# UofU Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network: Clinical Centers

> **NIH NIH UG1** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2024 · $330,402

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The University of Utah has been one of the most productive sites in the NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units
(MFMU) Network over the past 27 years, contributing numerous concepts and protocols, large numbers of
well-characterized study participants, high-quality data, and multiple important secondary analyses resulting in
national presentations and high impact publications. The specific aim of this application is a successful
competitive renewal for the existing Utah Clinical Center as a member of the MFMU Network. The Utah Center
is consistently among the leading Network centers for screening, recruitment and data quality. Torri Metz MD
has served as the Utah center PI since early 2019. She has worked to ensure that the University of Utah –
Intermountain Healthcare (IHC) collaboration continues to be mutually beneficial, and given her long-standing
collaboration with the University of Colorado, was able to add them as a satellite site of the Utah Center in
early 2022. The 6 participating hospitals represent over ~20,000 deliveries per year in the Intermountain West
with a catchment area that includes Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, and
Montana. Importantly, Utah provides geographic diversity with potential participants from rural and frontier
locations who are at increased risk of maternal morbidity and mortality. Utah investigators have established
partnerships with leaders in our Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Native American communities to help
increase enrollment in clinical studies and further diversify our participants. We have a collaborative
relationship with the Utah Neonatal Research Network, which has contributed to our success in long-term
follow-up studies. Overall, 21 perinatal research personnel at UUHSC and IHC, and an additional 4 research
staff in Colorado, are specifically dedicated to MFMU studies. Coverage is available 24/7. Our staff are
dedicated clinical researchers, with a low turnover rate. The Utah center contributes to the science of the
MFMU and has submitted 28 proposals to the Network Steering Committee, of which 16 have been advanced
to full protocol status. Dr. Torri Metz (Utah Center PI) is the PI for two active MFMU protocols (GRAVID and
PASC-PREG), has numerous Network committee responsibilities, and has developed collaborations between
the MFMU Network and other NIH-funded clinical research networks. The addition of Dr. Kevin Watt (co-I)
brings expertise in obstetric pharmacology and pharmacokinetics in pregnant and lactating people.
The University of Utah is enthusiastically committed to continued participation in the NICHD MFMU Network,
as confirmed by multiple letters of support. The proven and continuing ability of Drs. Metz and Esplin to enlist
wide-spread participation by community obstetric providers and to attract/retain an excellent clinical research
staff are major factors in the success of the Utah site and will continue through the complet...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10818571
- **Project number:** 5UG1HD034208-30
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Torri D Metz
- **Activity code:** UG1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $330,402
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1996-05-01 → 2030-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10818571

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10818571, UofU Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network: Clinical Centers (5UG1HD034208-30). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10818571. Licensed CC0.

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