• About
  • Mission & Vision
  • Team
  • Strategic Plan
  • Global Action Agenda
  • Seattle Children's
  • Privacy and Terms of Use
• Projects
  • GAPPS Research
  • Harmonization
  • Interventions
  • Advocacy
  • Ethics
• Research
  • Our research approach
  • GAPPS Repository
  • Harmonization
  • Ethics Research
  • Preventing Preterm Birth Initiative
• Advocacy
  • Understand the Problem
  • Set Priorities
  • Close the Gaps
  • Make A Difference
• Resources
  • Issues and GAPPS FAQs
  • Advocacy Toolkit
  • For Parents
  • Media Center
  • Publications & Reports

Building Research Capacity

Building Research Capacity in Low-Resource Countries

GAPPS Develops Assessment Tool While Exploring Research Possibilities in India and Bangladesh

Researchers focused on developing new interventions for preterm birth and stillbirth need high-quality specimens and data from diverse populations of pregnant women and newborns. This need is particularly strong in regions with the highest rates of adverse birth outcomes, such as Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where no standardized systems currently exist for collecting, processing, storing and distributing specimens and data.

“Though standardization will initially require significant investment in health-research infrastructure, once established these sites can be harmonized with similar collection networks in other parts of the world to support collaborative research studies and foster integrated educational opportunities.”
– Dr. Mike Gravett, GAPPS scientific director
Under a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant, GAPPS recently surveyed ongoing or planned research sites in low-resource settings that follow pregnant women and newborns. The study focused on the feasibility of clinical data and specimen collection for preterm birth, stillbirth, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia at sites in India and Bangladesh.

The goals of the project were to:

• Identify the resources and systems necessary to support a broader initiative of discovery science within high-impact countries
   
• Identify potential pilot projects for collecting high-quality maternal/neonatal biospecimens for research focused on improving maternal, fetal and neonatal health outcomes
   
• Gauge interest among the broader local/regional research communities in using maternal specimens and data to answer multiple research questions
   
• Identify barriers to establishing large-scale collections in low-resource settings

In addition to laying the groundwork for continued work with in-country partners, the project resulted in an effective collection assessment tool for evaluating research sites that follow pregnant women and newborns. This tool has been subsequently used for an INTERGROWTH-21st project in Thailand, Kenya and The Gambia, with GAPPS as a subcontractor.