Around 1 in 10 pregnancies end with delivery before ‘full term’, and babies born prematurely risk long term physical or mental disability. Furthermore, of those babies that die shortly after birth, up to 65% were premature. In many cases, the cause of premature labour remains a mystery. This may be because the mechanisms controlling labour are poorly understood. As a consequence, present-day treatments for premature labour remain ineffective.

This team aims to improve our understanding of the mechanisms that control muscular contractions in the uterus. This could lead to the development of new treatments for premature labour, and help prevent one of the commonest causes of death and disability in modern society.