Understanding genetic and physical traits linked to stillbirth and fetal anomalies to improve prenatal care
Official title: Dissecting the Genetic and Phenotypic Architecture of Stillbirth and Fetal Structural Anomalies to Improve Prenatal Diagnosis
Funded at Boston Children's Hospital · NIH-11352326 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A clinician-scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital is leading a five-year plan to map how genes and visible fetal features relate to stillbirth and fetal structural problems, with the goal of better prenatal diagnosis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston Children's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $167,400 |
| NIH project number | 1K08HD121809-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11352326 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are expectant patients or families facing high-risk pregnancies with fetal structural concerns or prior stillbirth risk factors, whose data could be contributed to large datasets.
✕Less likely to help
Some pregnancies may not show clear genetic or phenotypic links, so they may not directly benefit from the findings.
What this research studies
This program will combine large sets of genomic and phenotypic data from pregnancies to find genetic variants and patterns that explain stillbirth and fetal anomalies. It will harmonize data across sources, apply advanced statistics, and develop phenotype-driven methods to prioritize variants. The effort is designed to train the investigator to become an independent physician-scientist and leader in perinatal precision diagnosis. The work aims to move from data to clearer, more actionable prenatal findings that could guide care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could lead to more accurate prenatal diagnoses and personalized guidance for pregnancies affected by stillbirth or fetal anomalies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show that integrating genomic and phenotypic data improves diagnostic precision in perinatal medicine, but large-scale, harmonized analyses are still developing.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Duyzend, Michael H — Boston Children's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Duyzend, Michael H
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Stillbirth Data Hub: Coordinating Center for Big-Data and AI in Stillbirth Research
A national data hub is being built to coordinate data, biorepository, and analytics for stillbirth research using advanced AI and machine learning.
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Genetic roots of stillbirth and developmental disorders
A genetic study from Massachusetts General Hospital will look for inherited and new DNA changes that contribute to stillbirth and related developmental disorders in families.
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Innovative Data Core for Stillbirth Research Center
A data and software core is being built to harmonize and analyze information from multiple sites to uncover why stillbirth happens and to support future prevention.
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Administrative Core for Stillbirth Research Coordinating Center
A coordination core is being funded to organize and manage data, collaborations, and administration to help stillbirth research move forward.
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Stillbirth Data Coordinating Center focusing on AI-powered insights
A national data hub is using advanced AI and machine learning to analyze stillbirth data and help researchers find patterns that could prevent or understand stillbirth.
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NOURISH: nutrition and health factors linked to pregnancy outcomes and stillbirth risk
Aimed at understanding how nutrition and stress-related health factors affect placental function to prevent stillbirths in pregnancies.
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.