about premstem

research team

overview

  • Driving innovative and high-quality research
  • Designing novel technological solutions to clinical needs
  • Engaging stakeholders in the design, implementation and outcomes of our research
  • Navigating the complex regulatory frameworks for designing a neonatal therapy

Our researchers have vast experience in studying the mechanisms of perinatal brain injury and neurotherapeutic testing as evidenced by the hundreds of high impact outputs in this field from our nine research focused partners, including more than 25 on the application of stem cells in perinatal brain injury animal models.

PREMSTEM researchers at the 2021 annual meeting

translational research

The team has expertise in clinical trial design and implementation thanks to our network’s centres in Universiteit Maastricht, University Medical Center Utrecht, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Universitaetsklinikum Essen and Goeteborgs Universitet. At Universiteit Maastricht, the Laboratory of Pediatrics focuses on the improvement of adverse outcomes of vulnerable neonates and the group operates at the interface of scientific research and clinical care. The multidisciplinary team, consisting of medical and biomedical team members, has a strong track record in translational research and its clinical validation.

pharmaceutical expertise

PREMSTEM also includes the considerable experience of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., a pharmaceutical company with decades of experience in neonatology, and a highly regarded specialist in the development of advanced therapy medicinal products.

stakeholder advocacy

To support our stakeholder advocacy groups, the project team includes the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) and Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA). EFCNI and CPA are world leaders in stakeholder engagement and advocacy, improving research into perinatal brain injuries, improving clinical practice, and optimising the patient and caregiver experience. 

CPA is a not-for-profit organisation established by parents in 1945 that provides clinical services to over 6,000 clients with cerebral palsy in Australia. CPA is now known as the largest private philanthropic source of cerebral palsy research funds worldwide and allowed the establishment of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians. CPA’s research priorities, informed by its clients and their families, brings about meaningful research into the prevention, treatment and cure of cerebral palsy.

The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) brings together parents, healthcare experts from different disciplines, and scientists with the common goal of improving long-term health of preterm and newborn children. EFCNI’s vision is to ensure the best start in life for every baby. The organisation has a worldwide network spanning from patient and parent organisations in over 40 countries to healthcare professionals and politicians. In this project, EFCNI will build on the already existing network and start expanding it to additional stakeholders relevant for the topic.

technological advancement

The PREMSTEM team includes an academic partner and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) who are pioneering bedside brain monitoring of preterm infants, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM-U1273) and Iconeus. These partners are central to PREMSTEM’s aims to provide clinicians for the first time the ability to measure and monitor EoP with high specificity and specificity.

perinatal brain injury expertise

Our teams in Australia, CPA and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), bring world-class expertise into perinatal brain injury, from valuable preclinical modelling to the experiences and outcomes for infants and their families and caregiving networks.