Investigating the Genomic Architecture of Preterm Birth in South Asian Women

This project aims to investigate how common genetic variation may impact the likelihood for a woman of South Asian ancestry to deliver spontaneously preterm.

Preterm birth (PTB) is defined as a live birth before the completion of 37 weeks of gestation (36+6) and is the largest cause of mortality in children under the age of 5 globally. PTB can be sub classified as those which happen through medical induction (iatrogenic) or those which occur naturally (spontaneous). The causes of PTB are complex with both the environment and genetics playing important roles. To date, several genomic studies have shown that genes involved in response to infection and inflammation have the strongest association with PTB and gestational duration. Despite this, most of these studies have been carried out in White European women despite PTB affecting women of South Asian and African ancestry at higher rates both in Britain and globally.
This project will apply similar methods that have been used in previous studies investigating the genetics of PTB, with the main difference being the use of a study group that has a higher number South Asian women. This will mainly include investigating common genetic variation through a case vs control design.