The Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment (CFDT) is an international leader in research that will lead to new and better treatments for many birth defects.

We are pioneering gene therapies that will cure rare diseases in the womb. We are the international leader in research into the mental and emotional effects of learning your baby will be born with a birth defect. We are the international leaders in research and follow-up care for children born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and other conditions that limit lung growth.

Our outcomes research team allows us to conduct large, unparalleled studies into the cause of birth defects and how treatment can impact long-term outcomes in an effort to develop better prevention and treatment strategies.

Our entire team is committed to research and strives to promote novel discoveries that lead to treatment breakthroughs

Research topics

• Complicated twin pregnancies
• Congenital heart disease
• Genetics
• Obstructive uropathy
• Prenatal and postpartum psychosocial care
• Prenatal neurologic diagnosis
• Pulmonary hypoplasia (with a focus on congenital diaphragmatic hernia and fetal lung lesions)
• Congenital diaphragmatic hernia
• Lung lesions
• Sacrococcygeal teratoma
• Spina bifida

Basic and translational research

Read more about our work in pre-clinical, translational research that fosters future discoveries and scientific breakthroughs:

• Birth Defects Biorepository: Research to determine the cause of birth defects and how treatment can impact the long-term outcome for those affected is essential to develop prevention and improved treatment strategies. Established by the CFDT and the Department of Surgery in collaboration with families, the Birth Defects Biorepository is a centralized place to collect and store biological samples from mothers, fathers, babies, children, and other family members to be used in future research studies.
• Center for Fetal Research: At the Center for Fetal Research, we explore how early development shapes lifelong health. We study conditions that affect babies before birth, as well as those that may appear later in childhood or adulthood, to discover new ways to care for children and families.
• In utero gene therapy and stem cell transplantation research