Discovery and validation of prenatal biomarkers for improved outcome prediction and prognostication of congenital diaphragmatic hernia

• Applicant: Dr. Moritz Markel
• Subject Area: Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
• Term: from 2020 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442214979

Children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and their families deserve optimal counselling with accurate outcome prediction and prognostication at the time of the prenatal diagnosis. Currently, established imaging techniques are insufficient to serve these demands. CDH specific and individual biomarkers obtained from maternal body fluids (e.g. plasma) would address this knowledge gap and add substantially to the current diagnostic work up. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have the potential to meet these requirements. Therefore, the main objective of the proposed project will be to determine if circRNAs can be used as biomarkers for prenatal prognostication and severity assessment in CDH.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Canada
• Host: Professor Richard Keijzer, Ph.D.