Speaker:
Lei Fu, PhD, DABCC (Chem, Tox, Mol), F ADLM , FCACB. Clinical Biochemist. Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Program. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center.
Lei Fu: clinical biochemist, in the Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics Program, at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She completed her training at the McMaster University Clinical Chemistry Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. She was certified by the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. She was also certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry in all three disciplines, Clinical Chemistry, Toxicological Chemistry, and Molecular Diagnostics. She is actively engaged in clinical service, teaching, and research. Her research interests are focused on biomarkers in maternal and fetal health, and clinical applications of pharmacogenetics.
Overview:
Preeclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, affecting 3 – 5% of pregnancies. Biomarkers for timely and accurate identification of patients at risk of developing preeclampsia are extremely valuable to improve patient outcomes and safety. This lecture will describe the circulating biomarkers, various laboratory assays and their clinical applications in preeclampsia management throughout the pregnancy. The utility of multiple marker screening model for preeclampsia risk prediction in 1st trimester of pregnancy will be explained. The clinical implementation of sFlt-1: PlGF ratio testing for preeclampsia risk stratification and diagnosis in 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy will be discussed.
Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
- Understand the needs of biomarkers in the risk assessment for preeclampsia
- Describe different analytical methods in the measurement of PlGF & sFlt-1 and their clinical applications in preeclampsia
- Explain the considerations in clinical implementation of preeclampsia biomarkers