From Memory to Maternal Health: How an MCPHS Researcher Is Studying Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension

Psychology Professor Dr. Amanda Kentner was awarded a Massachusetts Life Sciences Center grant for a two-year study of pregnancy-induced hypertension risk.

When Dr. Amanda Kentner was a teenager in Canada, a classmate's fiancé died after a car accident left him with a traumatic brain injury. She recalls learning that the young woman, heartbroken by the loss, worried that he would not remember her in heaven.

The crash damaged his hippocampus, a part of the brain responsible for forming memories. Then a high school student already fascinated by psychology, Dr. Kentner said her classmate’s concern sparked a lifelong curiosity about the brain.

"It was so impactful to me," said Kentner, PhD, professor of psychology at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS). "It was also the first time I really thought about how different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions, and how damage to one area can affect something specific, like memory.”

That curiosity has guided Dr. Kentner's research career for more than two decades. It recently earned her a grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to study pregnancy-induced hypertension, a dangerous form of high blood pressure (equal to or above 140 over 90 mmHg) that develops during pregnancy. Her team hopes to determine whether changes in the brain can identify at-risk women.

Dr. Kentner's project is one of 33 funded through a $10 million state investment supporting women's health research and life sciences innovation across Massachusetts.

Her two-year study, Maternal Hypothalamic Reorganization and Brain-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Early Biomarkers of Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension Risk, brings together researchers from MCPHS and Boston Children's Hospital.

'Looking for Predictors'

Using MRI scans and blood samples from pregnant patients in their second trimester, the team will search for early biological signs of pregnancy-induced hypertension. Left untreated, the condition can progress to life-threatening complications for both mother and baby, including preeclampsia, stroke, organ damage, preterm birth, and fetal growth problems. Dr. Kentner said their long-term goal is to develop a blood test that can detect the condition before it becomes a medical emergency.

"Right now, we're really looking for predictors," Dr. Kentner said. "We think there may be changes happening in the maternal brain before you ever see symptoms like high blood pressure."

This is Dr. Kentner's first time directing a study involving human participants and it builds on years of research in her behavioral neuroscience laboratory at MCPHS. Her lab studies how pregnancy and early life shape brain development, including work on tiny particles called extracellular vesicles, which carry genetic material and proteins between cells.

From Breast Milk to the Maternal Brain

Her research, published in Molecular Psychiatry, explored how these biological signals may pass from mother to infant through breast milk. "We're not just speaking through voice," she said. "There are all these different communication signals." Her new study explores whether similar biological messengers circulating in a pregnant woman's blood can provide an early window into what's happening in the maternal brain.

Instead of studying milk-derived extracellular vesicles, Dr. Kentner's team will analyze brain-derived extracellular vesicles isolated from blood collected during pregnancy. "These extracellular vesicles carry information about the tissues they come from," Dr. Kentner said. "We think they may be going to the placenta and other parts of the body, giving programming signals along the way."

Researchers will combine those blood samples with MRI scans focused on the hypothalamus, a region of the brain that helps regulate stress and cardiovascular function. Together, the data could reveal structural or molecular changes associated with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Although the current study is designed as a proof of concept, Dr. Kentner said she hopes the findings will pave the way for larger clinical trials and, ultimately, new tools to improve care for pregnant patients.

For Dr. Kentner, the work is still driven by the same curiosity that began with one unforgettable concern about memory.

"I've always been fascinated by how the brain works," she said. "Now we're asking whether changes in the brain can help us better understand and eventually predict a serious pregnancy complication before it happens."