Our research goal is to identify mechanisms of how the offspring memorize their environmental exposure status in utero throughout life and how the genetic variations contribute to the effects. We focus on the effects of an in utero micronutrient deficiency on cell subtype proportions and cell memory, and diseases later in life. Our hypothesis is that adverse prenatal exposures can change the repertoire of cell subtypes that compose the mature organ, conferring much of the risk of developing disease phenotypes. Currently, we are focusing on prenatal deficiencies of fat-soluble micronutrients, vitamins A and D.