It's been a year since Magee Womens Research Institute announced plans to expand into Erie, fueled by a 6-million dollar grant from the Erie Community Foundation.  The Institute joined with Penn State Behrend as a research partner to begin studies and clinical trials aimed at improving women's health here.

Dr. Halina Zyczynski, Medical Director for the Institute here said it's been an exciting year, and a number of studies are already underway including a study comparing the health of women delivering babies at UPMC Hamot, with those delivering babies at Magee Pittsburgh. That study is gathering data on factors including obesity, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure. "Women who tend to unmask this in pregnancy are very likely, we have learned, to live with those consequences in their 40’s, 50’s and onward," said Dr. Zyczynski.  "Learning now and doing something about it when you’re in your 20's and 30's can actually change your vision, how your kidneys work and how your heart works in the future."

They're also doing a "Heart Health 4 New Moms" research study aimed at getting women to take action improve their weight and blood pressure in the year following delivery. "It’s a great study where women with that profile essentially are enrolled and randomized to either standard of care or online lifestyle coach focused on checking blood pressure, giving dietary guidance, exercise encouragement and the full spectrum of lifestyle intervention that can make these women healthier not just immediately but on a long term basis, Dr. Zyczynski said. 

Magee Women's Research Institute is also banking and freezing women's donated blood and placentas for future research projects.

At Penn State Behrend, they've hired two research focused professors, Ashley Russell and Jeremiah Keyes, both Assistant Professors of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, who are already teaching and working to develop two brand new labs.

According to Dr. Ivor Knight, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, one lab in the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center or AMIC in Knowledge Park will be completed in November. "It will have an advanced microscopy room and the ability to grow cells for research and it’s going to be a game changer for us in terms of research at Behrend," he said. The other, a teaching lab in the Science Complex, should be completed in December.  

It all adds up to new research opportunities for students at Penn State Behrend who are interested in medicine, and the hope for results that will benefit women's health in the region for years to come.

Researchers from Magee Womens Research Institute in Pittsburgh will join the medical staff in Erie and researchers at Penn State Behrend next week to brainstorm on future research projects that will be funded with seed grant money.  Those that do well could attract federal research grant funds in the future.