PLACENTAL CURATED RESEARCH DATASET

Social And Scientific Systems, Inc., Silver Spring MD

Investigators

Abstract

The Division of Extramural Research (DER) coordinates Institute research and training grant programs and advises the NICHD Director on extramural research and training policies and activities. The Division relies on its staff to represent the Institute on various trans-NIH and other collaborative workgroups and committees, to liaise with members of the Institute's federal advisory committees and boards, and to lead implementation of extramural policies and procedures for the NICHD. The Division also performs grants management and scientific review functions, including conducting initial scientific merit review of grant applications and contract proposals for the NICHD. With a focus on scientific expertise, the DER also develops and supports extramural staff training while enhancing communication about standardized procedures, policies, methods, and approaches across the Institute. There is a critical need in hastening our understanding of the placenta. Although the placenta is a short-lived organ, its importance is often underappreciated in being a crucial organ for the propagation of our species and future health of our progeny. The placenta is essential for the maintenance of pregnancy. The prominent function of the placenta is in the transfer of nutrients, gases and waste products between the mother and fetus. It is effectively the lung, gut, and kidney of the fetus. The placenta is also involved in the production of hormones that are involved in the maintenance of pregnancy and the initiation of labor. Another important function of the placenta is to act as a selective immunological barrier, so that the mother?s immune system does not attack the fetal allograft. Thus, perturbations in one of its many functions can have dire consequences for the fetus, ranging from intrauterine growth retardation to fetal death. In contrast to many other research fields, there is a lack of any substantial internet based resources for hastening placental research. In the era of digital big data, enhanced internet tools for data centralization, cataloguing, integration and dissemination has resulted in a boon for all areas of science. Many entities have supported centralized internet resources, realizing the vast return on their investment. Examples of some large internet based resources supported by various NIH institutes include the NCBI databases, the Cancer Atlas and Brain Atlas. In contrast to many other research fields, there is a lack of any substantial internet based resources for hastening placental research. The goal of the contract is to create a curated data set that will serve as a resource for placental research. It should be underscored that the solicitation is not to simply create a redundant resource of information, but rather to identify gaps in knowledge and explore and integrate the current foundation of knowledge that future pipelines of analysis would be built from. This contract is the first step in an envisioned trajectory for reaching the ultimate goal of creating a comprehensive placental atlas that encompasses all the molecular regulatory pathways that drives both normal and abnormal placental development and function. It is expected that the resource would be a particularly useful tool to identify research gaps, potential therapeutic targets for drug development, and potential biomarkers. The knowledge gained by completion of the atlas is anticipated to be invaluable for formulating effective molecular based interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes.