University of Zurich
Universität Zürich (University of Zurich, UZH) is one of Europe’s leading research universities and a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU). With internationally recognized strengths in medicine, the natural sciences, business, and economics, UZH has a long tradition of scientific excellence, reflected in numerous awards and 12 Nobel Prizes awarded to its faculty and alumni.
Within IMPROVE PRETERM, UZH contributes specialized expertise in neonatology, epidemiology, and health data infrastructure. Newborn Research Zurich from the Department of Neonatology serves as the key partner, coordinating the Swiss Neonatal Network & Follow-up Group, which manages SwissNeoNet – the national medical registry covering all very preterm infants born in Switzerland.
As an associated partner, UZH supports data integration, quality assurance, and the long-term sustainability of the project’s data resources. The team also contributes to the development of comparative effectiveness research use cases and works to strengthen long-term outcome monitoring for very preterm children, particularly at early school age.
Mark Adams
I hold a diploma in microbiology/biochemistry and a doctorate in epidemiology/biostatistics from the University of Zurich. I manage SwissNeoNet, am responsible for quality assurance in Swiss neonatal intensive care units, and conduct research in the field of newborn healthcare and epidemiology in Switzerland. I represent SwissNeoNet’s interests in international networks and chair a Swiss non-profit foundation dedicated to children’s healthcare.
Giancarlo Natalucci
I am an assistant professor at the University of Zurich (since July 2019) and I work as a neonatologist (staff member) at the University Hospital Zurich (Department of Neonatology). Since 2019 I have been leading the NGN Research Center for neurodevelopment, growth and nutrition of the newborn in both institutions.
During my clinical training, I specialized in developmental and behavioral pediatrics and neonatology, with the aim of better understanding how to improve the development of at-risk newborn infants and better support their parents. Since 2008 I have coordinated the national follow-up program for newborns at risk.
My research background spans four areas focused on the neurodevelopment of high-risk infants: neuro-monitoring and neuro-protection in the neonatal intensive care unit, long-term neurodevelopment and quality of life for preterm-born children. In my current role as assistant professor, I embarked on a project on the association between early nutrition and neurodevelopment, with a special interest in human milk and other non-nutritive environmental factors. For this reason, I created a research group working on both clinical (USZ) and basic science (Schlieren Campus) projects.
Maria Martí Prieto
Carolyne Huang
