Mark Oliver

Senior Research Fellow
Ngapouri Farm Laboratory Research Director
BSc, MSc(Hons), PhD

Contact details

Phone: +64 7 333 8349
Email: m.oliver@auckland.ac.nz

Research interests

• Maternal environment and its effect on postnatal disease in the offspring
• Intrauterine growth restriction
• Health, welfare and nutrition during pregnancy (sheep and cattle)
• Prematurity
• Specialised nutrition for pregnant and young, growing ruminants

Research theme

Fetus and newborn

Masters in gastrointestinal physiology of ruminants (Waikato University). PhD at Auckland on the topic of fetal growth physiology. My current scientific focus is on the consequences of an altered environment before and during pregnancy on maternal adaption to pregnancy and postnatal physiology, growth and health of the offspring.

Other areas of my active research involvement include the treatment of intrauterine growth restriction and postnatal outcomes, preterm birth and its consequences, maternal behaviour.

I was primarily responsible for the establishment, ongoing development and management of the Research Farm Laboratory. Initially this included operations, but is now more focused on the development of biomedical and production animal research activities based at Ngapouri.

I am also involved in animal health and welfare research. I was a former double-term member of the University of Auckland Animal Ethics Committee.

External collaborator for the Strategic Research Centre for Fetal Programming, Danish Strategic Research Council.

Collaborations with research groups at AgResearch, Massey University, Manchester University, Landcorp Farming Ltd.

Commercial research interests managed in conjunction with UniServices Ltd.

Oliver MH, Bloomfield FB, Jaquiery AL, Todd SE, Thorstensen EB, Harding JE Periconceptional undernutrition suppresses cortisol response to arginine vasopressin and corticotrophin releasing hormone challenge in adult sheep offspring. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2011(in press).

Jaquiery AL, Oliver MH, Bloomfield FH, Harding JE. Periconceptional events perturb postnatal growth regulation in sheep. Pediatric Research 2011; 70:261-266. DOI: 10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182242deb.

Corner RA, Kenyon PR, Stafford KJ, West DM and Oliver MH The effects of different types of stressors during mid- and late pregnancy on lamb weight and body size at birth. Animal  4(12): 2010; 2065-2070.

Hernandez CE, Lindsay LR, Oliver MH, Bloomfield FH, Harding JE. Effects of sex, litter size and periconceptional ewe nutrition on offspring behavioural and physiological response to isolation. Physiology and Behaviour. 2010; 101(5): 588-94.

Connor KL, Challis JRG, van Zijl PL, Rumball CW, Alix, S, Jaquiery AL, Oliver MH, Harding JE Bloomfield FH. Do alterations in placental 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD) activities explain differences in fetal hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) function following periconceptional undernutrition or twinning in sheep? Reproductive Sciences 2009; 16(12): 1201-12.

Jaquiery AL, Oliver MH, Rumball CWH, Bloomfield FH, Harding JE. Undernutrition before mating in ewes impairs the development of insulin resistance of pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology 2009; 114(4): 869-876.

Oliver MH and Harding JE . Effect of sporidesmin-induced liver damage in ewes before mating on growth of the foetus and placenta.World Mycotoxin Journal 2009; 2(3): 323-330.

Todd SE, Oliver MH, Jaquiery AL, Bloomfield FH, Harding JE Periconceptional undernutrition of ewes impairs glucose tolerance in their adult offspring.Pediatric Research 2009; 65(4): 409-413.
 

Principal Investigator on NRCGD Major Project

Associate Investigator on HRC Programme Grant

UniServices Ltd commercial project grants (2 active)

Uniservices Ltd commercial consultancy (1 active)
 

“In my research I always look for synergies between biomedical, production and animal health and welfare. I am uniquely qualified to work between these research platforms and am always keen to form new collaborations.”