Dr. Ina Stelzer on Immune Changes in Spontaneous Preterm Birth

March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford collaborator Dr. Ina Stelzer, who is also an Assistant Professor at the University of California San Diego’s Department of Pathology, discusses her team’s recent findings showing stark differences in the immune system of women who experience spontaneous preterm birth compared to those who deliver term.

March of Dimes Ohio Collaborative Prematurity Research Center coordinating principal investigator and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital infectious disease pediatrician Dr. Sing Sing Way discusses his team's new findings linking the use of mouthwash in pregnancy with dramatically reduced rates of preeclampsia, preterm birth, and chorioamnionitis.

Dr. Ophelia Yin, an investigator at the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, on her recent research finding four new genes associated with cellular changes in the uterus during preeclampsia — findings that have helped widen the aperture of preeclampsia research past the placenta and into the uterus.

Dr. Christina Megli, a 2025 March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award winner, discusses her discovery of 'first responder' macrophage immune cells in the amniotic sac in healthy pregnancy — a finding that may one day lead to new risk prediction tests and therapeutics to slow or prevent preterm birth.

Dr. Brice Gaudillière, an investigator at the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford, on an upcoming Randomized Controlled Trial he is heading that will test two common over the counter drugs — Aspirin and Prevacid, an acid reflux medication — as possible therapeutics to prevent spontaneous preterm birth.

Dr. Frank Lee, a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a 2026 winner of a March of Dimes Discovery Grant, discusses his research on HIF2 gene suppression as a way to treat preeclampsia.

Dr. Thomas Jansson, the 2026 winner of the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award in Maternal-Fetal Nutrition, the Vice Chair of Research for the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the department’s Florence Crozier Cobb Endowed Professor and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Sciences, discusses his research showing that contrary to popular belief, it is not the fetus, but a placental protein signaling hub called mTOR, that is the primary architect of fetal growth.

Dr. Leonard Zon, winner of the 2026 March of Dimes Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize, Director of the Stem Cell Research Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Grousbeck Professor of Pediatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses his career using the 1.5-inch zebrafish to study human disease.

Dr. Tomiko Oskotsky, who co-directs The March of Dimes Database for Preterm Birth Research, discusses the database’s recent wins: being chosen for a National Science Foundation AI program and launching an AI assistant called ChatPTB, or ChatPreTermBirth.

Dr. Rupsa Boelig, a 2025 March of Dimes Discovery Research Grant winner and an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University, discusses her new study on the metabolism of aspirin in pregnant women with diabetes or a higher BMI. She hopes the study findings will shed light on whether these women may benefit from a higher aspirin dose to help prevent preeclampsia and/or preterm birth.