Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Labour is the process leading to childbirth, and its initiation, progression, and completion are not fully understood in humans. There are a number of molecules that have been implicated in initiating and maintaining labour, and the proper levels of these molecules are necessary for labour to proceed correctly. Additionally, certain drugs such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen, can disrupt these important signalling molecules. As labour is a very complex process, several problems can occur and require the need for medical interventions. In addition to the use of NSAIDs, there are certain situations in which pregnancy and labour complications are known to be higher. The use of assisted reproduction technologies (ART) and pregnancies in which an enzyme involved in hormone elimination is lacking have a higher risk of labour complications. We aim to use these models to investigate and increase our understanding of the process of labour in humans. My research will be carried out using human tissues which come from pregnancies that used ART to conceive and those that conceived naturally. First, we plan to screen these tissues for NSAIDs, and compare this to the levels of signalling molecules involved in labour and the outcomes experienced by these women. Next, we aim to measure the levels of hormones and signalling molecules present in these tissues and determine the differences between pregnancies which utilized ART and those who did not. Because we have access to medical information documenting complications in pregnancy and labour, we can combine this with our results to determine any associations with pregnancy outcome. Overall, these studies will deepen our understanding of the labour process, including how assisted reproduction and hormone imbalance, as well as external factors such as drugs can contribute to labour complications, potentially revealing insight on how these complications can be avoided.