Research Award 2025 (2)

Professor Ian Giles and Professor Thomas McDonnell, Department of Ageing, Rheumatology and Regenerative Medicine, University College London

 Research Project:  Examining for differences in angiogenic markers of placental function in different inflammatory rheumatic diseases in pregnancy

 Woman living with inflammatory conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis face extra challenges when planning a pregnancy. Pregnancy in people with these conditions can carry higher risks. Complications such as high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, early birth and babies being smaller than expected for their stage of pregnancy are more common.   At the moment, doctors cannot reliably predict which pregnancies are most at risk, even when the mother’s disease is well controlled. This study will look for proteins in blood samples from pregnant people with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls that might give early clues about how the placenta is working. Discovering such proteins could help doctors identify risky pregnancies sooner and improve care for mothers and babies affected by autoimmune diseases.