Viktor H. Ahlqvist, postdoc at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), receives 3,000,000 SEK in a Postdoctoral Grant from the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF) for the project "Advancing cardiovascular drug safety in pregnancy through cutting-edge computational statistics, causal inference, and drug-target genomics (DRUG-SAFE).
One in three pregnant women in Sweden uses medications that may pose a risk to the unborn child - yet knowledge about their effects is often lacking. Since pregnant women are usually excluded from drug research, critical safety data is missing, especially for cardiovascular medications, whose use is increasing.
Now, the DRUG-SAFE research project aims to change this. By analyzing large population registers and genetic data, researchers seek to determine which medications are safe during pregnancy and which may pose risks. The goal is to provide doctors and pregnant women with better decision-making tools to protect the child's health while ensuring essential treatments for the mother.
"It is a great honor that SSMF has awarded us this grant! With this support, we can now initiate research that we hope will improve the care of many women and children", says Viktor H. Ahlqvist.
In the long term, the project could lead to an automated system for drug safety evaluation and contribute to safer healthcare for pregnant women worldwide.
The Swedish Society for Medical Research , SSMF, is a non-profit association that is politically and religiously independent and has been working to support medical research since 1919. Its activities are based on gifts and donations from private individuals.
