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MODCAST

March of Dimes

MODCAST is a podcast on the most impactful maternal and infant health research conducted today. MODCAST aims to bring scientists, doctors, donors, and families behind the laboratory doors for a fascinating look into the science that is changing, study by study, the story of moms and babies in the U.S. From interviews and news analysis to study discussions and more, MODCAST is the science community’s source for today’s preeminent research on moms and babies.
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20 episodes
monthly
Avg 46 min
English

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October 28 · 40 min
Dr. Ina Stelzer on Immune Changes in Spontaneous Preterm Birth
March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford collaborator Dr. Ina Stelzer, who is also an Assistant Professor at the University of California San Diego’s Department of Pathology, discusses her team’s recent findings showing stark differences in the immune system of women who experience spontaneous preterm birth compared to those who deliver term.
September 30 · 39 min
Dr. Sing Sing Way on the Benefits of Mouthwash Use in Pregnancy
March of Dimes Ohio Collaborative Prematurity Research Center coordinating principal investigator and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital infectious disease pediatrician Dr. Sing Sing Way discusses his team's new findings linking the use of mouthwash in pregnancy with dramatically reduced rates of preeclampsia, preterm birth, and chorioamnionitis.
August 26 · 36 min
Dr. Ophelia Yin on the Role of the Uterus in Preeclampsia
Dr. Ophelia Yin, an investigator at the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, on her recent research finding four new genes associated with cellular changes in the uterus during preeclampsia — findings that have helped widen the aperture of preeclampsia research past the placenta and into the uterus.
July 29 · 37 min
Dr. Christina Megli on the New Discovery of Macrophage Cells in the Amniotic Sac
Dr. Christina Megli, a 2025 March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award winner, discusses her discovery of 'first responder' macrophage immune cells in the amniotic sac in healthy pregnancy — a finding that may one day lead to new risk prediction tests and therapeutics to slow or prevent preterm birth.
June 24 · 41 min
Dr. Brice Gaudillière on the Potential of Aspirin + Lansoprazole to Stop Preterm Birth: A New Clinical Trial
Dr. Brice Gaudillière, an investigator at the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford, on an upcoming Randomized Controlled Trial he is heading that will test two common over the counter drugs — Aspirin and Prevacid, an acid reflux medication — as possible therapeutics to prevent spontaneous preterm birth.
May 27 · 34 min
Dr. Frank Lee on Why Tibetan Genes May Help Us Beat Preeclampsia
Dr. Frank Lee, a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a 2026 winner of a March of Dimes Discovery Grant, discusses his research on HIF2 gene suppression as a way to treat preeclampsia.
April 29 · 43 min
Dr. Thomas Jansson on the Placenta and Fetal Growth
Dr. Thomas Jansson, the 2026 winner of the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award in Maternal-Fetal Nutrition, the Vice Chair of Research for the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the department’s Florence Crozier Cobb Endowed Professor and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Sciences, discusses his research showing that contrary to popular belief, it is not the fetus, but a placental protein signaling hub called mTOR, that is the primary architect of fetal growth.
March 25 · 41 min
Dr. Leonard Zon on the Secrets of the Zebrafish
Dr. Leonard Zon, winner of the 2026 March of Dimes Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize, Director of the Stem Cell Research Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Grousbeck Professor of Pediatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses his career using the 1.5-inch zebrafish to study human disease.
February 25 · 40 min
Dr. Tomiko Oskotsky on the Big Moment for March of Dimes Data
Dr. Tomiko Oskotsky, who co-directs The March of Dimes Database for Preterm Birth Research, discusses the database’s recent wins: being chosen for a National Science Foundation AI program and launching an AI assistant called ChatPTB, or ChatPreTermBirth.
January 28 · 42 min
Dr. Rupsa Boelig on Aspirin Dosing for High-Risk Pregnant Women
Dr. Rupsa Boelig, a 2025 March of Dimes Discovery Research Grant winner and an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University, discusses her new study on the metabolism of aspirin in pregnant women with diabetes or a higher BMI. She hopes the study findings will shed light on whether these women may benefit from a higher aspirin dose to help prevent preeclampsia and/or preterm birth.
Dec 17, 2025 · 38 min
Dr. Catherine Spong on the New Texas Collaborative Prematurity Research Center
Dr. Catherine Spong, professor and chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and one of two principal investigators at the new March of Dimes Texas Collaborative Prematurity Research Center, discusses her career, research, and focus at the PRC: examining how nutrition, socioeconomic factors, the placenta, and bacterial vaginosis affect pregnancy outcomes.
Dec 17, 2025 · 33 min
Dr. Ramkumar Menon on the New Texas Collaborative Prematurity Research Center
Dr. Ramkumar Menon, professor and director of the division of basic and translational research in obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and one of two principal investigators at the new March of Dimes Texas Collaborative Prematurity Research Center, discusses his career and focus at the PRC: pregnancy-on-a-chip technology that simulates human pregnancy and will be used to validate drugs that may reverse preterm birth.
Nov 19, 2025 · 39 min
Dr. Lynne Sykes on A New Link Between Blood Type and Preterm Birth
Dr. Lynne Sykes, co-director of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Imperial College London, discusses her new paper detailing links between a woman’s blood type and her risk of spontaneous preterm birth depending on her gynecological and obstetrical history.
Oct 29, 2025 · 54 min
Dr. Wendy Kuohung on Finding New Medicines to Treat Preeclampsia
Dr. Wendy Kuohung, a 2025 March of Dimes Discovery Research Grant winner, discusses her original research to find novel therapeutics to treat preeclampsia associated with APOL1 gene variants.
Sep 24, 2025 · 1 hr 20 min
Dr. Sindhu Srinivas and Alexia Doumbouya on a Trial Testing the Impact of Doulas
March of Dimes Research Center for Advancing Maternal Health Equity investigator Dr. Sindhu Srinivas and doula Alexia Doumbouya discuss leading a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on whether doula integration throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum can decrease maternal depression and anxiety.
Aug 27, 2025 · 56 min
Dr. Lars Bode on the Untapped Potential of Human Milk
Dr. Lars Bode, the founding director of the Human Milk Institute at UC San Diego, the university’s Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Chair of Collaborative Human Milk Research, and a professor of pediatrics at the university, discusses human milk, informally known as breast milk, and all its healing properties—that are not only crucial for mothers and babies, but may benefit people of all ages.
Jul 30, 2025 · 1 hr 7 min
Prof. Dennis Lo on the Invention of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT)
Prof. Dennis Lo, the winner of the 2025 March of Dimes Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize and the inventor of non-invasive prenatal testing, or NIPT, discusses the road to the discovery, the power of cell free DNA to detect cancer, and one of the places in the world he still hasn't been.
Jun 25, 2025 · 40 min
Dr. Tony Capra and Dr. Marina Sirota on the Mystery of Spontaneous Preterm Birth
Dr. Tony Capra and Dr. Marina Sirota, scientists from the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center (PRC) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), discuss their foundational finding that spontaneous, or unplanned, preterm birth is fundamentally different from indicated preterm birth.
May 28, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
Dr. Diana Bianchi on Detecting Maternal Cancer with Cell-Free DNA
Dr. Diana Bianchi, a former March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Award winner, discusses the ability of prenatal testing to detect maternal cancer, her discovery of microchimerism, a potential prenatal therapeutic for Down syndrome, and whether the subjects in Vermeer's paintings were pregnant. This episode was recorded March 4, 2025. As of the episode air date in May 2025, Dr. Bianchi no longer held the position of director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Apr 30, 2025 · 57 min
Dr. Kimberly O’Brien on the Secret Life of Iron in Pregnancy
Leading micronutrient expert Dr. Kimberly O’Brien, a Professor of Human Nutrition at Cornell University and the 2025 recipient of the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award in Maternal-Fetal Nutrition, discusses what we know—and don't know—about iron requirements, metabolism, and use in pregnancy.

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