Healthy Futures

U of L neuroscientist Dr. Gerlinde Metz and her team of student researchers are advancing our understanding of preterm birth and are leading the way for a healthy tomorrow.

By Dana Yates

Why do some women go into premature labour?

University of Lethbridge neuroscientist Dr. Gerlinde Metz has been searching for the answer for nearly a decade. Today, she is deepening her exploration with help from a new research grant, an international team of investigators and numerous student researchers at the University of Lethbridge.

Originally from Germany, Metz came to Canada purposely to conduct her research at the U of L’s acclaimed Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). An expert on the physiology of stress, Metz is now a principal researcher at the CCBN, a professor in the University’s Department of Neuroscience and a Senior Scholar of Alberta Innovates -Health Solutions (AIHS).

Metz is also a co-investigator on a new project that will examine various aspects of preterm birth. Led by University of Alberta researcher Dr. David Olson, the international group received more than $1 million in funding this fall from the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS). An initiative of Seattle Children’s, GAPPS supports innovative research and interventions to improve maternal, newborn and child health around the world.

Read the full story as published November 2012 | SAM