The United States has one of the highest rates of preterm birth—up to 10 percent of all pregnancies—in the world. And many pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia, which contributes to preterm birth, are associated with abnormal placenta development.
“One of the reasons we don’t understand pregnancy well is that we don’t understand the human placenta, which is extremely complex,” says Liping Feng, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, who studies pregnancy complications and improving pregnancy outcomes. “The placenta is one of the most under-studied organs because we lack a model for research.”