Three Pillars

Epidemiological pillar with a total budget of 30.3m DKK, making up 46% of the Centre total budget. The budget includes expenditures for Centre administration (5.2m DKK). This pillar is primarily based in the Department of Epidemiology Research at Statens Serum Institut. The research originating from this pillar will use population-based studies to explore environmental exposures during pregnancy and their relation to health and disease in the children.
  
Animal experimental and cell physiology pillar with a total budget of 36.0m DKK, making up 54% of the Centre total budget. Spanning across different institutions, this pillar will take advantage of the more controlled conditions of animal and cell models to investigate physiological, molecular, and genetic changes and effects of fetal programming.
   
Clinical physiology pillar. The research is grounded in the Global maternal and fetal care network, which was funded by the Danish Strategic Research Council to the end of 2010. Funding for future activities from 2011 will be applied for. Employing the clinical setting, this pillar has its focus on determining the impact of low birth weight and fetal undernutrition on risk of developing insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome in developed and developing countries, with special emphasis on understanding the molecular mechanisms in humans.