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Laboratories

The research performed by the principal investigators of the Woman, Mother and Baby Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center covers a wide range of approaches.

About

The research performed includes:

  • Basic science research (e.g., using cells in culture or model animal systems)
  • Translational research (e.g., applying state-of-the-art molecular techniques to human material such as blood or saliva samples)
  • Clinical research that involves direct “hands-on” interaction with a pregnant woman or her newborn infant 

Multiple labs dedicated to mother-infant research

Each group is described as a laboratory even though, in some cases, an investigator works with patients in the hospital (bedside) and not in a laboratory. The Woman, Mother and Baby Research Institute laboratories are directed by Tomoko Kaneko-Tarui, MD, PhD.

The Woman, Mother and Baby Research Institute laboratories include:

  • The O’Tierney-Ginn Laboratory works to understand how placental function is altered by the maternal environment and how these changes affect fetal growth and fat deposition.
  • The House Laboratory uses a bioengineering strategy to investigate cervical biomechanics, specifically cervical function, as it relates to the cause of spontaneous premature birth.
  • The Yen Laboratory utilizes non-invasive salivary transcriptomic and brain imaging data to understand the sex-dependent impact of prenatal opioid exposure on the developing brain, particularly the hypothalamus and reward areas that regulate neonatal feeding behavior.
Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute
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Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington, Box 394
Boston, MA 02111

Our office location

Located in the Tupper Research building, 9th floor, 15 Kneeland St., Boston, MA. The building is locked and accessible from the street only with a Tufts Medical Center ID badge.

For visitors with scheduled appointments, call 617.636.1468 and a member of our staff will meet you at the entrance.

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Advance research in women’s and infant health

Your contribution to the Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute helps drive important research that improves outcomes for women, mothers and newborns.

To direct your donation, select “Other” in the "I want to support" field and type “Woman, Mother + Baby Research Institute.”

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