Dr Robert De Matteo - Researcher Profile

Dr Robert DeMatteo

Address

Dept of Anatomy & Developmental Biology
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Clayton

Biography

Dr Robert De Matteo works in the Respiratory Development and Programming Group located in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences at Monash University as a Research Fellow.

Our research group focuses on better outcomes for preterm infants. Some of the areas we are investigating include;

  • the male disadvantage
  • treatments that may provide protection against fetal brain injury
  • the influence of high oxygen concentrations on the developing lung

My current roles also include Honours convenor in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology. I am also part of the executive committee of the Fetal and Neonatal Workshop of Australia and New Zealand (FNWANZ). The FNWANZ provides a forum for discussion of new ideas and presentation of experimental and clinical data in fetal and neonatal biology and aims to encourage discussion and establish collaborations between basic scientists and researchers from all disciplines of PSANZ. For more information please visit http://www.med.monash.edu.au/anatomy/workshops/fanworkshop.html

I joined the Respiratory Development and Programming Group in 2006. Research in this group centred on the theme of developmental programming. In particular, how do changes in the developing fetal environment alter the long term structure and function of key organs.  Changes in the fetal environment include placental insufficiency or maternal undernutrition (causing fetal growth restriction), premature birth, exposure to inflammatory intra-uterine environment, ventilator-induced lung injury and maternal alcohol ingestion.

My first introduction to the concept of Developmental Programming was during 2004-2005, when I examined if altered fetal renal development, from prenatal glucocorticoid exposure contributed to the higher blood pressure seen in adult sheep, conducted in the Department of Physiology, Monash University.

Prior to 2004, my post-doctoral research was centred on cardiovascular neuroscience, investigating the role of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in cardiovascular and renal regulation in the conscious rabbit. 

I completed my PhD in 1997, at the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine investigating the renal and cardiovascular actions of adrenal steroids in the conscious unstressed adult sheep.

Overall I have gained in depth knowledge in the following disciplines; central regulation of blood pressure, role of the sympathetic nervous system in disease states, regulation of renal haemodynamics, integrated renal physiology, endocrinology of the adrenal gland, fetal programming, developmental origins of health and disease, lung development and fetal physiology.

 

Qualifications

GRADAUTE DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION (SECONDARY)
Institution: Monash University
Year awarded: 2007
DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY
Institution: University of Melbourne
Year awarded: 1997
SCIENCE (HONS)
Institution: UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Year awarded: 1994

Publications

Journal Articles

Kenna, K.R., Sozo, F., De Matteo, R.M., Hanita, T., Gray, S.P., Tare, M., Moritz, K.M., Bertram, J.F., Black, M.J., Brien, J.F., Parkington, H.C., Walker, D.W., Harding, R., 2012, Alcohol exposure during late gestation: multiple developmental outcomes in sheep, Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease [P], vol 3, issue 4, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 224-236.

Atik, A.A., Sozo, F., Orgeig, S., Suri, L., Hanita, T., Harding, R., De Matteo, R.M., 2012, Long-term pulmonary effects of intrauterine exposure to endotoxin following preterm birth in sheep, Reproductive Sciences [P], vol 19, issue 12, Sage Publications, Inc., USA, pp. 1352-1364.

Bensley, J.G., De Matteo, R.M., Harding, R., Black, J., 2012, Preterm birth with antenatal corticosteroid administration has injurious and persistent effects on the structure and composition of the aorta and pulmonary artery, Pediatric Research [P], vol 71, issue 2, Nature Publishing Group, USA, pp. 150-155.

Ishak, N., Hanita, T., Sozo, F., Maritz, G.S., Harding, R., De Matteo, R.M., 2012, Sex differences in cardiorespiratory transition and surfactant composition following preterm birth in sheep, American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology [E], vol 303, issue 7, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. R778-R789.

Kenna, K., De Matteo, R., Hanita, T., Rees, S., Sozo, F., Stokes, V., Walker, D., Bocking, A., Brien, J., Harding, R., 2011, Daily ethanol exposure during late ovine pregnancy: Physiological effects in the mother and fetus in the apparent absence of overt fetal cerebral dysmorphology, American Journal Of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative And Comparative Physiology [P], vol 301, issue 4, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. R926-R936.

Loeliger, M.L., Mackintosh, A., De Matteo, R.M., Harding, R.L., Rees, S., 2011, Erythropoietin protects the developing retina in an ovine model of endotoxin-induced retinal injury, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science [P], vol 52, issue 5, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, USA, pp. 2656-2661.

Moritz, K., De Matteo, R., Dodic, M., Jeffries, A., Arena, D., Wintour-Coghlan, M., Probyn, M., Bertram, J., Singh, R., Zanini, S., Evans, R., 2011, Prenatal glucocorticoid exposure in the sheep alters renal development in utero: Implications for adult renal function and blood pressure control, American Journal Of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative And Comparative Physiology [P], vol 301, issue 2, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. R500-R509.

Bensley, J.G.A., Stacy, V., De Matteo, R.M., Harding, R., Black, M.J., 2010, Cardiac remodelling as a result of pre-term birth: Implications for future cardiovascular disease, European Heart Journal [P], vol 31, issue 16, Oxford University Press, UK, France, pp. 2058-2066.

Sozo, F., Vela, M., Stokes, V., Kenna, K.R., Meikle, P.J., De Matteo, R.M., Walker, D.W., Brien, J.F., Bocking, A.D., Harding, R.L., 2010, Effects of prenatal ethanol exposure on the lungs of postnatal lambs, American Journal Of Physiology-Lung Cellular And Molecular Physiology [P], vol 300, issue 1, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. L139-L147.

Dijkstra, F., Jozwiak, M., De Matteo, R.M., Duncan, J., Hale, N., Harding, R., Rees, S.M., 2010, Erythropoietin ameliorates damage to the placenta and fetal liver induced by exposure to lipopolysaccharide, Placenta [P], vol 31, issue 4, Elsevier Ltd, UK, pp. 282-288.

Rees, S.M., Hale, N., De Matteo, R.M., Cardamone, L., Tolcos, M., Loeliger, M., Mackintosh, A., Shields, A., Probyn, M.E., Greenwood, D.L., Harding, R., 2010, Erythropoietin is neuroprotective in a preterm ovine model of endotoxin-induced brain injury, Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurol..., vol 69, issue 3, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, USA, pp. 306-319.

De Matteo, R.M., Blasch, N., Stokes, V., Davis, P., Harding, R., 2010, Induced preterm birth in sheep: A suitable model for studying the developmental effects of moderately preterm birth, Reproductive Sciences [P], vol 17, issue 8, Sage Publications, Inc., USA, pp. 724-733.

Moritz, K.M., Dodic, M., Jefferies, A.J., Wintour-Coghlan, M.E., De Matteo, R.M., Singh, R.R., Evans, R.G., 2009, Haemodynamic characteristics of hypertension induced by prenatal cortisol exposure in sheep, Clinical And Experimental Pharmacology And Physio..., vol 36, issue 10, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Australia, pp. 981-987.

De Matteo, R.M., Snibson, K., Thompson, B., Koumoundouros, E., Harding, R., 2009, Lung function in developing lambs: Is it affected by preterm birth?, Journal Of Applied Physiology [P], vol 107, issue 4, American Physiological Society, USA, pp. 1083-1088.

Stacy, V., De Matteo, R.M., Brew, N., Sozo, F., Probyn, M.E., Harding, R., Black, M.J., 2009, The influence of naturally occuring differences in birthweight on ventricular cardiomyocyte number in sheep, The Anatomical Record, vol 292, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., United States, pp. 29-37.

De Matteo, R.M., Stacy, V., Probyn, M.E., Brew, N., Blasch, N., Harding, R., 2008, Does moderate preterm birth lead to altered arterial pressure? Studies in sheep, Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology & Physiology, vol 35, issue 12, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Australia, pp. 1426-1432.

De Matteo, R.M., 2008, Letter to the Editor, Reproductive Sciences, vol 15, issue 9, Society for Gynecologic Investigation, USA, p. 865.

De Matteo, R.M., Stacy, V., Probyn, M.E., Desai, M., Ross, M., Harding, R., 2008, The perinatal development of arterial pressure in sheep: Effects of low birth weight due to twinning, Reproductive Sciences, vol 15, issue 1, Sage Science Press (US), United States, pp. 66-74.

Maritz, G.S., Probyn, M.E., De Matteo, R.M., Snibson, K.J., Harding, R., 2007, Lung parenchyma at maturity is influenced by postnatal growth but not by moderate preterm birth in sheep, Neonatology, vol 93, Karger, Basel Switzerland, pp. 28-35.

De Matteo, R.M., Head, G.A., Mayorov, D.N., 2006, Angiotensin II in dorsomedial hypothalamus modulates cardiovascular arousal caused by stress but not feeding in rabbits, American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, vol 290, issue 1, American Physiological Society, Bethesda MD USA, pp. R257-R264.

De Matteo, R.M., Head, G.A., Mayorov, D.N., 2006, Tempol in the dorsomedial hypothalamus attenuates the hypertensive response to stress in rabbits, American Journal of Hypertension, vol 19, issue 4, Elsevier Science Inc, New York NY USA, pp. 396-402.

Kantzides, A., Owens, N.C., De Matteo, R.M., Badoer, E., 2005, Right atrial stretch activates neurons in autonomic brain regions that project to the rostral ventrolateral medulla in the rat, Neuroscience, vol 133, issue 3, Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, Oxford UK, pp. 775-786.

Ng, C., De Matteo, R.M., Badoer, E., 2004, Effect of muscimol and L-NAME in the PVN on the RSNA response to volume expansion in conscious rabbits, American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology, vol 287, issue 4, American Physiological Society, Bethesda MD USA, pp. F739-F746.

Mayorov, D.N., Head, G.A., De Matteo, R.M., 2004, Tempol attenuates excitatory actions of angiotensin II in the rostral ventrolateral medulla during emotional stress, Hypertension, vol 44, issue 1, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadephia PA USA, pp. 101-106.

De Matteo, R.M., May, C.N., 2003, Direct coronary vasodilator action of adrenomedullin is mediated by nitric oxide, British Journal of Pharmacology, vol 140, issue 8, Nature Publishing Group, London, England, UK, pp. 1414-1420.

Badoer, E., Ng, C., De Matteo, R.M., 2003, Glutamatergic input in the PVN is important in renal nerve response to elevations in osmolality, American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, vol 285, issue 4, American Physiological Society, Bethesda MD USA, pp. F640-F650.

Badoer, E., Ng, C., De Matteo, R.M., 2002, Tonic sympathoinhibition arising from the hypothalamic PVN in the conscious rabbit, Brain Research, vol 947, issue 1, Elsevier Science BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 17-24.

Grants

Title:
Creatine supplementation during pregnancy as a means of improving outcomes from preterm birth.
Investigators:
Walker, D, Snow, R, De Matteo, R, Wong, F, Dickinson, H, Polglase, G
Funding:
(2013 - 2017). National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Title:
Can erythropoietin provide long-term protection against inflammation-induced brain injury? Relevance to Cerebral Palsy.
Investigators:
Tolcos, M, Harding, R, De Matteo, R
Funding:
(2010 - 2014). Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
(2011 - 2015). Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
Title:
Does caffeine affect the development of the very immature brain: dose response relationship?.
Investigators:
Tolcos, M, De Matteo, R, Cheong, J, Harding, R, Rees, S
Funding:
(2010 - 2014). National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
(2011 - 2015). National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
(2012 - 2015). National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The effects of daily caffeine administration on the development of the immature brain: Short and long-term effects at escalating doses..
Supervisors:
De Matteo, R (Main), Harding, R (Associate), Tolcos, M (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
What are the mechanisms responsible for the male disadvantage in cardio-respiratory function following preterm birth?.
Supervisors:
De Matteo, R (Joint-co), Sozo, F (Joint), Hooper, S (Associate).

Completed Supervision

Student:
Atik, A.
Program of Study:
The Effects of Nutrition and Growth on critical organ development after pre term birth. 2009.
Supervisors:
De Matteo, R (Main), Harding, R (Associate).