Dr. Roberto Romero, chief of the Perinatology Research Branch (PRB) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine.  Dr. Romero is also a professor of  Molecular Obstetrics and Gynecology and Molecular Medicine and Genetics at WSU’s School of Medicine.

The Institute of Medicine, established by the National Academies, is recognized as a major resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on issues related to human health.  The Institute selects individuals who have made seminal contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health.  Election is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health.

“This is a weil-deserved recognition of Dr. Romero’s contributions, and Wayne State University’s School of Medicine is proud that Dr. Romero is part of the faculty of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” said School of Medicine Dean Robert Mentzer, M.D.  “The work conducted by the Perinatology Research Branch at Wayne State University, the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan is at the cutting edge of obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine.”

This unique branch, formed of clinical and basic scientists, has made contributions to address the health care problems of the population of Detroit. Investigators at the PRB and Wayne State University apply methods at the forefront of science to improve pregnancy outcomes and to study health and disease. The Perinatology Research Branch of NIH is a major asset for the state of Michigan.

Dr. Romero’s work focuses on the prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies with ultrasound and the prevention of preterm births, which is the most important challenge to modern obstetrics, costing the country $26 billion per year. Work done at WSU has established that subclinical infection is a major cause of premature birth, and that the human fetus plays a role in the initiation of labor.  Moreover, this work has established that fetal infection/inflammation is a risk factor for neurologic handicap and cerebral palsy.  Dr. Romero has developed new tests for the rapid detection of these subclinical infections and is now working on methods to reduce fetal brain injury.