In late June, Jennifer Gaddy, PhD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, was named one of seven 2024 grant recipients of the Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and one of three 2024 Discovery Research Grant recipients by the March of Dimes.
“Discovery awards are our most ambitious and support top-brass scientists working toward solving the biggest problems facing moms and babies today: poor heart health, preterm birth and racial inequities,” said Emre Seli, MD, chief scientific advisor at March of Dimes. The nonprofit health organization awarded Gaddy a two-year, $200,000 grant to study how white blood cells in the placenta use zinc to prevent group B streptococcus bacteria from infecting babies in utero.
At the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative seeks to stimulate discovery in maternal-fetal health across basic and translational science. The nonprofit medical research organization awarded Gaddy a four-year, $500,000 grant to explore the role of a response regulator, CovR, in group B streptococcus perinatal infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
For more about Gaddy’s work, visit the Gaddy Lab website.
