Program competes for one of four $200,000 grant prizes in 2025

MELBOURNE, Fla. – June 12, 2024 – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that the Preeclampsia Foundation’s Take 10 for Preeclampsia Research program has been selected as a top 10 finalist in its Build Underserved Populations (UP) Trust Challenge. The national competition seeks to identify and support new and promising community-based strategies that leverage engagement to build trust and help increase participation by historically underserved populations (UP) in disease research and the adoption of medical care to detect, treat, and monitor diseases, conditions, and disorders.

“We are honored to be named a finalist in this distinguished challenge,” said Rolanda Hatcher-Gallop, manager of the Take 10 for Preeclampsia Research program. “The selection further bolsters the Preeclampsia Foundation’s goal to amplify the voices of Black preeclampsia survivors in research to further our understanding of this pregnancy disorder.”

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized by persistent high blood pressure and organ failure. The disorder, if left unmanaged, can lead to serious complications for both moms and babies. Preeclampsia affects 5-8% of all pregnancies and Black women are 60% more likely to experience the condition.

The Take 10 for Preeclampsia Research program, launched in May 2023, serves as a call-to-action designed by and for Black women to share their birth experiences with researchers through their enrollment in the foundation’s Preeclampsia Registry. The registry, a patient-driven “living” repository, allows women to safely submit their experiences and opt-in to multiple research studies in one place. Their input is collected and de-identified to be shared with researchers.

As a Build UP Trust Challenge finalist, the Take 10 program will receive $45,000 to fuel engagement activities to reach communities hardest hit by adverse outcomes and encourage women to share their experiences. Activities include funding the program’s Phase I initiative to host six “Gathering Table” events in different parts of the U.S. throughout 2024 and early 2025. Gathering Tables bring Black women of all ages and backgrounds together in a safe space to connect and share their birth experiences with each other as a form of awareness, advocacy, and empowerment, and to expose them to opportunities to participate in research by joining the Preeclampsia Registry.

“The Gathering Tables foster a therapeutic experience, providing women with community, support, and opportunities for healing and growth,” said Fathiyyah Doster, a preeclampsia survivor and Take 10 focus group who is planning her own Gathering Table. “Not only do they provide a safe and comfortable environment for Black women to discuss important topics, but they also represent a cultural norm of gathering over food and drinks while offering support to one another. Additionally, the Gathering Table allows for many reservations and issues of skepticism around medical research to be minimized by building trust and active solutions for Black women as a community.”

The Take 10 for Preeclampsia Research program now advances to Phase II of the Challenge and will compete for one of up to four prizes of up to $200,000. In Phase II, finalists and honorable mentions will further strengthen, implement, and test their proposed solutions and demonstrate how implementing their strategies improved trust, increased research participation, and/or expanded the adoption of existing and new tools and approaches to detect, treat, and monitor diseases, conditions, and disorders among members of minority health populations and populations with health disparities.

Finalists and honorable mentions will have the opportunity to submit Phase II proposals and pitch their solutions at an in-person demonstration event in June 2025 for the opportunity to win one of up to four prizes of up to $200,000.

For more information on the Take 10 for Preeclampsia Research program, visit www.preeclampsia.org/take10. To learn more about the NIH Build UP Trust Challenge, go to https://www.builduptrust.org/

About the Preeclampsia Foundation

The Preeclampsia Foundation is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2000 to improve the outcomes of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy by educating, supporting, and engaging the community, improving healthcare practices, and finding a cure.