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.
