Carmel Martin-Fairey, PhD, postdoctoral research scholar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has received a research fellowship award entitled “Role of peripheral oscillators in the timing of birth” funded by the National Institutes of Health – Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Prematurity is the greatest contributor to infant mortality worldwide and is more common in women with work schedules that are misaligned with their normal sleep/wake cycle (night shifts).
The purpose of this two-year study is to test whether the maternal circadian clock plays a key role in determining the timing of birth by regulating clocks within the brain, the uterus and the cervix and to understand the role of progesterone in this process.
Congratulations!