iNOVA4Health Seminar by Catarina Reis: Syncytiotrophoblast derived extracellular vesicles in Fetal Growth Restriction
On January 3rd, iBET hosted guest speaker Catarina Palma dos Reis for the iNOVA4Health Seminar “Syncytiotrophoblast derived extracellular vesicles in Fetal Growth Restriction”.
Catarina Reis, an MD resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Maternidade Dr. Alfredo da Costa (CHULC) in Lisbon, is also the principal investigator of the clinical trial “HepaGrowth” - a project recently distinguished with the Maria de Sousa 2023 Award. Catarina is currently completing her DPhil degree at the Nuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford.
The goal of the “HepaGrowth” project is to investigate the potential role of syncytiotrophoblast-derived extracellular vesicles (STB-EVs) as a diagnostic biomarker for fetal growth restriction (FGR). FGR, often associated with placental issues, constitutes the second leading cause of perinatal mortality. However, reliable diagnostic tests for this condition are currently unavailable.
In her talk, Catarina detailed how the project aims to characterize the vesicles released by the placenta into the maternal circulatory system in healthy and FGR-affected pregnancies.
iBET acknowledges Catarina Reis for her insightful talk and wishes all the best for her continued research work.