Rate My Professor Sharon Ladyman

Dr. Sharon Ladyman is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy within the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago, New Zealand, and an active researcher at the Centre for Neuroendocrinology. She holds a BSc (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Otago, completed in 2005, where her doctoral thesis examined the central actions of prolactin during pregnancy and lactation. After obtaining her doctorate, Ladyman pursued postdoctoral fellowships at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, USA, and Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, before returning to the University of Otago. She was appointed as a Research Fellow in 2012 and advanced to Senior Research Fellow, establishing a distinguished career focused on maternal neuroendocrinology.

Ladyman's research investigates hormone-induced adaptations in the maternal brain, particularly the neuro-hormonal circuits that regulate hyperphagia, glucose homeostasis, suppression of voluntary physical activity, thermoregulation, and long-term metabolic health during pregnancy and lactation. Utilizing transgenic mouse models, her studies elucidate prolactin and leptin signaling in neuronal function and behavioral outcomes. She has secured major funding, including a prestigious Marsden Fund grant of $939,000 from the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2022 for her project "Neurons to keep mums cool," which explores prolactin's role in enhancing thermoregulatory responses to support healthy pregnancy. Her influential publications include "Prolactin modulation of thermoregulatory circuits provides resilience to thermal challenge of pregnancy" (Cell Reports, 2025), "Prolactin mediates a lactation-induced suppression of arcuate kisspeptin neuronal activity necessary for lactational infertility in mice" (eLife, 2025), "A reduction in voluntary physical activity in early pregnancy in mice is mediated by prolactin" (eLife, 2021), "Central actions of insulin during pregnancy and lactation" (Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2021), and "Impact of Pregnancy and Lactation on the Long-Term Consequences of Energy Restriction on Metabolism and Reproduction" (Endocrinology, 2018). With over 2,200 citations across 54 publications, her work significantly advances understanding of maternal physiological adaptations and their implications for metabolic health.