Driving forward new research into infectious diseases Opening up opportunities for women in science and healthcare

This pioneering new research will be delivered by the Parasol Foundation Centre for Women's Health and Cancer Research - a partnership between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Imperial Health Charity and the Parasol Foundation.

The centre was set up in March 2022 with the aim of supporting vital research into women's health.

Scientists are set to begin exciting new research that could help us learn more about the links between life-threatening infectious diseases and pregnancy, thanks to support from Ms Ruth Monicka Parasol, the Parasol Foundation and Imperial Health Charity.

Researchers at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust will use thousands of blood samples provided by women as part of their maternity care to examine rates of immunity and infection during their pregnancy.

A similar study in 2020 enabled experts to track the spread of Covid-19 - and they believe developing this approach could advance our knowledge of other diseases like polio and rubella. The research could even help scientists learn more about future pandemics by pinpointing when and where viruses spread.

The work will be led by research midwife Alison Perry, whose post will be generously funded by the Parasol Foundation, with support from a wider team of expert scientists.

Alison said the project would help us understand where infections are occurring and what sort of people they are likely to affect.

"These routine blood samples are stored for two years when women book for pregnancy care," she said.

"Across the country women give over 500,000 of these blood samples each year, so there's real potential for us to see where and how levels of infection and immunity are changing."

It's focused on developing advanced treatments for women's cancers and helping us understand the health impacts of pre-term birth.

This new project will expand the centre's research into infectious diseases as well as creating exciting career opportunities for female scientists.

The project involves setting up focus groups with women in north west London so that their input can help to shape the research.

And in the longer term, the data will be fed into a 'sleeping' study that could be used to track the spread of a future pandemic.

Dr Lynne Sykes is part of the team who will be involved in the project.

"During the pandemic these routine blood samples were used to help us see when Covid started to transmit between people," she said.

"The Covid study was the first one to use these samples in this way - and this could be a really exciting next step."

You can find out lots more about this pioneering research on our website. Just go to: imperialcharity.org.uk/parasol