Published on Jan. 28, 2019

Updated on Nov. 29, 2023

Rosenfeld specializes in studying the effects of maternal diet on offspring, exploring how the in-utero environment can shape risks for later disease. Her research with mice has yielded majorbreakthroughs. She has determined that an energy-rich maternal diet will result in more male mouse pups, while a restricted-calorie diet produces daughtersmore frequently. She also established a relationship between a certain hair-coat color and obesity and diabetes in mice. Most recently, the Rosenfeld lab has identified spatial learning disabilities in male deer mice whose mothers consumed a diet supplemented with bisphenol A, (BPA), a known endocrine disruptor and a common pollutant. This disability is expected to hinder themales in navigating to find mates; the finding has implications for deer mice populations exposed to BPA in the wild.