Dr Pedro Acosta Manzano

Role: Postdoctoral Researcher and Principal Investigator

Institute: Department of Human Movement Science, Sport and Health, University of Graz, Austria

Research & Interests: Dr Acosta is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Graz, Austria. His primary interests lie in understanding the role of lifestyle, especially exercise, in managing glycaemic control and reducing maternal complications and neonatal adiposity in pregnancies affected by diabetes. In addition, Dr Acosta is interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms driving the effects of exercise on placental-foetal metabolism and underlying the pathophysiology of diabetes in pregnancy. His ultimate goal is to find effective strategies that break the maternal-foetal intergenerational diabesity cycle and enhance the health and quality of life for both this generation and future ones.

His current research as Principal Investigator is focused on identifying the most effective exercise timing to improve postprandial glucose excursions in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), the mechanisms underlying T1DM heterogeneity between pre-conception and pregnancy, and the plasma proteins altered by exercise that most influence glucose excursions.

In addition, he collaborates with several national and international projects in pregnant women with a healthy status, and with overweight and obesity, aimed at optimising maternal-foetal health and preventing gestational diabetes.