Leading micronutrient expert Dr. Kimberly O’Brien, a Professor of Human Nutrition at Cornell University and the 2025 recipient of the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award in Maternal-Fetal Nutrition, discusses what we know—and don't know—about iron requirements, metabolism, and use in pregnancy.

Dr. Phillip Bennett, a co-director of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Imperial College London, discusses a historic randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will test a vaginal probiotic's ability to reduce preterm birth risk.

Dr. Jamie Lo, an Associate Professor at Oregon Health & Science University, and Dr. Adam Crosland, an Assistant Professor at Oregon Health & Science University, discuss the risks of substance use, particularly cannabis, in pregnancy.

Winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Dr. Victor Ambros and Dr. Gary Ruvkun give a rare, extended joint interview about the road that led them to their discovery of miRNA in a roundworm, Dr. Ruvkun’s later discovery of miRNA in humans, how the scientists were both inspired at a young age by astronomy, what Dr. Ambros’ late father might have said about his son’s Nobel win, and a decades-old story from Dr. Ruvkun about a trip to Bolivia.

March of Dimes Chief Scientific Advisor Dr. Emre Seli and March of Dimes Senior Director of Research Operations Jonathan Cherry look back on MODCAST since its launch, and look forward to episodes in 2025.

Dr. Sam Mesiano, an investigator at the March of Dimes Ohio Collaborative Prematurity Research Center, discusses the enzyme that leads to progesterone withdrawal and labor in cases of infection-related preterm birth - and how this enzyme discovery can be used to revive progesterone therapy to delay or stop preterm birth.

Dr. Alexiane Decout, an assistant professor in immunology at the University of Warwick, and Dr. David MacIntyre, one of the directors of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Imperial College London, discuss the biological advantage of Lactobacillus Crispatus, the most in-demand of all vaginal microbiome bacteria, which is protective against preterm birth. Read the preprint here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.13.612838v1.full

March of Dimes Senior Director of Research Operations Jonathan Cherry on March of Dimes research grants and awards.