Women & Infants researchers receive $25K grants

PROVIDENCE – Women & Infants researchers have received two $25,000 grants for projects focusing on preeclampsia from Women & Infants Hospital’s Constance A. Howes Women’s Health Innovation Research Fund.
The research fund was established last year with contributions from approximately 150 donors to honor former hospital president Constance A. Howes, and to support research studies advancing women’s health and gender-based research.
The two grants were selected from 11 proposals, all submitted by Women & Infants researchers. Proposals were scored based on the projects’ relevance to women’s health and gender-based research, the potential for advancing knowledge and care models related to women’s health, innovation and creativity, team strength, and plan and potential for research support from external sponsors.

Preeclampsia is a potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy characterized by high blood pressure, and its connection to other chronic diseases.
The project, “Preeclampsia and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Possible Etiological Link?”, plans to address and establish a concept of a serum-based predictive method for diagnosing preeclampsia and Alzheimer’s disease, which have similar procurement properties. The lead investigator is Dr. Surendra Sharma, a research scientist and professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Women & Infants Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
The second project is “Post-Partum Screening and Intervention for Women with Preeclampsia to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk: A Pilot Investigation.” Lead investigators for this project are Dr. Erika Werner, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, and Dr. Heather Hurlburt, co-director of Women’s Heart Health at Women & Infants and director of non-invasive imaging at Kent Hospital.
Women who develop preeclampsia are at high risk for future cardiovascular disease, but there is a lack of data regarding how postpartum care can modify a woman’s cardiovascular risk factors to optimize long-term health. This pilot study will specifically investigate a woman’s willingness to receive testing for cardiovascular risk factors postpartum and, if necessary, undergo treatment, a news release from Care New England Health System said. Women & Infants is a Care New England hospital.

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