On 9 April, the University Children's Hospital of Cracow hosted a presentation devoted to the new research project, the aim of which is to investigate the risk of prematurity complications. It is the only project of this kind in Poland. It will be realised by the Children's Disease Clinic and the Department of Medical Genetics of the JU MC Chair for Paediatrics, supervised by Prof. Jacek J. Pietrzyk.

The aim of the project is to discover factors that will allow us to more precisely determine if a premature infant's genetic constitution increases the risk of certain complications; for instance, chronic lung disease and retinopathy of prematurity, which can lead to blindness. The NEOMICS programme will be conducted simultaneously in Kraków and Norway. It will be funded by the EEA and Norway grant (a total of 4 million PLN).

The research programme Prematurity epigenome and proteome as a clue for prediction of prematurity complications will broaden and deepen our knowledge in this field. First patients are currently being admitted (including 120 infants born before the 30th week of pregnancy). The goal of the programme is to provide a comprehensive assessment of abnormalities in the functioning of a premature infant on the molecular level. The analysis of DNA methylation, gene expression profiling and the amount of protein in cells will allow for an assessment of their influence on the occurrence of prematurity complications. The research will consist of two parts: an experimental one conducted in Norway under the supervision by Prof. Ola D. Saugstad, and a clinical one conducted under the supervision of Prof. Jacek J. Pietrzyk in the University Children's Hospital in Kraków. The latter part involves genetic research based on one of the most advanced molecular biology technologies – DNA microarray.

photos by Jerzy Sawicz