Targeted placental medicines to prevent pregnancy complications
Official title: Making healthy babies: Holistic evaluation and optimization of targeted nanomedicines to treat placental dysfunction in common pregnancy complications
Funded at University of Nebraska Medical Center · NIH-11449256 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new approach uses tiny, placenta-homing nanoparticles to safely deliver drugs like aspirin and melatonin directly to the placenta to help prevent problems such as preeclampsia, poor fetal growth, and stillbirth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Nebraska Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Omaha, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $568,925 |
| NIH project number | 1R01HD120926-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11449256 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant people at risk for placental dysfunction and related complications may be eligible in future clinical steps.
✕Less likely to help
If the placental delivery approach is not suitable for a pregnancy, patients may not receive benefit from this specific strategy.
What this research studies
This project tests a targeted drug-delivery system that aims medicines to the placenta while keeping them away from the baby. Researchers will study how the approach distributes drugs in the body, its safety, and how well it works using mouse pregnancy models, human placental tissue, and computer simulations. They will evaluate three drugs—aspirin, melatonin, and SE175—delivered in special liposomes decorated with a placental-homing peptide called iRGD. The goal is to quantify benefits, optimize dosing, and model outcomes to support safer therapeutic options in pregnancy. Findings could inform future studies and help reduce complications for mothers and babies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lead to safer, more effective treatments to prevent placental dysfunction and its complications during pregnancy.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows promise for placenta-targeted drug delivery; this project extends those ideas to multiple drugs and comprehensive PK/PD analyses.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Harris, Lynda Katherine — University of Nebraska Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Harris, Lynda Katherine
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.