Tufts MC True Blue Recipient: Executive Director of the Mother Infant Research Institute Diana W. Bianchi, MD
Nomination from Vice President of Research Administration Susan Blanchard:
“We are so proud of Dr. Bianchi's innovative work here at Tufts Medical Center. The overall focus of her laboratory is on developing safer techniques of prenatal diagnosis and new approaches to fetal treatment, particularly for Down syndrome. Dr. Bianchi receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and industry partners in support of her important and relevant work.
“On February 27, 2014, Dr. Bianchi was lead author on a pivotal research paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The paper was titled “DNA Sequencing versus Standard Prenatal Aneuploidy Screening.” In the article, Dr. Bianchi and her collaborators demonstrated that a DNA test of a pregnant woman's blood is more accurate than current [more invasive] methods of screening for Down syndrome and other common disorders. This work has broad implications for pregnant women and may ultimately change the standard of care.
“To exemplify the excitement the paper caused in the medical and scientific community, the article received a tremendous amount of media coverage across the country. The New England Journal of Medicine is one of the highest cited and most respected peer-reviewed medical journals in the world.”
