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Agnes Higgins Award in Maternal-Fetal Nutrition

March of Dimes

Award: A cash prize, a commemorative award reflecting the honor, and a presentation at the Pediatric Academic Society annual meeting

Areas of research: Maternal-fetal nutrition

Open to: Those candidates widely involved in maternal-fetal nutrition through teaching, research and/or clinical practice for at least five years

Note: The current cycle is open

Nomination window opens: April 20, 2026
Nomination window closes: September 16, 2026
Selection Committee meets: Planned mid to late October 2026
Awardee is announced: December 2026

AI Based Application Success Predictor

👶 1. Strong Focus on Maternal & Infant Health (Non-Negotiable)

Projects must directly address:
- Pregnancy, maternal health, fetal development, prematurity, or infant outcomes

Key priority areas:

Preterm birth
Maternal mortality/morbidity
Birth defects
Neonatal health
Health disparities

👉 General adult medicine or unrelated pediatrics → low success probability

🌍 2. Health Equity & Disparities Reduction (Top Predictor)

One of the strongest strategic priorities:
- Reducing inequities in maternal and infant outcomes

High-priority themes:

Racial disparities in maternal mortality
Access to prenatal care
Social determinants of health
Community-based maternal care

👉 Key question:
“Will this improve equitable maternal and infant outcomes?”

🔄 3. Translational & Population Health Impact (Critical)

March of Dimes strongly favors:
- Research with:
  - Real-world implementation potential
  - Population-level impact
  - Clinical or public health relevance

👉 Pure mechanistic/basic science without maternal-child application is less competitive.

🧬 4. Focus on Prematurity & Pregnancy Complications (Major Differentiator)

Historically high-success areas include:

Preterm birth mechanisms
Preeclampsia
Maternal-fetal inflammation
Placental biology
Neonatal complications

👉 Prematurity-related research aligns especially strongly with the mission.

👩‍⚕️ 5. Strong Clinical & Community Relevance

Competitive projects often involve:

Obstetrics
Neonatology
Midwifery
Community maternal care systems

👉 Clinically integrated research performs well.

🤝 6. Community Engagement & Public Health Partnerships

Strong preference for:
- Community-centered interventions
- Partnerships with:
  - health systems
  - local organizations
  - maternal health programs

👉 Community collaboration strengthens competitiveness substantially.

👩‍🔬 7. Early-Career Investigator Development (Major Priority)

March of Dimes strongly supports:
- Young investigators
- Career development in maternal-child health

👉 Career potential and mentorship quality are major evaluation factors.

📊 8. Strong Outcomes Measurement & Population Relevance

Competitive studies often measure:

Maternal outcomes
Infant survival
Gestational outcomes
Healthcare utilization
Health disparities

👉 Population-level relevance improves funding likelihood.

🚀 9. Innovation in Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Care

High-success innovation areas include:

Digital maternal health
Remote prenatal monitoring
Precision pregnancy medicine
Biomarkers for pregnancy risk
AI in obstetric prediction

👉 Innovation must be actionable and scalable.

🧪 10. Feasible, Scalable & Sustainable Design

Strong proposals include:

Realistic implementation plans
Scalable interventions
Clear dissemination pathways

👉 Small projects without broader applicability are less competitive.

🌐 11. Policy & Systems-Level Impact

Increasing emphasis on:

Maternal health policy
Healthcare access systems
Public health infrastructure
Medicaid/perinatal care systems

👉 Policy relevance is increasingly important.

📈 12. Potential for Long-Term Maternal-Child Health Impact

Successful projects often:

Generate data for:
- NIH funding
- large implementation trials
- national maternal health initiatives

👉 Sustainability and future impact matter greatly.

📊 Summary: Key Predictors (Ranked)

🔥 Highest impact factors:

Maternal-infant health focus
Health equity/disparities relevance
Translational/population health impact

⚖️ Major differentiators:

Prematurity/pregnancy complication relevance
Community engagement
Clinical/public health integration

📌 Supporting factors:

Early-career development
Innovation in maternal-fetal care
Policy/system relevance
Scalability and sustainability

💡 Insider Insight

Compared to NIH or general pediatric funders:

March of Dimes is:
👉 strongly focused on:
- maternal-child equity
- prematurity prevention
- public health implementation
- community impact

👉 Winning formula:
Maternal-child health project + equity focus + scalable community/clinical impact + translational relevance

✔️ What wins:

Prematurity and maternal mortality research
Community maternal health interventions
Pregnancy complication prediction/prevention
Equity-focused prenatal care projects
Population health maternal-child initiatives

❌ What struggles:

Non-maternal-child topics
Pure lab/basic science
Weak implementation relevance
Small projects without broader impact

Specialties

Gynecology

Reproductive Medicine

Pediatrics

Eligibility Requirements

To apply for the Agnes Higgins Award, candidates must have been widely involved in maternal-fetal nutrition through teaching, research, and/or clinical practice for at least five years; shown a demonstrable effect in raising the quality of maternal-fetal nutritional care through scholarly pursuits, research, education, and/or practice; and demonstrated an ability to apply maternal-fetal nutritional standards of practice and/or facilitate their implementation by others.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: March of Dimes

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: P.O. Box 5141 Boone, IA 50950

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