Dr. Grantz' overarching research goal is to provide evidence for improved clinical management of pregnancy complications, including fetal growth and labor and delivery management with a focus on when to deliver a high-risk pregnancy. Fetal growth is a one of the earliest indicators of health. However, classifying “optimal” growth and distinguishing from suboptimal to identify individuals at each spectrum for clinical intervention remains a challenge. Dr. Grantz’s research addresses this important data gap using several approaches, including generating fetal growth standards for application in clinical practice, investigating the role of fetal growth velocity, and examining the benefits of customized and individualized fetal growth references. She is expanding on this work as the PI of the NICHD Fetal 3D Study to investigate fetal body composition, including lean and fat tissue, and visceral volumes that may be important predictors of birth weight, neonatal anthropometrics and morbidity that may not be otherwise apparent until birth.

She also is leading work in the Consortium on Safe Labor (CSL) study to inform national and international clinical guidelines. Building on findings from observational data, Dr. Grantz is leading a randomized trial with a response adaptive randomization to determine the optimal time to initiate delivery for uncontrolled GDM-complicated pregnancies, in The Study of Pregnancy And Neonatal health (SPAN). Her future research continues the goal of changing clinical practice, ultimately to decrease in perinatal morbidity and mortality on a population level.