little feet taking big steps ... to reduce stillbirth

The Stillbirth Foundation Australia is thrilled to support the following research projects in 2010: 

Free foetal DNA, Placental Apoptosis and the Prediction of Late Stillbirth
Clinical Professor Jonathan Hyett, Dr Glenn Gardener, Associate Professor Catherine Hyland, and Dr Susan Arbuckle
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW

Maternal sleep health and foetal outcomes
Dr Alison Fung, Associate Professor Sue Walker, Dr Mare Barnes
Mercy Hospital for Women, VIC

Risk factors for Stillbirth – a multi-centre case control study
Professor Heather Jeffery, Dr Adrienne Gordon, Professor Jonathan Morris
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW

The role of infection and inflammation in stillbirths
Professor C Caroline Blackwell, Professor Ian Symonds, Dr Andrew Carlin
University of Newcastle, NSW

PhD Project – The role of human cytomegalovirus in stillbirth
Stuart Hamilton
Supervisors: Professor William Rawlinson, Dr Gillian Scott
South Eastern Area Laboratory Services/University of New South Wales

Stuart Hamilton is the recipient of the inaugural Stillbirth Foundation Australia PhD scholarship. For the next three years, Stuart will be investigating the role of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in stillbirth, extending on his honours studies which defined new changes in the placenta and cytokines associated with stillbirth. Stuart's PhD research will examine the immune response to CMV in placental tissue and look for a correlation between an elevated pro-inflammatory response to infection within the placenta and stillbirth. Hopefully, this will shed light into some of the factors that cause stillbirth and outline preventative measures that can be taken to minimise the number of stillbirths in Australia and globally each year. Stuart will be known as the Stillbirth Foundation Australia Fellow.

Pictured from left: Emma McLeod (Founder Stillbirth Foundation Australia), Stuart Hamilton (Stillbirth Foundation Australia Fellow), Melinda Hickin (Office Manager Stillbirth Foundation Australia), Professor William Rawlinson (Senior Medical Virologist, SEALS & University of NSW)