NEO-LIFE · Non-invasive Enhanced Omics and AI-Led Insights in Fetal-maternal hEalth

According to Eurostat, fertility rates in the EU follow a progressive decline and thus are major contributors to EU’s demographic transformation with a drop at 1.46 live-births per woman (lbw), which is well below the 2.1 lbw needed to preserve the population size. Importantly, couples pursue parenthood at progressively older ages with maternal age at childbirth increasing to 30 years. While the epidemiological link between advanced maternal age and increased risks of subfertility, aneuploidy, adverse obstetric outcomes and perinatal complications is well established, conditions such as pregnancy loss, preterm delivery, low birth weight, hypertensive disorders and diabetes continue to pose significant acute and chronic health risks.There is an unmet need for maternal/fetal medical solutions to safeguard prenatal, perinatal and the lifelong health of the mother and the child. To improve reproductive healthcare in alignment with requirements set SDG3.1 we need to develop preventive over reactive medical solutions. However, progress in this domain is hindered by the siloed nature of expertise in reproductive medicine, genomics and machine learning. Barriers such as fragmented data formats, lack of standardized protocols for data collection/storage and limited integration of genomic data into broader research efforts further impede interdisciplinary collaboration along with the fact that clinicians, researchers and engineers operate within their own specialized domains.NEO-LIFE aims to tackle these challenges via implementation of a cross-disciplinary and collaborative approach, recognizing that the complexities of reproductive health, fetal-maternal medicine and precision genomics cannot be effectively addressed within isolated sectoral silos. By bridging expertise across clinical medicine, genomics, bioinformatics and AI, NEO-LIFE fosters a synergy that accelerates innovation and ensures that cutting-edge advancements translate into tangible healthcare solution.