Professor Cartwright was awarded a PhD in Immunology from the University of London in 1996. She received a Wellcome Trust Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship at St George's and became a Lecturer in 1999, Senior Lecturer in 2003, Reader in Cell Biology in 2007 and Professor of Reproductive Cell Biology in 2015.
Professor Cartwright is a member of the British Society for Immunology (since 1989), the Biochemical Society (since 1996), International Federation of Placental Associations (since 1999) and the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (2002-2007). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (since 2007), Society for Reproduction and Fertility (since 2010) and the British Society for Cell Biology (since 2010).
The main focus of Professor Cartwright’s research has been events that happen in early pregnancy when the placenta forms.
During normal pregnancy, fetal trophoblast cells from the placenta invade the uterus of the mother. Changes occur to the mother's blood vessels (the spiral arteries in the uterus) which ensure a sufficient blood supply is delivered to the baby as it grows and develops. In pre-eclampsia, a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity, trophoblast cells show poor invasion, and there are insufficient changes to the uterine blood vessels.
Professor Cartwright's current research is investigating the interactions between trophoblast cells and the vascular cells of the spiral arteries that lead to vessel remodelling. In collaboration with Professor Guy Whitley, also at St George's, she has identified a novel mechanism of uterine artery remodelling. Their joint research team, the Reproductive and Cardiovascular Disease Research Group, are investigating the regulation of this process.
In collaboration with clinicians in the Fetal Medicine Unit at St George’s, Professor Cartwright’s group are investigating the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction at a cellular and molecular level. The group have developed methods to isolate multiple cell types from the maternal-fetal interface in the first trimester of pregnancy, and combined this with uterine artery Doppler ultrasound scanning of first trimester pregnancies to identify pregnancies developing normally and those at the highest risk of pregnancy complications.
Funding from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Action Medical Research and local studentship provision has allowed the group to extend previous studies to investigate decidual natural killer cells, macrophages, placental endothelial cells, trophoblast and stromal cells in first trimester pregnancies at increased risk of developing pre-eclampsia. Cellular and molecular differences in cells from normal versus complicated pregnancies have been shown, which has been a considerable advance in understanding the aetiology of pregnancy disorders.
Current funders
Medical Research Council. 2015-2020. Aberrant first trimester placental endothelial cell biology in fetal growth restriction. GStJ Whitley, JE Cartwright, B Thilaganathan.
Medical Research Council. 2017-2021. GCRF: The PRECISE (PREgnancy Care Integrating translational Science, Everywhere) Network: a sub-Saharan network for placental disorders. P von Dadelszen, LA. Magee, JE Cartwright, G Whitley, S Krishna, W Stones, S Moore, J Sandall, R Tribe, A Shennan, L Chappell, G Girardi, J Lawn, H Blencowe, V Filippi, L Poston, A Noble, A Papageorghiou.
SGUL studentship. 2019-2022 (Zoe Tryfonos). The role of Hofbauer cells in placentation.
British Heart Foundation studentship. 2019-2022 (Alexa Bishop). Stanniocalcin-1 and vascular remodelling at the maternal/fetal interface.
Previous funding
Wellcome Trust. 2010-2016. The role of decidual natural killer cells in pregnancies at high risk of pre-eclampsia. JE Cartwright, GStJ Whitley, B Thilaganathan, AP Johnstone.
Action Medical Research. 2011-2014. Aberrant trophoblast functions in pregnancies at higher risk of pre-eclamspia. GStJ Whitley, JE Cartwright, B Thilaganathan.
SGUL studentship. 2012-2015 (Rebecca Buckley). The role of decidual macrophages in early pregnancy and the pathology of pre-eclampsia. Cartwright JE, Dumitriu I, Whitley GS.
SGUL studentship. 2012-2016 (Laura James-Allan). Cellular interactions at the maternal-fetal interface. Cartwright JE, Whitley GS, Wallace AE.
Wellcome Trust. 2011-2014. Identification of trophoblast differentiation pathways regulated by Glial Cells Missing 1 using comparative studies of horse and human pregnancy. A De Mestre, JE Cartwright.
Foundation for Research Science and Technology New Zealand (Postdoctoral fellowship to Joanna James). The effect of variations in shear stress on spiral artery remodelling in pregnancy. J James, JE Cartwright.
The Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. Cytokines and pancreatic cancer: implications of translational control for new therapeutic developments. A Elia, JE Cartwright, S Mudan, M Clemens.
British Heart Foundation. The role of soluble HLA-G in induction of endothelial apoptosis and uterine vascular remodelling in early pregnancy. JE Cartwright, GStJ Whitley, P Le Bouteiller.
Wellcome Trust. The mechanism of maternal artery smooth muscle cell remodelling by trophoblast cells during pregnancy. GStJ Whitley, JD Aplin, JE Cartwright, PN Baker, S Robson.
Professor Cartwright received a Modular MA Professional Accreditation in Teaching in Higher Education from the Institute of Education, University of London in 2002. She has held diverse teaching roles at St George’s, including the post of Biomedical Science BSc Admissions Tutor (1999-2009).
Professor Cartwright is particularly involved in teaching on the Biomedical Science BSc course. She was Divisional postgraduate co-ordinator from 2012 to 2013 and has supervised many research students (BSc, MRes, MD (Res) and PhD). She was Associate Dean (Research Degrees) and Deputy Head of the Graduate School between 2014 and 2019.