Research Funding

2021 Recipients

Multi-omics for precision medicine in preeclampsia

Principal Investigator: Kathryn J. Gray, MD, PhD
Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (The General Hospital Corp) Center for Genomic Medicine

Description: A large genetic study of maternal and fetal determinants of preeclampsia, along with global profiling of associated gene transcripts, proteins, and metabolites, to identify the causal biologic pathways altered in pregnancy prior to clinically apparent preeclampsia.

Predisposition to preeclampsia by “complotype”- understanding contribution from genetic variations in maternal and fetal complement genes

Principal Investigator: Chandrasekhar Yallampalli, PhD
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Baylor College of Medicine.

Description: The study will look at the connection between preeclampsia and genetic abnormalities and if the genetic signature is different between preeclampsia and unaffected women. Genetic signature is a large amount of data, so this study will focus on genetic difference in the immune system.

2020 Recipients

Determining Heme oxygenase-1 genotype contribution to endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia

Principal Investigator: Dr. Virginia D. Winn, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Evergreen Faculty Scholar, and Director of Perinatal Biology
Stanford University

Description: A large body of evidence is accumulating supporting the importance of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in endothelial function and the development of preeclampsia. This study will seek to determine the extent to which HO-1 promoter genotypes differ between women with preeclampsia and the general population, how genotype correlates with clinical presentation, and if the different expressions of HO-1, as the result of known human genetic variants, alters the intrinsic and responsive functional capacity of endothelial cells. Establishing relationship between HO-1 and endothelial cell function could provide key insights into the development of preeclampsia and reveal potential therapeutic strategies.

Mid-grant progress report coming in 2022.

Learning about Preeclampsia from High-Risk Pregnancy. Pregnant women with lupus are at particularly high risk for preeclampsia and preterm delivery

Principal Investigator: Julia Fridman Simard, ScD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
Stanford University School of Medicine

Description: Using a large population-based administrative claims database, her team’s work will evaluate the effectiveness of a common lupus treatment, hydroxychloroquine, in the prevention of preeclampsia. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been proposed as a potential preeclampsia treatment in the general population as it may interrupt the development of preeclampsia by mitigating oxidative stress and targeting toll-like receptors to prevent pro-inflammatory cytokine production.

Mid-grant progress report coming in 2022.

2019 Recipients

Preeclampsia Intervention (PI2) Trial: A phase II double blind randomised control trial to metformin to treat preeclampsia

Principal Investigator Catherine Cluver, PhD, MBChB
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Stallenbosch University in South Africa

Description: Laboratory research has recently shown that metformin, a drug commonly used to treat diabetes in pregnancy, may be a treatment for preeclampsia. Specifically, metformin decreases the release of key factors from the placenta that are thought to cause preeclampsia and it improves maternal blood vessel function. This clinical trial will assess whether metformin may be an effective treatment for preeclampsia.

Mid-Grant Progress Report

Healthy heart, healthy pregnancy? How a woman's periconceptional cardiovascular health affects the development of preeclampsia

Principal Investigator: Wendy Koster, MD, PhD
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands

Description: The overall aim of this cross-team collaborative project is to explore the connection between a woman’s heart health around the time of conception and the development of preeclampsia.

Mid-grant progress report coming soon

Fetal APOL1 gene variants and risk for preeclampsia

Principal Investigator: Kimberly J. Reidy, MD
Montefiore Medical Center
Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Pediatrics Nephrology in New York, NY, USA

Description: This research will study if genotyping for fetal APOL1 risk variants, present only in those of African descent, can help identify mothers at highest risk for preeclampsia complications. It will also study how baby’s APOL1 risk variants contribute to preeclampsia.

Mid-grant progress report coming soon