The National Institute of Health (NIH) has awarded a grant for Biologic Mechanisms of Labor Dysfunction: A Systems Biology Approach to Nicole Carlson, PhD, CNM, FACNM, an assistant professor with Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. The R01 Research Project grant provides funding for five years of $1,927,945 to obtain results that will provide functional information to make the identification of biomarkers that predict labor dysfunction a real possibility, changing the future for early detection, targeted intervention, and prevention of labor dysfunction.

Difficulties of labor initiation and progression are responsible for much of the injury and death seen around the time of birth in both women and their neonates, and Black women are much more likely than white women to experience injury and death around the time of birth. The grant project will measure social determinants of health, pregnancy lifestyle, and blood samples in two groups of Black women who receive prenatal care in either a freestanding birth center or a hospital clinic to better understand how pregnancy experiences and health influence labor outcomes. The purpose of this project is to promote health and eliminate health disparities through a better understanding of the physiology of labor dysfunction.

The R01 Research Project grant brings together cutting-edge technology and a multi-disciplinary team with scientific expertise in labor dysfunction, body composition measurement, comprehensive nutritional and physical activity analysis, lipidomics, racial disparities investigations, and systems biology approaches to confront labor dysfunction--one of the most impactful conditions affecting maternal morbidity and mortality.
Nicole S. Carlson, PhD, CNM, FACNM, is an Assistant Professor, tenure track, at Emory University’s School of Nursing. She conducts research on the biologic mechanisms of labor dysfunction and strategies for achieving optimal perinatal outcomes in women with different levels of obesity. Dr. Carlson has received support for her research from the National Institutes of Health, the March of Dimes, and The American College of Nurse-Midwives.

For more information on Dr. Nicole Carlson, visit her faculty profile. To learn more about the R01 Research Project grant, visit the National Institute of Health website.