The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will sponsor the first International Preeclampsia Summit, April 4 through 6 in Seattle. Participants will identify and prioritize treatments to prevent maternal and infant illness and death due to preeclampsia and eclampsia, particularly in the developing world. Preeclampsia affects at least 5 percent of all pregnancies, or more than 6 million births annually, and is a leading cause of maternal illness and death.

Thomas Easterling, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, is medical director for the Bellevue, Wash.-based Preeclampsia Foundation. The foundation is a non-profit organization established to reduce maternal and infant illness and death due to preeclampsia by supporting innovative research, raising public awareness, and helping women access safe reproductive technology, support, and care.

More information about preeclampsia research is available online at the Preeclampsia Foundation Organization.