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Jan 27, 2025

Ob-gyn researchers receive funding to study pregnancy outcomes from frozen embryo transfers

Faculty, Fellows, Funding, Research

Fellow Trish Dinh and Professor Ellen Greenblatt earn one-year award for project from PSI Foundation

Headshots of Trish Dinh and Ellen Greenblatt
(photos supplied)
Trish Dinh (left) and Ellen Greenblatt
By Matthew Tierney

Trish Dinh, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellow in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, and Ellen Greenblatt, a professor in the department, have secured $89,000 in funding for their project that compares the pregnancy outcomes of two types of frozen embryo transfers: one with ovulation prior to transfer, one without.

In addition, they will test the accuracy of a new technique to determine placental health. Called TRIC, for “trophoblast retrieval and isolation from the cervix,” the technology enables a clinician to collect cells directly from the cervix around eight- or nine-weeks’ gestation. Testing these cells may predict complications like preeclampsia earlier than second trimester blood tests.

The PSI Foundation is a non-profit based in Ontario that evolved from a prepaid medical care plan — after it was replaced by OHIP — to a physician-centred charitable foundation that supports medical research.

Dinh and Greenblatt’s project is titled “The association of angiogenic markers in serum blood and trophoblast cervical samples in patients undergoing non-ovulatory and ovulatory frozen embryo transfer cycles: a prospective feasibility study.”

Dinh says...

This study could pave the way for cervical sampling to become a routine, non-invasive method for early pregnancy risk assessment. Earlier detection would allow for more proactive management strategies to improve outcomes for both mothers and babies, such as closer monitoring, early interventions or lifestyle modifications.

For the study, we’ll recruit women undergoing two different frozen embryo transfer protocols and collect both blood and non-invasive cervical samples at 8, 12, and 20 weeks of pregnancy. We’ll compare the results from these two methods to determine their accuracy in detecting markers of placental health. We’ll also follow these pregnancies through to delivery, to examine the obstetrical and neonatal outcomes. This will build on existing evidence to help clinicians optimize their approach for each protocol.

It's an incredible honour to be awarded this funding and a testament to the many individuals who have supported me along the way. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Ellen Greenblatt, my co-investigator, for her invaluable mentorship and expertise. My collaborations with the talented teams at Mount Sinai’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine department and the scientists at Sunnybrook have played a crucial role in shaping this project. It’s very exciting for me to be given the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to improving pregnancy outcomes.