My research supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, specifically Target 3.4, which aims to cut premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by one-third through prevention and treatment by 2030. I believe we can reach this ambitious target by focusing on the vital early life stage, from preconception through pregnancy and the first 2000 days, where prevention strategies and the promotion of healthy environments can significantly reduce NCDs throughout life. My fundamental science explores how adverse environments during these key periods trigger physiological and metabolic changes that shape lifelong disease risk. My work investigates how factors such as fetal hypoxia, maternal high- fat/high- sugar diets, and resulting oxidative stress hinder placental and fetal development, revealing the mechanisms through which these early adaptations lead to increased vulnerability to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension later in life. Since the late 1990s, I have adopted a comprehensive translational research approach using pre-clinical model systems, including large animals (sheep - funded by NIH/NSERC), small animals (guinea pig/rat - funded by CIHR/NIH; rabbit - funded by CAPS/AMOSO), ex vivo methods, and cell culture systems such as 2 D and organoid models to uncover these mechanisms. After establishing my research program in Canada in 2005, following postdoctoral and junior faculty training in the US (1996-2005), I expanded my work to include human tissue studies and population databases, enhancing the translational relevance of our mechanistic findings from pre-clinical models. Through collaborations with fetoplacental colleagues at Western University and internationally, I have broadened my research capabilities to incorporate advanced analytical techniques. Collaborations with imaging specialists have enabled us to integrate cutting-edge technologies, including PET/CT, MRI, and hyperpolarized MRI, with our existing models. Our use of multi-omics analyses, such as metabolomics and lipidomics, paired with bioinformatics approaches, offers comprehensive molecular insights into programming mechanisms. By revealing how environments during pregnancy and early childhood influence physiology and metabolism through these integrated pre-clinical and computational methods, my current work identifies key windows for intervention during these critical developmental stages. This provides the mechanistic basis for developing evidence-based strategies to foster optimal early life environments and prevent the programming of non-communicable diseases.