Inflammatory Pathways to Preterm Birth

David Olson from the University of Alberta in Canada will work to better understand how infections can cause preterm birth. Using animal models and later in studies of women in low-income countries, he and his team will investigate multiple mediators of inflammation in the uterus early in pregnancy, as well as test new diagnostics and therapeutics that can identify women at risk, modulate the inflammatory response, and prolong pregnancy. Funding partners: Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.