The Mississippi Center of Excellence in Perinatal Research (MS CEPR) at the University of Mississippi Medical Center is supported as part of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence out of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Perinatal research encompasses the study of disease states that may occur during gestation and early post-natal development that result in long term consequences in the mother and offspring across their lifespan. Studies focus on the integrative relationships and health disparities among adverse pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and developmental programming of cardiovascular, renal, metabolic, and behavioral diseases.
This is an important area for research especially in light of the increasing evidence of long-term health consequences brought about by adverse fetal environment and subsequent low birth weight during pregnancy both for the mother and offspring. An adverse perinatal environment is thought to account at least in part for the development of obesity, cardiovascular, renal, and behavioral diseases later in life for the offspring, and predispose the mothers for increased risk of these diseases with aging.