Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative

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For a full explanation of the eligibility requirements, view the Request for Proposals.

Grant Recipients

2024

Jennifer Gaddy, PhD Vanderbilt University The role of CovR in Group B Streptococcus perinatal infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes

Alison Gernard, PhD, MPH, RD Pennsylvania State University AI-driven placental imaging tool to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes through prediction of neonatal sepsis

Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, PhD Washington University in Saint Louis Deciphering Immune Cell Phenotypes in Chronic Chorioamnionitis to Develop Biomarkers for Preterm Birth

Lindsay Hayes, PhD University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Promoting resilience against the effects of maternal inflammation on developmental programming of microglia in the offspring

Kieran O’Donnell, PhD Yale University Pregnancy-associated biological aging and postpartum recovery: associations with maternal cardiovascular health in an evidence-based intervention

Meghan Riddell, PhD University of Alberta Identifying the molecular regulation of syncytiotrophoblast programmed necrosis

Marisa Spann, PhD Columbia University Innovative techniques to understand maternal-fetal synchrony as a way to predict adverse fetal outcomes in a hypertensive environment

2023

Melissa Bauman PhD University of California, Davis Epigenetic mechanisms underlying adverse outcomes associated with maternal infection.

Elizabeth Crouch, MD, PhD University of California, San Francisco A vascular strategy to ameliorate germinal matrix hemorrhage in preterm infants

James Gardner, MD, PhD University of California, San Francisco Extrathymic Aire-Expressing Cells are Novel Mediators of Fetal-Maternal Tolerance that Prevent Intrauterine Growth Restriction and Fetal Loss

Serena Gumusoglu, PhD The University of Iowa Prenatal programming of cerebrovascular health by preeclampsia exposure

Eldin Jasarevic, PhD University of Pittsburgh Maternal microbial metabolites in the intergenerational transmission of metabolic disease risk

Frank Lee, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania Genetic Protection Against Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Gabrielle Rizzuto, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Glycan-dependent mechanisms of fetomaternal tolerance

2022

Yalda Afshar, MD PhD University of California-Los Angeles School of Medicine Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnostics for Placenta Accreta Spectrum Disorders

David R Archer, PhD Emory University Defining the Drivers of Poor Pregnancy Outcomes in Sickle Cell Disease

Jacqueline Ho, MD Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Prenatal programming of long-term kidney health by in utero exposure to maternal diabetes

Lisa A. Joss-Moore, PhD University of Utah Uteroplacental Insufficiency Disrupts Placental-Fetal Lipid Regulation and Dynamics

Kellie A Jurado, PhD University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine Immunological functions of fetal red blood cells during pregnancy

Vincent J. Lynch, PhD State University of New York-Buffalo Evolution of human specific pregnancy traits

Monica Ailawadi Mainigi, MD University of Pennsylvania The Role of Estrogen Metabolites in Abnormal Placentation Disorders

Elze Rackaityte, PhD University of California-San Francisco Antibody Surveillance of Human Development for Preterm Birth Diagnostics and Prevention Disorders

Jian Shu, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Prediction of Preterm Birth through Single-Cell Genomics and Machine Learning

Chandrasekhar Yallampalli, DVM PhD Baylor College of Medicine Transcriptome and proteome profiling to evaluate role of placenta specific complement activation in preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction

2021

Vikki M Abrahams, PhD Yale University Mechanisms and prevention of preterm birth in pregnant individuals exposed to opioids during pregnancy

William Lee Kraus, PhD University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Dallas A Multi-Omics Approach to Understanding Human Placenta Gene Expression

Diana Monsivais, PhD Baylor College of Medicine Endometrial signaling pathways during peri-implementation as determinants of pregnancy success

Katy Patras, PhD Baylor College of Medicine Characterizing the role of the vaginal microbiota in group B Streptococcus colonization and dissemination

Joan T. Price, MD University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Periconception evaluation of the vaginal microbiome and immune response to predict adverse birth outcomes in women with and without HIV

Mijo Simunovic, PhD Columbia University Dissecting the signaling and biomechanics of embryo implantation and failure using quantitative organoids of early human embryogenesis

Tamara Tilburgs, PhD University of Cincinnati The role of HLA-G+/C+ extra villous trophoblasts in placental inflammation

Yong Wang, PhD Washington University Noninvasive imaging of human myometrial microstructures and electrical contraction patterns during pregnancy

2019

Nima Aghaeepour, PhD Stanford University Multiomics Modeling of the Immunological Clock of Pregnancy

Adrian Erlebacher, MD, PhD University of California-San Francisco Epigenetic regulation of labor onset

Joanna Halkias, MD  University of California-San Francisco Harnessing immune regulatory mechanisms to target the fetal inflammatory response in preterm birth

Mala S. Mahendroo, PhD  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Dallas Defining the Spatio-Temporal Drivers of Cervical Remodeling in Pregnancy and Parturition

Carole R. Mendelson, PhD  University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Dallas Fetal-Maternal Signaling in the Initiation of Labor

Aleksandar Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD  University of Wisconsin-Madison Novel Innate Lymphoid Cells in Preterm Birth

2017

John Anthony Capra Ph.D. Vanderbilt University Integrating 'omics and electronic health records to elucidate the genetic architecture of preterm birth

Jonghwan Kim Ph.D. University of Texas-Austin Identifying genetic factors controlling normal and abnormal placental development

Tippi C. MacKenzie M.D. University of California-San Francisco A precision medicine approach to detect dysbiosis and immune activation in preterm birth

Kimani C. Toussaint Ph.D. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign Investigating the mechanobiology of cervical remodeling using a novel combination of optical microscopy and nanoindentation

Ge Zhang M.D., Ph.D. University of Cincinnati Genomic study of gestational length and preterm birth

2015

Senad Divanovic, Ph.D. University of Cincinnati Role of type I IFNs/IFNAR axis in inflammation-induced preterm birth

Laura Marie Ensign, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University The role of vaginal progesterone delivery in cervical remodeling and preterm birth

John James Moore, M.D. Case Western Reserve University Determination of the Mechanisms of Preterm Premature Fetal Membrane Rupture Using a Novel in-vitro Model System

Mark Phillippe, M.D. Harvard Medical School Cell-free Fetal DNA - the Trigger for Spontaneous Parturition

Timothy York, Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University Epigenetic mechanisms of preterm birth in a racially mixed sample of pregnant women

2014

Trevor D. Burt, M.D. University of California-San Francisco Fetal immune activation and lineage switching in preterm labor

Kang Chen, Ph.D. Wayne State University The functions of B cells in pregnancy and the pathogenesis of preterm birth

David N. Cornfield, M.D. Stanford University School of Medicine Myometrial smooth muscle cell TRPV channel activity modulates contractility

Stephen Lye, Ph.D. University of Toronto Targeting leukocyte activation to prevent preterm labor

Vincent Joseph Lynch, Ph.D. University of Chicago Evolutionary forward genomic insights into the casual mechanisms of preterm birth

2013

George Scott Worthen, M.D. University of Pennsylvania Genetics of preterm birth

Francesco J. DeMayo, Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine Progesterone receptor regulation of gravid myometrium

Amanda L. Lewis, Ph.D. Washington University Mucus barrier degradation in bacterial vaginosis-associated preterm birth

Claire Chougnet, Ph.D. University of Cincinnati Host-microbe cross-talk and pregnancy outcomes

Katharina Ribbeck, D.Phil., Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Properties and functions of cervical mucus associated with preterm birth

2011

Kjersti M. Aagaard-Tillery, M.D., Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine Contributions of maternal-fetal-mitochondrial genome and microbiome interactions to preterm birth

Julie Baker, Ph.D. Stanford University Genomic networks that guide trophoblast invasion and disease

Mala S. Mahendroo, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Dallas Assessment of cervical ripening by sodium magnetic resonance imaging

Jeffrey C. Murray, M.D. University of Iowa Genomic signatures of gene expression and alternative splicing in preterm birth

Indira Mysorekar, Ph.D. Washington University Occult infections in the etiology of preterm birth

2009

Kjersti M. Aagaard-Tillery, M.D., Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine Contributions of maternal-fetal-mitochondrial genome and microbiome interactions to preterm birth

Vikki M. Abrahams, Ph.D. Yale University The role of placental Nod-like receptors in infection-associated preterm labor

Julie Baker, Ph.D. Stanford University Genomic networks that guide trophoblast invasion and disease

Ronald W. Davis, Ph.D. Stanford University Unexplained Preterm birth

Michal Elovitz, M.D. University of Pennsylvania Targeting novel pathways in cervical remodeling for predicting prematurity: a combined biomarker and genomics approach

Michael Douglas House, M.D. Tufts Medical Center Beyond cervical length: development of a patient-specific model of cervical mechanical function in pregnancy pregnancy

Mala S. Mahendroo, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center-Dallas Assessment of cervical ripening by sodium magnetic resonance imaging

Jeffrey C. Murray, M.D. University of Iowa Genomic signatures of gene expression and alternative splicing in preterm birth

Indira Mysorekar, Ph.D. Washington University Occult infections in the etiology of preterm birth

Carl P. Weiner, M.D., M.B.A. University of Kansas Initiator-effector gene sets regulating myometrial contractility during term and preterm labor

Award Timeline

Dec 05, 2023

Application Deadline

Apr 09 - 10, 2024

Finalist Interviews

May 31, 2024

Notice of Award

Jun 01, 2024

Award Start Date

Mar 31, 2028

Award End Date

Program Contacts

Paige Cooper Byas, PhD

Program Officer

919-991-5127

Daniel Baroff

Program Associate

919-991-5133

Lama Haidar

Program Coordinator

919-991-5115