The Ritchie Centre has recently received a grant for the development of a pregnancy research synergy project between Monash Health & Manchester Maternal and Foetal Health Research Centre (MFHRC).
The Ritchie Centre and MFHRC will be exploring their current research program to determine the potential for collaborative translational research to improve pregnancy health for mothers in Victoria, Greater Manchester and beyond.
Professor Euan Wallace, Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director of The Ritchie Centre said he was very excited about this two-way collaboration. “With our complimentary expertise we can accelerate clinical application of discovery science,” Professor Wallace said this week.
The first synergy project will involve both parties exploring a clinical trial into preeclampsia. This collaborative study will look for new treatments and fast-track research insights. “Once the pilot study is complete we will have a streamlined pathway that will allow translational animal studies in pregnancy disease to be carried out jointly at both sites,” Professor Wallace said.
The funding will enable both groups to come together for a series of face-to-face meetings, starting later this year in Brisbane.
“Both The Ritchie Centre and MFHRC have a similar structure, with a dynamic research group integrated into a major hospital. By closely collaborating we can expand the number of our experimental trials and accelerate their translation to the patients’ bedside, helping us to achieve a reduction in preventable stillbirth.”