Dr. Katherine Bligard, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at WashU Medicine’s Department of OBGYN, has been awarded a grant through the 19th annual Clinical and Translational Research Funding Program (CTRFP, one of 22 investigators recognized this cycle).
The CTRFP reflects an ongoing partnership between the WashU Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) and The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. As the largest internal grant funding program offered by the ICTS, it supports projects that translate scientific discoveries into meaningful improvements in human health. This year’s awards spanned three categories: clinical/translational research, community-engaged research, and biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design.
Dr. Bligard’s research focuses on spina bifida, a condition diagnosed in pregnancy that causes lifelong disability, including paralysis, bladder and bowel dysfunction, and fluid accumulation in the brain. While fetal surgery can improve outcomes for affected pregnancies, it carries significant risks for both mother and fetus — and physicians currently lack reliable tools to predict which patients will benefit most, leaving many families without clear guidance when facing this decision.
Her project aims to address that gap by tracking a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL) in amniotic fluid during pregnancy. By monitoring NfL levels, researchers hope to develop a more accurate way to predict surgical outcomes, ultimately helping families and their care teams make better-informed decisions about whether fetal surgery is the right path forward.