Prof. Chim Siu Chung, Stephen

BS, PhD

Our team has a keen interest in developing non-invasive markers for predicting preterm birth, a major contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Globally, over 13 million babies were born preterm (birth before 37 gestational weeks) each year. Many fetal organ systems, including the brain and lungs, need the final 3 weeks of pregnancy to develop fully. Thus, the early preterm birth <34 weeks is associated with poor neonatal outcomes, including respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage, long-term neurological disabilities and even neonatal death. It is estimated that 10 neonates die per minute world-wide as a result of preterm birth. Better prediction of preterm birth in women without preterm labor (asymptomatic) and with preterm labor (symptomatic) is a vital step to improving the management of this condition.

We have leveraged on the technological breakthrough brought forth by massively parallel sequencing (MPS). MPS has enabled us to explore the microbiomes and transcriptomes at an unprecedentedly high resolution and wide scope for markers. Clinically useful markers in maternal peripheral blood or in the female reproductive tract swab samples have been identified with promising potential to predict:

• spontaneous preterm birth after clinical intervention on women who are asymptomatic but at high-risk for preterm birth;
• spontaneous preterm birth among the symptomatic women.

Multi-centre studies pertinent to the further characterisation and development of these markers in different ethnic groups are underway.

Research Interest:

Non-invasive markers for predicting preterm birth in asymptomatic and symptomatic women