Rate My Professor Mike Garratt

Associate Professor Mike Garratt is a researcher in the Department of Anatomy within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago. Originally from the United Kingdom, he earned his PhD in Integrative Biology from the University of Liverpool. He held postdoctoral positions as a Research Associate at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. Garratt joined the University of Otago in 2018, advancing from Senior Lecturer to his current role as Associate Professor. He leads the Garratt Laboratory in the Centre for Neuroendocrinology, where his work intersects reproduction, physiology, behaviour, and evolutionary biology. In 2021, he received the University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research, recognizing his high-quality publications and leadership in national and international collaborations. He has secured funding from the Australian Research Council, Marsden Fund, and a Junior Fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Garratt's research focuses on how reproduction influences life-history, health, and ageing, including the physiological effects of gonadal-derived hormones, consequences of mating, impacts of social pheromone perception on life-history trajectories, sexual dimorphism in lifespan, and interventions to improve healthy ageing. He employs molecular-genetic techniques in mice and comparative approaches across species to explore links between reproduction and ageing in wild animals. Key publications include 'Sterilization and contraception increase lifespan across vertebrates' (Nature, 2025), 'Distinct macronutrient ratios optimize offspring survival, growth, and maternal glucose tolerance across mouse reproduction' (PNAS, 2026), 'Prior mating without fertilization increases subsequent litter size in mice' (Biology Letters, 2025), 'Sensory detection of female olfactory cues as a central regulator of energy metabolism and body weight in male mice' (iScience, 2023), and 'Lifespan extension in female mice by early, transient exposure to adult female olfactory cues' (eLife, 2022). With over 2,800 citations on Google Scholar, his contributions advance understanding of reproductive influences on ageing and health.