NIH IMPROVE Initiative Funds Two Additional Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence in Illinois and Pennsylvania

July 2, 2024
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced two additional Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence funded through NIH IMPROVE, (Implementing a Maternal health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone), thanks to funding secured by the Black Maternal Health Caucus (BMHC) through the federal appropriations process.

The University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh were selected to receive approximately $2 million in first-year funding. The grants, expected to last six years, will support critical research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and improve health outcomes from women throughout pregnancy.

The NIH IMPROVE Initiative was first launched in 2019 in response to BMHC Co-Chairs Underwood and Alma Adams (D-NC) meeting with then-NIH Director Francis Collins to urge the agency to do more to prioritize research that will help solve our maternal health crisis. Through the federal appropriations process, the BMHC has increased funding for the initiative five-fold since it was launched. NIH IMPROVE first launched its Centers of Excellence program in 2023 to support the development and evaluation of innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity.  

Co-Chair Lauren Underwood (D-IL) has worked alongside Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and U.S. Senators Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) to introduce the NIH IMPROVE Act, which would codify funding for this existing program for the next seven years.

The NIH IMPROVE Act would:

  • Authorize $53.4M annually for seven years to carry out the IMPROVE Initiative and support research on potential causes of maternal mortality and severe morbidity.
  • Approve research that would target disparities associated with maternal mortality and severe morbidity and aim to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths.
  • Additionally, the bill would also build an evidence base for improved care and outcomes in underserved maternal care deserts.

Underwood and Adams co-founded the BMHC in 2019 to advance federal solutions that save moms’ lives, including the Momnibus Act, their comprehensive legislation to end America’s maternal health crisis. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations. More than 80% of these deaths are preventable. 

The NIH IMPROVE Initiative announcement on this funding is available here. The full text of the NIH IMPROVE Act can be viewed here.

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