According to Pourteymour, the general routine tests that expecting mothers undergo throughout their pregnancy term are unable to detect the risk of undergoing preterm labor. Pourteymour may have identified a potential molecule that can help in this detection.
Read about Pourteymour's research and innovation project
A preterm labor/contraction is defined as occuring before 37 weeks of pregnancy and poses a significant risk to both mother and child. The severity of the complications increases with a reduced duration of the pregnancy.
Shirin Pourteymour wants to develop a simple, quick and affordable test to detect and measure the risk of preterm labor for women before and during pregnancy. This test will not only help with better preparation for both mother and child in the event of preterm labor, but also to identify alternative approaches to optimize prenatal care practice. This will ensure the preservation of both the mother and child’s life.
– It is a matter of the life of your baby, emphasizes Shirin Pourteymour on the direct effects of preterm contractions that can lead to preterm labor.
According to Pourteymour, the general routine tests that expecting mothers undergo throughout their pregnancy term are unable to detect the risk of undergoing preterm labor. Pourteymour may have identified a potential molecule that can help in this detection.
– The molecule I am studying has a function in the uterus and helps maintain the uterus at a relaxed state without going through any contractions during the entire pregnancy period. On the other hand, the uterus will undergo contractions if this molecule does not function properly or is found at low expression levels in the uterus, says Pourteymour.
Identifying the genetic marker of preterm labor
The project is still at its early stages and Pourteymour plans to screen women who have undergone full-term and preterm labor and analyse their genetic background from blood samples to uncover the correlation of the gene for this molecule she has been studying, along with any other genes that are associated with it, and the likelihood of preterm labor.
Ultimately, she seeks to identify a genetic marker of preterm labor. A genetic marker is a DNA sequence that can be linked to a certain disease or condition, in this case, risk of preterm labor. Once the genetic marker has been identified, the method can be developed into an eventual test.
Pourteymour has already obtained ethical approval for her project and will proceed to the next stage to obtain blood samples from the women who have undergone normal and preterm labor. She is in continuous discussion and communication with the UiO Growth House who are guiding her through her innovation journey.
Read about how Pourteymour has worked with the UiO Growth House
The course that started the innovation journey
Pourteymour attended the School of Health Innovation course 1 in 2023 which was held across three different cities in the Nordics – Trondheim, Copenhagen and Stockholm that year. Skeptical at first due to the extensive and demanding nature of the course, Pourteymour was inspired to find a way to explore the innovative ideas she had on an ongoing side project with a colleague that she started working on during her position as a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm Sweden.
It was during this course that she first met the UiO Growth House and was encouraged to apply for funding for her side project due to the possible positive impact on society. However, her first application for seed funding was unsuccessful and she was urged to contact the UiO Growth House to discuss her project.
I think it was very nice that even though my application was rejected, I could still approach the UiO Growth House to discuss my project. I contacted them and a consultation with an adviser made me understand how I should articulate my project and how I should think. This discussion made me understand how to write an application on my innovative idea, says Pourteymour.
Guidance has given direction
After taking into consideration what was discussed, Pourteymour sent another application and this time she was successful for the seed funding from the UiO Growth House. As her project is developing, Pourteymour is taking it step by step and generating and discussing her data as she goes along with the UiO Growth House.
– The critical questions I received from the UiO Growth House regarding my project has given me direction in terms on the way I think and the way I write. They have provided me a platform and support to project my innovative ideas. Another aspect of what I have learned so far is more background on essential information regarding regulatory affairs and patenting.
A platform for networking and more
Through the School of Health Innovation course, Pourteymour was able to network and get to know other innovators from the Nordics giving her the opportunity to discuss together about their own innovative ideas and ways to deal with the challenges that comes with developing these ideas.
– As a scientist, I have become more collaborative and more open with talking to others. Both the UiO Growth House and the School of Health Innovation course has not only provided me a platform for networking with other like-minded individuals who want to do more innovative work, but this experience has also taught me to look at things differently. This is in terms of the impact of the basic science research on society, says Pourteymour.