NEW YORK, NY – May 23, 2017 /Press Release/ –– Researchers from the Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are collaborating with scientists from Brescia, Italy, on a research project for the advancement of maternal-child health.

The collaboration, called the “First 1,000 Days Project,” will investigate associations between prenatal environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and physiological changes in pregnancy by analyzing obstetrical, neonatal, and child outcomes. The researchers will collect samples and data from a cohort of mothers and children in Brescia, Italy, from conception through the first two years of the child’s life.

Additionally, the project will feature an educational campaign to encourage young couples and adolescents to make healthier choices for themselves and their future children. Brescia is located in the industrial region of northern Italy, a vibrant economic environment where historical pollution is still affecting the population’s health. Research conducted by Mount Sinai and the University of Brescia, and funded by the European Union and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, has already shown health impacts from environmental hazards among adolescents, workers and elderly residing in this region.

“Our innovative and multidisciplinary approach will allow us to better understand the relationship between infants’ health and the surrounding environment,” said Roberto Lucchini, MD, Professor of Occupational Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and at the University of Brescia. “With this understanding, we can develop more effective interventions to target exposures at the source. For example, we can consider the role of paternal and maternal workplace exposures, which is an understudied but very relevant aspect that may pose potential hazards for newborns.”

“This project represents a breakthrough effort to understand the environmental determinants of non-communicable diseases,” said Sergio Pecorelli, MD, PhD, President of Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Foundation, a not-for-profit scientific institution based in Milan, Italy, and Houston, aimed to promote research in the areas of prevention and translational medicine. “Moreover, we have the exciting opportunity to gather an international advisory board with multidisciplinary experts driving the design of the project. We are particularly happy to be partnering with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, given its long-standing collaboration with the University of Brescia.”

Women's Health Homepage