Dr. Indira Mysorekar
Indira Mysorekar, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Associate Director of CRepHS, has received a new $3.04 mil. grant entitled “Mechanisms of Zika Virus Maternal-Fetal Transmission” in collaboration with Michael Diamond, MD, professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-transmitted flavivirus that has become a global public health threat particularly for pregnant women as it has been causally linked to miscarriage, abnormally small fetal growth, microcephaly (small heads) and brain damage in surviving children. The goal of the study is to identify how ZIKV is able to cross the placental barrier to cause adverse outcomes in the baby. This work will have significant clinical implications for understanding ZIKV-pathology and for developing strategies for mitigating ZIKV trafficking through the placenta and thus reducing adverse outcomes.
The project will span across 5 years and is funded by the National Institutes of Health.