Anissa: Summer Research at Perelman

Hello GlobeMedders, wherever you are in the world!

This summer I returned to a lab that I worked in last year in the Center for Research on Reproduction and Women’s Health at Perelman Med. The lab, in collaboration with peer institutions and researchers around America, is attempting to determine the etiology of preterm birth - which is generally when birth takes place prior to 37 weeks of gestation.

There are countless theories about why preterm births may occur, but the branch of focus for my research is the role of the microbiota within the cervicovaginal space and its influence on cervical remodeling! This summer, I was specifically focused on identifying microRNAs and their downstream targets.

Working in the lab and learning from career researchers during my time at Penn has truly been an invaluable experience. Science courses at Penn are often really engaging - but it is so frustrating to simply study things and not be given the opportunity to explore and discover in a hands on manner. Lab work allows me to take the foundational understandings and experimental methods that I have heard about to a greater level, affording me the opportunity to actually explore things myself! It is awesome! I am so lucky to be surrounded by a lab full of incredibly kind and intelligent people who are willing to guide and teach me different research techniques and strategies.

Furthermore, I love the fact that the focus of the research is preterm birth. It is absolutely ridiculous that in this day and age we do not sufficiently understand women’s reproductive biology in various basic ways - in part due to how complicated the biology is, as well as the fact that investigation of topics categorized as “women’s health” have not been given the attention and funding that is surely warranted. Preterm birth, in particular, tends to disproportionately affect women of color, who are often trivialized in research funding and implementation. The modern “solutions” are often uncertain, and the biological reasons why various treatments may or may not work are staggeringly unknown.

Doing this research combines global health thinking and scientific exploration. Approximately 15 million babies are born preterm each year, and the consequences of preterm birth have significant health consequences in the short and long term. It is especially detrimental in countries with underdeveloped health systems and treatment options. Understanding the scientific basis of the condition will go hand in hand in tackling the problem on a global scale, gifting burgeoning health programs the understandings necessary to enact change both locally and abroad.