction in hemorrhagic transformation: a therapeutic opportunity for nanoparticles and melatonin
Let's connect
Interested in research, a thesis, or collaboration?
FetalAge Lab is building a network to study the early origins of aging and chronic disease.