ELECTIVE BURSARY AWARDS 2011

ENTRY LEVEL SCHOLARSHIPS 2011

Dr Natalie Suff, UCL Institute for Women’s Health

Prevention of premature labour by reducing infection within the womb

£19,000

This ELS is awarded in conjunction with the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society

Recent research has shown that infection within the womb can trigger premature labour.  The infection originates within the vagina and travels into the womb.  In normal pregnancies the neck of the womb (cervix) is believed to act as a protective barrier preventing infection from entering the womb.  The cervix is known to produce specialised proteins that can kill bacteria and reduce the inflammatory effects associated with infection and it is thought that these contribute to the effectiveness of the cervix as a barrier preventing bacteria access

Mrs Josephine Mary Holleran, University of Central Lancashire

Does the use of computers in birthing rooms affect the care that women receive during childbirth?

£19,975.61

This ELS is awarded in conjunction with the Royal College of Midwives and the British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society

Computers are increasingly being introduced into birth rooms within hospital settings. They can have many benefits, including better information for staff and for future planning of services, and easier access to guidance about the best decisions for staff to make during labour. However, some women and staff have reported that the need to put information into computers, and to respond to their recommendations for what care to give, can take up staff time, and get in the way of communication and support for individual labouring women.

Dr Leo Gurney, Newcastle University

New drug tools for pregnancy research

£19,794.50

Preterm birth (PTB) is the situation whereby a pregnant woman, often spontaneously, delivers her baby before 37 completed weeks of gestation.  By doing so there is an increased risk of the newborn dying or suffering from lifelong mental or physical handicap.  Alarmingly, the incidence of PTB has not decreased in the last three decades.  Therefore, it is clear that we must develop new therapies for treating this condition and improving the health outcomes of babies born too early. 

Dr Gareth Waring, Newcastle University

Preterm birth and infection: What happens at a molecular level?

£19,849

Preterm birth of babies is a major cause of death and disability. It can occur spontaneously or when the need to deliver early arises because of clinical indications. 65-75% of preterm births are spontaneous. Infection is a frequent and important cause of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB).

Betty Austin Memorial Scholarship

Dr Tom Morewood, Royal Free Hospital London

Investigating the possibility of removing and freezing part of a woman’s ovaries prior to her having cancer treatment, and then reimplanting them after treatment so that she can have a family

£20,000

As treatment improves, many more young women diagnosed with cancer are successfully treated.  However the chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy they receive often causes irreparable damage to their ovaries so that many of them are never able to have children.

RESEARCH TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS 2011

The Wellcome Trust / Wellbeing of Women Training Fellow

Dr Catherine James, UCL Institute of Women’s Health and Institute of Child Health

The role of the immune system of the cervix in preventing preterm birth

£187,903 over 36 months

The precise mechanisms underlying preterm delivery are poorly understood. It is likely that specialized activity of the mother’s immune system within her reproductive tract may play a role.

Dr Evangelia Bakali, University of Leicester

The Wellbeing of Women Training Fellow

Cannabis and the bladder: a study to explore the action of cannabis on calcium action and differences between normal and overactive bladders

£199,972.88 over 36 months

Three million people in the UK are incontinent with an annual cost of £536 million, and the majority of these are women. Overactive bladder (OAB) causes symptoms such as the sudden desire to pass urine, needing to go to the toilet very often, waking up at night to go to the toilet, or leaking urine before reaching the toilet. It is a very distressing condition affecting the quality of life of the women affected. Indeed, women with OAB have quality of life similar to people on kidney dialysis.

Dr David Carr, UCL Institute of Women’s Health

The Wellbeing of Women Training Fellow

Understanding how gene therapy can help small babies grow in the womb

£145,778 over 24 months

Successful pregnancy relies on a large increase in the amount of blood going from the mother to the placenta via the womb. When this increase is suboptimal, babies in the womb stop growing and are at high risk of stillbirth or being born with brain and/or organ damage. Currently there is no treatment for this.

PROJECT GRANTS 2011

Development of blood vessels in the endometrium of women with heavy menstrual bleeding

Dr Gendie Elizabeth Lash, Dr Judith Nicola Bulmer, Dr Dharani Hapangama
Newcastle University

£63,536 over 36 months

Menorrhagia, heavy menstrual bleeding, affects up to 1 in 3 women and is the reason for at least 50% of hysterectomies. Blood vessel development in the endometrium has been suggested to be deficient in women with menorrhagia. 

Boosting Immune Defences in Women with Recurrent Cystitis without Using Hormones

Professor Robert Pickard, Mr Paul Hilton, Dr. Judith Hall, Dr. Alison Tyson-Capper, Ms Karen Brown, Mr Ased Ali.
Newcastle University
£151, 417 over 24 months

Lead RAC member statement:
Cystitis is one of the most common infections in women and causes pain, frequent visits to the toilet and a general feeling of unwellness. It also causes thousands of hospital admissions. Treatment uses antibiotics, either intermittently or long-term, but these can have side effects and can cause resistant organisms to evolve.
This research group have previously shown (in research funded by WoW) that estrogen creams work in reducing this problem by enhancing the natural defence mechanisms of vaginal skin cells. The problem is that estrogen creams also have disadvantages – mainly concerns regarding certain types of cancer.

The role of Larp1 protein in the development of ovarian cancer chemotherapy

Dr. Sarah Blagden, Mis Sadaf Ghaem-Maghami, Dr. Justin Sturge, Dr. Euan Stronach
Gary Weston Cancer Centre, Imperial College
£183, 855 over 36 months

Lead RAC member statement:
This project seeks to understand mechanisms which lead to a more malignant behaviour in ovarian cancer. The project has the potential to define a new target for treatment and may also find a marker which could be used to tailor treatment and allow women who are unlikely to respond to platinum-based chemotherapy to be given alternative treatment and avoid the toxicity of ineffectual treatment. It is a novel area for research and this is a well-planned, logical project to be performed by a group with an excellent track record.

The regulation of immune cells in normal and abnormal pregnancy

Professor Ian Sargeant, Dr. Ingrid Granne, Mr. Tim Child, Professor Christopher Redman.
Oxford University
£140,231 over 24 months

Lead RAC member statement:
During pregnancy the mothers’ immune system changes to accommodate the development of the genetically foreign fetus.  This project concerns newly discovered results from the applicants that the molecules called ST2L (made by the mother’s immune system) and IL-33 (made by the placenta of the conceptus) may be major regulators of this important immune interaction. Very interestingly, the amounts of these molecules are abnormal in cases of miscarriage and pregnancy loss. The grant will investigate whether these molecules are expressed from the onset of development and whether the pattern of expression associates with embryo implantation and pregnancy success. 

Cardiac Arrest in Pregnancy Study (CAPS)

Dr. Virginia Beckett, Dr. Paul Sharpe, Dr. Laura McCarthy, Dr. Marian Knight
Bradford Royal Infirmary
£13,500 over 36 months

Lead RAC member statement:
This is a great project which will provide useful data which will inform clinical practice in the future. It could significantly improve outcome for cardiac arrest in pregnant women worldwide.

Wellbeing of Women