The basic and translational research in the Laboratory for Prenatal Medicine is devoted to complications of pregnancy, including preterm birth and preeclampsia. One major research focus of the lab is the development of stem cell-based prevention and treatment of perinatal brain damage that leads to severe neonatal morbidity and mortality and to long-term neurodevelopmental deficits. Ongoing projects include elucidation of mechanisms underlying perinatal brain injury in preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction, diagnostic strategies to detect early injury to the perinatal brain, as well as translational projects for the cell-based treatment. Mesenchymal stromal cells from the umbilical cord and extracellular vesicles derived from these cells are characterized and used as the basis for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of perinatal brain injury.
Our research is supported by a number of external funding institutions, including Swiss National Science Foundation, EU Research Foundation, Innosuisse, Eagle Foundation, Konol Trust Foundation, Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation, SGGG-Bayer Research Grant, research fund of the University Hospital Bern / Inselspital
