Spontaneous Pre-Term Birth
Worldwide, 13 million infants are born preterm each year. In the United States alone, approximately 1 in 8 live births are preterm, a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Yet, there remains a gap in our understanding of the mechanisms involved and currently we have no effective strategies to predict or to prevent the majority of preterm births. The goal of this project is to elucidate the mechanisms contributing to the pathogenesis of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) by exploring and studying cervical remodeling. Biomechanical testing is used evaluate cervical remodeling during normal pregnancy as well as using sPTB models. These tests are performed in combination with a quantitative proteomics approach to help understand changing composition of the cervix and provide directions and knowledge into potential targets for future therapies.