The Perinatal Research Center (PRC) is the longest standing research and educational program at the University of Colorado Denver’s Anschutz Medical Campus. Faculty who conduct studies at the Center are on the leading edge of research in maternal, placental, and fetal physiology.

The PRC supports the Division of Perinatal Medicine, which is managed by the Section of Neonatology and the Department of Pediatrics. Other primary participating research and educational programs include the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program, the Pediatric Heart Lung Center and the Laboratory for Lung Development.

Research at the PRC primarily involves reproductive and developmental physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. The research is conducted in pregnant sheep, an internationally recognized standard model for studying maternal, placental, and fetal physiology. The principal aims of the research are to better understand the processes involved in fetal growth and development and the mechanisms that regulate such growth and development under normal and pathological conditions. Additionally, the studies of fetal growth provide a greater understanding of how aberrant fetal growth can lead to poor reproductive outcome (such as intrauterine growth restriction), neonatal disease (such as persistent pulmonary hypertension), and adult disorders that have their origins during fetal life (such as obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease). All of the research is supported by nationally competitive grants.