Preterm infants – especially infants with a birth weight below 1500 grams (very-low-birthweight infants, VLBW), are at an extraordinary high risk of mortality, short-term- and long-term morbidity. The goal of the German Neonatal Network (GNN) project is to

The identification of genetic risk factors for preterm delivery and common diseases of preterm infants will be one major focus of our project, since this topic is not covered by comparable international networks. Furthermore, our DNA-bank, consisting of DNA specimen and clinical data of more than 3200 VLBW infants is already one of the largest projects in this field worldwide. In summary, GNN will result in a better understanding of genetic, clinical and socio-economic factors influencing the long term development of VLBW-infants. It will hopefully enable us to develop new targeted therapies based on clinical/genetic risk stratification. GNN will promote urgently needed randomized clinical trials in VLBW-infants and will support the distribution/appreciation of treatment strategies which are used by the most successful neonatal intensive care units (with regard to long term outcome). Since VLBW-infants represent a large proportion of infants with long-term neurodevelopmental disabilities, our study will not only be beneficial for individual patients but has also the potential to improve general child health in Germany.