Graduation Spotlight: Logan Keding graduates from ERP Program

Congratulations to Logan Keding, PhD, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology program! Keding’s PhD thesis focused on Placental Insufficiency in the Macaque Model; his mentor was Aleks Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD, professor and director of the Division of Reproductive Sciences. 

In advance of graduation, Keding shared some reflections of his time in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn:

Why were you interested in your research topic?

I have always loved to study human anatomy and physiology. Within this context, I found that the placenta represented a “final frontier” of sorts in human biology, mainly due to three main reasons: 1) our limited access to study it, 2) its complex immunological and genetic composition, and 3) its uniquely transient existence. The effect of this is an incomplete understanding of the relationship between blood flow, tissue structure, and pathology at the placenta. Fundamentally, the historical lack of placental study has diminished our mechanistic understanding of pregnancy disease states, as well as our ability to develop therapeutics to treat them.

What lessons will you carry forward from your research?

Don’t be afraid to ask the “dumb” question and always start an inquiry at first principles. Relatively arbitrary decisions made decades (or centuries) ago may be affecting the shape of research in our modern context and are always worth questioning.

What is next on your academic or professional horizons?

I will continue my work as a Postdoctoral Fellow, investigating placental function and injury in both humans and non-human primates (rhesus macaques). Specifically, I will interrogate the connection between placental pathology, perfusion, and RNA expression through overlapping spatial transcriptomic and digital histopathological analysis.

Any special shout-outs or thanks to faculty, staff, other members of the department who shaped your experience here?

Drs. Aleks Stanic, Jessica Vazquez, Crystal Bockoven, and Jenna Schmidt have all been integral to my placental/reproductive education, as well as my maturity as an investigator and scientist. I am honored to have worked alongside them, incredibly proud of the manuscripts we have collectively produced, and am greatly excited for the collaborations we have planned for the future.