Journal article
Advancing human health in the decade ahead: pregnancy as a key window for discovery A Burroughs Wellcome Fund Pregnancy Think Tank
American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, Vol.223(3), pp.312-321
09/01/2020
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.06.031
PMCID: PMC7303037
PMID: 32565236
Abstract
Recent revolutionary advances at the intersection of medicine, omics, data sciences, computing, epidemiology, and related technologies inspire us to ponder their impact on health. Their potential impact is particularly germane to the biology of pregnancy and perinatal medicine, where limited improvement in health outcomes for women and children has remained a global challenge. We assembled a group of experts to establish a Pregnancy Think Tank to discuss a broad spectrum of major gestational disorders and adverse pregnancy outcomes that affect maternal-infant lifelong health and should serve as targets for leveraging the many recent advances. This report reflects avenues for future effects that hold great potential in 3 major areas: developmental genomics, including the application of methodologies designed to bridge genotypes, physiology, and diseases, addressing vexing questions in early human development; gestational physiology, from immune tolerance to growth and the timing of parturition; and personalized and population medicine, focusing on amalgamating health record data and deep phenotypes to create broad knowledge that can be integrated into healthcare systems and drive discovery to address pregnancy-related disease and promote general health. We propose a series of questions reflecting development, systems biology, diseases, clinical approaches and tools, and population health, and a call for scientific action. Clearly, transdisciplinary science must advance and accelerate to address adverse pregnancy outcomes. Disciplines not traditionally involved in the reproductive sciences, such as computer science, engineering, mathematics, and pharmacology, should be engaged at the study design phase to optimize the information gathered and to identify and further evaluate potentially actionable therapeutic targets. Information sources should include noninvasive personalized sensors and monitors, alongside instructive "liquid biopsies" for noninvasive pregnancy assessment. Future research should also address the diversity of human cohorts in terms of geography, racial and ethnic distributions, and social and health disparities. Modern technologies, for both data-gathering and data-analyzing, make this possible at a scale that was previously unachievable. Finally, the psychosocial and economic environment in which pregnancy takes place must be considered to promote the health and wellness of communities worldwide.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Advancing human health in the decade ahead: pregnancy as a key window for discovery A Burroughs Wellcome Fund Pregnancy Think Tank
- Creators
- Yoel Sadovsky - Magee-Womens Research InstituteSam Mesiano - Case Western Reserve UniversityGraham J. Burton - University of CambridgeMichelle Lampl - Emory UniversityJeffrey C. Murray - University of IowaRachel M. Freathy - University of ExeterAnita Mahadevan-Jansen - Vanderbilt UniversityAshley Moffett - Dept Pathol, Cambridge, EnglandNathan D. Price - Institute for Systems BiologyPaul H. Wise - Stanford UniversityDerek E. Wildman - University of South FloridaRalph Snyderman - Duke Medical CenterNigel Paneth - Michigan State UniversityJohn Anthony Capra - Vanderbilt UniversityMarcelo A. Nobrega - University of ChicagoYaacov Barak - Magee-Womens Research InstituteLouis J. Muglia - Burroughs Wellcome FundBurroughs Wellcome Fund Pregnancy
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, Vol.223(3), pp.312-321
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ajog.2020.06.031
- PMID
- 32565236
- PMCID
- PMC7303037
- NLM abbreviation
- Am J Obstet Gynecol
- ISSN
- 0002-9378
- eISSN
- 1097-6868
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund Preterm Birth Initiative Wellcome Trust R35GM127087 / National Institute of General Medical Sciences; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) 104150/Z/14/Z / Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship; Royal Society UK R35GM127087 / National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA March of Dimes through the Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative; March of Dimes
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/01/2020
- Academic Unit
- Anatomy and Cell Biology; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Epidemiology; Pediatric Dentistry; Craniofacial Anomalies Research Center; Dental Research
- Record Identifier
- 9985035881002771
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