2010 March of Dimes names six year-old boy, Joshua Hoffman the 2010 National Ambassador. Joshua was born over 4 months early, weighning just 1 poun, 11 ounces. (VIDEO)
2010 May 3: Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, the scientist who reprogrammed adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells has been chosen to receive the 2010 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
2010 August 11: Sherri Shepherd, March of Dimes celebrity volunteer and co-host of "The View," won $50,000 for the March of Dimes, her favorite charity, on a special 10th anniversary edition of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," hosted by Regis Philbin.
2010 December 15: Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy: Enhancing Perinatal Health through Quality, Safety, and Performance Initiatives (TIOP III) is released. The report redefines maternal and child care and offers ideas for moms, doctors, nurses, and hospitals to make pregnancy care more standardized and accessible nationwide, so that every mom and baby in every state gets the best possible care.
2011 January 19: March of Dimes selects six year-old girl, Lauren Fleming of Marvin, N.C., to be the 2011 National Ambassador. Lauren spent the first five months of her life in the NICU after being born 3 1/2 months early, weighing on 2 pounds, 1 ounce. (VIDEO)
2011 February 4: The FDA approves hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection (17P) to be used to help prevent preterm birth. The maker of the drug Makena, Ther-Rx Corporation, comes under fire as they list the price of the drug at $1,500 per shot. Compounding pharmacies had previously listed the cost of the drug around $10-$20 per shot.
2011 March 30: March of Dimes and Stanford University launch the first ever transdisciplinary research center. This is the first partnership that eventually forms the Prematurity Reseach Center collaborative. (VIDEO)
2011 April 1: Ther-Rx corporation reduces the list price of Makena to $690 per shot. March of Dimes exercises their right to terminate its contract with Ther-Rx and severs all professional relationships with the company.
2011 April 13: March of Dimes launches its "March for Babies Fundraising" iPhone app. The app syncs with the user's online profile and allows them to fundraise from their phone.
2011 May 2: Two scientists, Patricia Ann Jacobs, OBE, DSc, FRS and David C. Page, MD, who pioneered research on the X and Y chromosomes have been chosen to receive the 2011 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
2011 June 7: March of Dimes launches "Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait" educational campaign. The campaign is designed to reduce non-medically necessary early elective c-sections and to promote the importance of going at least 39 weeks if mother and baby are healthy.
2011 July 6: The March of Dimes has launched a new online Prematurity Prevention Resource Center (PPRC) that combines all its valuable materials on prematurity into one section of its web site.
2011 November 17: The first World Prematurity Day is commemorated on November 17 with participation by March of Dimes partners around the world.
2012 January 17: March of Dimes names 5 year-old boy, Kieran Wittstruck of Seattle, Washington, the 2012 National Ambassador. Kieran was born two months premature. (VIDEO)
2011 November 17: The first World Prematurity Day is commemorated on November 17 with participation by March of Dimes partners around the world.
2012 January 17: March of Dimes names 5 year-old boy, Kieran Wittstruck of Seattle, Washington, the 2012 National Ambassador. Kieran was born two months premature. (VIDEO)
2012 January 19: March of Dimes launches Prematurity Prevention Network in partnership with U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.
2012 February 16: March of Dimes launches "Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait" program in Newark, NJ. The community based program aims to help African-American babies, who are more likely to be born premature than white babies.
2012 April 2: Legendary heavy metal singer, Dee Snider, wins $325,000 on behalf of March of Dimes, while participating in NBC's television show "The Celebrity Apprentice". Two of Dee's four children were born preterm.
2012 April 4: March of Dimes launches imbornto campaign. The first annual campaign’s goal is to increase awareness of the mission of the Foundation and to widen its relevance to a greater number of individuals as well as raise money for the organization’s vital research and programs. (VIDEO)
2012 April 30: Two scientists, Howard Green, MD and Elaine Fuchs, PhD, who have revolutionized the understanding of skin biology, creating crucial advances in treating skin cancers and other diseases as well as severe burns, receive the 2012 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
2012 May 2: March of Dimes releases a report titled "Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth". The report contains the first-ever estimates of preterm birth rates by country. The United States ranks 131st in the world.
2012 July 26: March of Dimes launches a free iPad app version of the "My 9 Months" magazine.
2012 August 15: Edward R.B. McCabe, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized expert in pediatrics and genetics has been named Senior Vice President and Medical Director.
2012 October 9: Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, who received the 2010 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology for programming adult skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells, has been selected as the co-recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
2012 October 11: World renown singer, Celine Dion, partners with March of Dimes to raise awareness for World Prematurity Day. (VIDEO)
2012 October 18: March of Dimes honors legendary golfer, Arnold Palmer, for over 40 years of service to March of Dimes.
2012 December 11: Congress passes the March of Dimes Commemorative Coin Act. The legislation authorizes the U.S. Mint to strike up to 500,000 silver $1 commemorative coins in 2015 to mark the March of Dimes 75th Anniversary. A surcharge of $10 added to the coin’s cost will go to the March of Dimes.
2013 The March of Dimes commemorates its 75th anniversary.
2013 The March of Dimes commemorates its 75th anniversary.
2013 March of Dimes names 7 year old Nina Centofanti as the 2013 National Ambassador. Nina was born nine weeks early, weighing less than three pounds. (VIDEO).
2013 February 19: March of Dimes launches “CineMama” app, enabling women to create a time-lapse video of their pregnancy while getting health tips along the way.
2013 March 8: Eric N. Olson, Ph.D., a scientist whose research suggests potential cures for heart disease and treatment for heart defects – the most common type of birth defects – receives the 2013 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
2013 May 21: March of Dimes launches a new prematurity research center. The Ohio Collaborative consists of three major Ohio universities and four area hospitals.(VIDEO)
2013 June 5: Actress and mother of two Sarah Michelle Gellar is joining March of Dimes and Sanofi Pasteur on the Sounds of Pertussis® Campaign to help raise awareness about pertussis, also known as whooping cough, and the importance of adult vaccination. Pertussis is on the rise across the U.S., and infants and young children may be most vulnerable.
2013 September 30: March of Dimes enhances and relaunches shareyourstory.org. The March of Dimes ShareYourStory online community has re-launched with new features to help parents with a sick newborn move through difficult emotions, cope with loss and grief, and begin to heal.
2014 January 24: March of Dimes names six year old New Hampshire boy, Aidan Lamothe, the 2014 National Ambassador. Aidan was born 11 weeks early. (VIDEO)
2014 March 3: Donald Anderson, the first National Infantile Paralysis Foundation poster child, passes away at age 73.
2014 March 18: March of Dimes launches nacersano.org, a Spanish language website designed to provide education and information to expecting mothers.
2014 May 5: Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D, a pediatric neurologist whose breakthrough research identified genetic mutations that cause Rett syndrome and many other neurological disorders will receive the 2014 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
2014 September 11: After using the .com domain for the past 12 years, March of Dimes' website switches over to the .org domain.
2014 September 17: Anne Geddes donates an image of "Baby Alfred" to March of Dimes to help bring awareness to the global problem of preterm birth. (VIDEO)
2014 November 6: The national preterm birth rate fell to 11.4 percent in 2013 – the lowest in 17 years -- meeting the federal Healthy People 2020 goal seven years early.
2014 November 10: Washington University, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and March of Dimes officials announced the launch of a new March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center. (VIDEO)
2104 November 16: The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the March of Dimes Foundation announce the launch of a new Prematurity Research Center. (VIDEO)
2014 November 28: The March of Dimes thanks celebrity volunteer Michael Gelman for helping raise awareness and $10,000 for premature babies by playing the nationally syndicated quiz show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire for the Foundation. The father of a young daughter born prematurely, Mr. Gelman selected the March of Dimes as his charity of choice for his winnings from the show.
2015 January 13: March of Dimes names Elijah Jackson the 2015 National Ambassador. The 12 year old Chicago boy was born nearly four months premature. (VIDEO)
2015 March 11: March of Dimes legacy from conquering polio to championing the health of babies is celebrated on a new 2015 commemorative coin, minted in honor of the organization’s more than 75 years of life-changing achievements. The silver dollar coin, authorized by act of Congress, features a president and a scientist, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dr. Jonas Salk, on the coin’s head or obverse side. The coin’s reverse is the image of a baby being cuddled in the hand of its parent.
2015 April 27: Rudolf Jaenisch, MD, who laid the groundwork for the development and use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells – stem cells derived directly from adult tissue -- to potentially treat and cure a variety of human diseases, has received the 20th anniversary March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
2015 June 2: The March of Dimes, University of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Duke University School of Medicine today announced the launch of a new March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center that will focus its efforts on identifying the regulatory genes responsible for ensuring a pregnancy continues to full-term and how stress can influence those genes.
2015 November 11: A new, integrated online database of genes and other information related to pregnancy has been developed by March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center investigators to help fine-tune questions, theories, and experiments to uncover the unknown causes of preterm birth. The new database, called GEneSTATION, is a resource designed to help researchers leverage the growing knowledge of the human genome and its function to advance their understanding of the triggers for full-term, as well as preterm labor.
2015 December 15: March of Dimes names Ismael Torres-Castrodad the 2016 National Ambassador. Born five weeks prematurely, Ismael is the first child from Puerto Rico to be named National Ambassador. (VIDEO)
2016 May 2: Victor R. Ambros, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Gary Ruvkun, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, have been awarded the 2016 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology. The Prize recognizes their pioneering co-discovery of an unanticipated world of the tiniest genes, microRNAs (or miRNAs), and the mechanism by which they regulate their targets.
2016 May 2: Victor R. Ambros, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Gary Ruvkun, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, have been awarded the 2016 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology. The Prize recognizes their pioneering co-discovery of an unanticipated world of the tiniest genes, microRNAs (or miRNAs), and the mechanism by which they regulate their targets.
2016 Summer: March of Dimes launches #ZapZika campaign to bring awareness to the Zika virus. The virus is discovered to cause birth defects in babies born to women infected with the virus.
2016 December: Dr. Jennifer Howse retires after serving as President since 1990. Stacey D. Stewart is selected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the Organization's fifth President.
2016 December 14: Paul E. Jarris, MD, MBA, a nationally known expert in national healthcare policy, clinical quality initiatives, and disease prevention and wellness, has been named Chief Medical Officer at the March of Dimes Foundation, effective February 15, 2017.
2017 January 1: Stacey Stewart begins her term as the organizations fifth President and CEO. She is the first African American woman to lead the organization.
2017 March 17: A new collaborative of 200 leading maternal and child health organizations and experts nationwide, including parents and community groups, has been created by the March of Dimes to foster communities in which newborns, especially the most vulnerable, can get the healthiest start to life possible.
2017 April 11: Scientists funded in part by the March of Dimes have identified a “weak spot” in one of the Zika virus proteins that could provide a target for new drugs to fight the disease.Jikui Song, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside, and his team studied the structure and function of the Zika protein NS5 (non-structural protein 5), one of just 10 proteins that make up the Zika virus particle. The NS5 protein is crucial to the life cycle of Zika, helping the virus replicate itself. NS5 also participates in helping the virus evade the host immune system.
2017 May 8: For his pioneering research that holds great promise to help prevent and treat premature birth, birth defects and other threats to the health of children, C. David Allis, PhD, the Joy and Jack Fishman Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics at The Rockefeller University in New York, has been awarded the 2017 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology.
2017 September 6: A massive DNA analysis of pregnant women has identified six gene regions that influence the length of pregnancy and the timing of birth. The findings, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, may lead to new ways to prevent preterm birth and its consequences—the leading cause of death among children under age 5 worldwide. The study, coordinated by Louis Muglia, MD, PhD, co-director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's and principal investigator of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center--Ohio Collaborative, together with Bo Jacobsson, MD, PhD, of Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, involved data from more than 50,000 women.
2018 March 7: March of Dimes and Ferring Pharmaceuticals announce that March of Dimes has selected Imperial College London as the first European partner to join its network of Prematurity Research Centers working to find the unknown causes of preterm birth and new ways to prevent it.
2018 April 25: March of Dimes announces the formation of a new advocacy network, March of Dimes MOMentum. Launched with funding from Gretchen Carlson's Gift of Courage Fund, MOMentum will combine March of Dimes' work leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies with national board of trustees member Carlson's commitment to bolstering women and their futures.
2018 May 7: For his pioneering research into critical aspects of female reproductive health, Allan C. Spradling, Ph.D., of the Carnegie Institution for Science has received the 2018 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr. MD Prize in Developmental Biology.
2018 June 8: New research funded by March of Dimes has found biomarkers in maternal blood that accurately identified pregnant women who would go on to deliver babies up to two months prematurely.
2018 September 18: Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, who gained national recognition for his work as public health commissioner for West Virginia, has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Medical and Health Officer at March of Dimes.
2018 October 10: March of Dimes launches #BlanketChange (VIDEO), a powerful advocacy campaign designed to cultivate awareness about the urgent health crisis moms and babies face – including increased rates of maternal mortality and preterm birth – and inspire advocacy and action in support of March of Dimes’ Blanket Change Agenda.
2018 December 17: March of Dimes moves its headquarters from White Plains, New York to Arlington, Virginia.
2019 March 13: Scientists funded by the March of Dimes have developed a new technique called electromyometrial imaging (EMMI) to display a color-coded, three-dimensional picture of uterine contractions that may one day help doctors identify and prevent preterm labor. (VIDEO)
2019 May 7: March of Dimes launches #UnspokenStories, a supportive community that gives voice to all experiences around pregnancy, parenthood and loss. This new initiative aims to provide women, men and families a platform to connect and speak honestly. Kicking off just before Mother’s Day, #UnspokenStories will celebrate and support families in communities across the country to build awareness of the organization as we provide the advocacy, education, research and programs they need.
2019 June 17: A new study involving March of Dimes grantee Misty Good, MD, MS, and a team led by Timothy W. Hand, PhD, Michael J. Morowitz, MD, and colleagues, finds that antibodies found in breastmilk are necessary to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
2019 July 19: March of Dimes launched a new podcast, "Unspoken Stories: A March of Dimes Podcast", hosted by actress Tatyana Ali. The podcast highlights the real and honest stories of pregnancy, parenthood and loss that are too often left unshared.
2019 November 15: To mark World Prematurity Day on November 17th, March of Dimes launched the #ItsNotFine campaign to improve public awareness of the maternal and infant health crisis. (VIDEO) The slogan, “It’s not fine” challenges women to not accept the refrain, “You’ll be fine” prenatal and postpartum. The multi-platform campaign promotes the #ItsNotFine message across digital, print, social media, and on television.
2016 December: Dr. Jennifer Howse retires after serving as President since 1990. Stacey D. Stewart is selected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the Organization's fifth President.
2016 December 14: Paul E. Jarris, MD, MBA, a nationally known expert in national healthcare policy, clinical quality initiatives, and disease prevention and wellness, has been named Chief Medical Officer at the March of Dimes Foundation, effective February 15, 2017.
2017 January 1: Stacey Stewart begins her term as the organizations fifth President and CEO. She is the first African American woman to lead the organization.
2017 March 17: A new collaborative of 200 leading maternal and child health organizations and experts nationwide, including parents and community groups, has been created by the March of Dimes to foster communities in which newborns, especially the most vulnerable, can get the healthiest start to life possible.
2017 April 11: Scientists funded in part by the March of Dimes have identified a “weak spot” in one of the Zika virus proteins that could provide a target for new drugs to fight the disease.Jikui Song, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside, and his team studied the structure and function of the Zika protein NS5 (non-structural protein 5), one of just 10 proteins that make up the Zika virus particle. The NS5 protein is crucial to the life cycle of Zika, helping the virus replicate itself. NS5 also participates in helping the virus evade the host immune system.
2017 May 8: For his pioneering research that holds great promise to help prevent and treat premature birth, birth defects and other threats to the health of children, C. David Allis, PhD, the Joy and Jack Fishman Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics at The Rockefeller University in New York, has been awarded the 2017 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Prize in Developmental Biology.
2017 September 6: A massive DNA analysis of pregnant women has identified six gene regions that influence the length of pregnancy and the timing of birth. The findings, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, may lead to new ways to prevent preterm birth and its consequences—the leading cause of death among children under age 5 worldwide. The study, coordinated by Louis Muglia, MD, PhD, co-director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's and principal investigator of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center--Ohio Collaborative, together with Bo Jacobsson, MD, PhD, of Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, involved data from more than 50,000 women.
2018 March 7: March of Dimes and Ferring Pharmaceuticals announce that March of Dimes has selected Imperial College London as the first European partner to join its network of Prematurity Research Centers working to find the unknown causes of preterm birth and new ways to prevent it.
2018 April 25: March of Dimes announces the formation of a new advocacy network, March of Dimes MOMentum. Launched with funding from Gretchen Carlson's Gift of Courage Fund, MOMentum will combine March of Dimes' work leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies with national board of trustees member Carlson's commitment to bolstering women and their futures.
2018 May 7: For his pioneering research into critical aspects of female reproductive health, Allan C. Spradling, Ph.D., of the Carnegie Institution for Science has received the 2018 March of Dimes and Richard B. Johnston, Jr. MD Prize in Developmental Biology.
2018 June 8: New research funded by March of Dimes has found biomarkers in maternal blood that accurately identified pregnant women who would go on to deliver babies up to two months prematurely.
2018 September 18: Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, who gained national recognition for his work as public health commissioner for West Virginia, has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Medical and Health Officer at March of Dimes.
2018 October 10: March of Dimes launches #BlanketChange (VIDEO), a powerful advocacy campaign designed to cultivate awareness about the urgent health crisis moms and babies face – including increased rates of maternal mortality and preterm birth – and inspire advocacy and action in support of March of Dimes’ Blanket Change Agenda.
2018 December 17: March of Dimes moves its headquarters from White Plains, New York to Arlington, Virginia.
2019 March 13: Scientists funded by the March of Dimes have developed a new technique called electromyometrial imaging (EMMI) to display a color-coded, three-dimensional picture of uterine contractions that may one day help doctors identify and prevent preterm labor. (VIDEO)
2019 May 7: March of Dimes launches #UnspokenStories, a supportive community that gives voice to all experiences around pregnancy, parenthood and loss. This new initiative aims to provide women, men and families a platform to connect and speak honestly. Kicking off just before Mother’s Day, #UnspokenStories will celebrate and support families in communities across the country to build awareness of the organization as we provide the advocacy, education, research and programs they need.
2019 June 17: A new study involving March of Dimes grantee Misty Good, MD, MS, and a team led by Timothy W. Hand, PhD, Michael J. Morowitz, MD, and colleagues, finds that antibodies found in breastmilk are necessary to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
2019 July 19: March of Dimes launched a new podcast, "Unspoken Stories: A March of Dimes Podcast", hosted by actress Tatyana Ali. The podcast highlights the real and honest stories of pregnancy, parenthood and loss that are too often left unshared.
2019 November 15: To mark World Prematurity Day on November 17th, March of Dimes launched the #ItsNotFine campaign to improve public awareness of the maternal and infant health crisis. (VIDEO) The slogan, “It’s not fine” challenges women to not accept the refrain, “You’ll be fine” prenatal and postpartum. The multi-platform campaign promotes the #ItsNotFine message across digital, print, social media, and on television.
