The five recipients of the IBMS research grants in 2021 introduce us to their research projectsnand discuss what impact their work could have.
The IBMS awards research funding to members to support novel work and spur innovations in diagnostics, prognostics and the treatment of disease. This year, we awarded research grants of over £22,000 to fund five original projects in biomedical science. They range from researching new ways
to overcome life-threatening infections in cystic fibrosis patients, to identifying new biomarkers to transform how we diagnose prostate cancer and help prevent tragic cases of spontaneous abortion. We’ve also sponsored work investigating the health risks of e-smoking and a project endeavouring to develop new vaccines that are administered orally and powered by yeast. Here, the five recipients outline their projects.
Robert Reilly
Blood Transfusion Manager and Chief Biomedical Scientist, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Determination of a panel of systemic markers for women with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) of unknown (idiopathic) cause (a pilot study)
Approximately 15% of all clinically recognised pregnancies in women under 35 result in spontaneous pregnancy loss; the current international definition of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) applies to couples who experience two or more pregnancy losses with or without previous live births. Apart from the emotional trauma suffered by affected couples, there is also a financial impact on both the National Health Service (NHS) for treatment of the mother and evaluation of the foetus and the economy through lost time in the workplace caused by stress. Therefore, this is an important but challenging area to study.
It has been recognised that approximately 50% of all losses are of known or diagnosed causes. The remaining 50% remain unclear (idiopathic RPL), with no apparent genetic abnormality in either parent. Literature has suggested that the reason may be multifactorial, with no single factor convincingly being associated with RPL to date.
Please click here to read the full article.
Image credit | IBMS | Shutterstock
