The National Institutes of Health has awarded The University of Iowa two grants for studies related to pregnancy. Both investigations will be led by Stephen Hunter, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a physician with UI Women's Health.

A three-year, $539,279 grant will fund efforts to develop a non-dietary treatment for maternal phenylketonuria (PKU) syndrome. Elevated phenylalanine in women with PKU can lead to serious mental and physical defects in a developing fetus. The condition is currently treated though diet, but foul taste, expense and restrictiveness make it difficult to tolerate.

A two-year, $150,000 grant, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will support development of a group B streptococcus vaccine. Strep B infection in a pregnant woman puts both the mother and developing fetus at risk of complications, including possible fetal death.