Dr. Barker began his work by exploring why historically poorer areas of England and Wales had disproportionately high death rates from coronary heart disease than other areas. By looking beyond conventional wisdom, which suggested that chronic disease is a function of adult lifestyle, Dr. Barker and his team of researchers discovered a causal relationship between a mother's nutrition and the health of her children as adults. The human fetus responds to malnutrion by changing the structure and function of its body. These changes are permanent and lead to chronic disease, a process known as "the fetal programming of adult disease."

For his work on fetal programming Dr. Barker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He lectures on maternal-fetal nutrition around the world. His research is widely accepted and has paved the way for further research into the link between maternal-fetal nutrition and chronic diseases later in life such as diabetes, obesity and certain cancers. Dr. Barker received his doctorate from the University of Birmingham and his medical degree from the University of London. He is past president of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland. He received the Royal Society Wellcome Gold medal in 1994, the Prince Mahidol Award in 2000, the Danone International Nutrition Award in 2005 and the Ipsen Foundation Prize in 2007.

Source: March of Dimes Foundation