David Westergaard

Project title

Cell-free DNA Analysis of Pregnancy Loss: Computational Frameworks for Women's Reproductive Health

What is your project about?

Pregnancy loss affects around one in four pregnancies, and for thousands of Danish women the cause remains unknown. My project looks for answers by examining the mother's overall health and how her body copes with the physiological strain of pregnancy.  

A pregnant woman's blood carries millions of tiny DNA fragments released from organs such as the liver, kidneys and placenta. They act as real-time messages and form a biological fingerprint of how the organs are functioning. Using new statistical methods and artificial intelligence, we analyse these fingerprints alongside thousands of other biomarkers, such as proteins, and link the strain on the organs to how the pregnancy unfolds.  

This approach may show that 'unexplained' loss in fact reflects several different biological causes, opening the way to more precise answers.

How did you become interested in your particular field of research?

I have always been curious, especially about the natural world and about technology. It has also mattered to me that my research can be put to use in ways that help people, which has naturally drawn me closer to clinical settings. My focus on pregnancy loss arose when I realised how limited the existing knowledge is.

Pregnancy loss affects a great many people, and yet families are often left without an answer. At the same time, I believed I could make a difference here with my professional background. That is what drives me: to apply methods from data-driven research to a question that matters to many people, but where we still know far too little.

What are the scientific challenges and perspectives in your project?

Pregnancy loss is complex. Around half of cases are caused by genetic anomalies in the foetus, but for the other half we genuinely do not know the cause. It is unlikely to be a single cause, but rather many different ones, currently grouped together under the label 'unexplained'.  

A particular difficulty in my project is to separate cause from consequence, that is, whether strain on an organ helps trigger the loss or is merely a sign of it.  

If we succeed, we can begin to divide the unexplained half into biologically meaningful subgroups.

What is your estimate of the impact, which your project may have to society in the long term?

The most immediate perspective is biological insight: a better understanding of the processes that take place around a pregnancy loss. That is valuable in itself in a field where our knowledge today is limited.  

In the longer term, the hope is that this insight can be translated into something concrete for women and families, for example tests that can identify increased risk early, or in time treatments.  

The same methods can also be applied to other serious pregnancy complications, an area that has historically been under-researched and that is often linked to women's health later in life.

Which impact do you expect the Sapere Aude programme will have on your career as a researcher?

For me, Sapere Aude is first and foremost the chance to pursue one ambitious idea over several years rather than spreading myself across many small projects. Ideas of that kind carry real risk and are hard to fund by other routes, because the outcome is not given in advance. The programme also marks a step towards leading my own independent research, and it gives me the visibility and credibility needed to build a lasting line of research and attract future collaborators and funding to carry the work forward.