Purdue University’s Women’s Global Health Institute (WGHI) has announced six pilot research grant awards aimed at solving critical problems in women’s health and quality of life, and one of recipients is Purdue Veterinary Medicine faculty member Viju Vijayan Pillai. Dr. Pillai is assistant professor of anatomic pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology. His project, like the other five, also holds promise for advancing Purdue’s efforts in interdisciplinary, translational research.

Dr. Viju Pillai

Dr. Pillai’s study, entitled, “Protease inhibitors in early pregnancy: regulation of implantation and maternal–fetal interaction by TKDPs,” will research protease inhibitors called trophoblast Kunitz domain proteins (TKDPs) needed for successful embryo implantation. Unbalanced protease activity can cause implantation failure or preeclampsia. Dr. Pillai’s project will use CRISPR gene editing in cell and animal models to dissect how TKDPs control protease activity at the maternal-fetal interface. The work will contribute to the understanding of pregnancy biology and inform strategies to improve maternal and fetal health.

Each of the 2025 WGHI pilot grant recipients will receive $15,000 in seed funding for interdisciplinary projects that span engineering, health sciences, nutrition and veterinary medicine. This year’s awards are made possible through the collaboration of the WGHI, Purdue Engineering Initiative in Engineering Medicine, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, College of Health and Human Sciences, the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Comparative Pathobiology.

Click here for more information, including a listing of the other five pilot research grant awards.