DENVER, Colo./In its ongoing effort to predict and prevent premature birth, the March of Dimes announced support for the innovative research of eight scientists in the U.S. with combined grant awards of $3 million. One of the eight grants was awarded to James Lewis McManaman, PhD., at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.

Dr. McManaman’s goal is to create comprehensive profiles of the many proteins in vaginal fluid of pregnant women who have had premature babies and so are at high risk of recurrence, and to identify protein profile differences between those who go on to deliver prematurely and those who do not. Such differences may enable doctors to predict preterm deliveries more reliably than is now possible, so that preterm infants can be born with optimal management. Also, protein profiles of preterm delivery may shed light on specific causal mechanisms that are now poorly understood, and thereby point the way to new means of prevention

“These grants demonstrate the increasing investment of the March of Dimes in research to discover etiology of preterm labor,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. “The number of premature births has risen to more than 500,000 babies each year. New research is critical if we are to end this epidemic.”

More than a half million babies in the U.S. (including nearly 8,500 in Colorado) are born too soon each year. The preterm birth rate has increased 30 percent since 1981, the first year the government began tracking premature birth rates. While there are several factors that can help predict the risk of preterm birth, there is no known cause for half the cases of premature birth. 

“We’re proud to play a hands-on role in searching for the answers to prematurity by having one of the Prematurity Research Initiative grants here in Colorado,” said Daryl Edmonds, chairman of the March of Dimes Colorado chapter. “We fully support the efforts of Dr. McManaman and we’re confident that in the future, mothers and babies will benefit from his research.

The third annual Prematurity Research Initiative (PRI) grants were awarded to eight scientists; two from Illinois, and one each from Colorado, Kentucky, Iowa, Nevada, Vermont, and Washington State. The grants are awarded to the scientists for a three-year period.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.

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Media contact
Becky Herlinger
March of Dimes Colorado Chapter
Phone (303) 692-0011
bherlinger@marchofdimes.com