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Monthly research seminars are held from noon to 1 p.m. in Stearns Auditorium, Farnsworth Building, first floor.
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Watch for our next seminars!
October 18, 2019 Osamu Samura, M.D. Ph.D. “Current status and problem of non-invasive prenatal testing in Japan” Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Jikei School of Medicine, Tokyo November 15, 2019 “Computational biomechanical models of human Pregnancy – evaluating the risk of preterm birth and the biomechanical function of the pessary” Kristin M. Myers, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University
December 13, 2019 "The role of MIS in ovarian and uterine development: applications to infertility" Patricia Donahoe M.D. and David Pepin Ph.D. Massachusetts General Hospital January 17, 2020 “Why does my mother's pre-pregnancy body mass index matter” Carmen Monthe-Dreze, MD Brigham and Women’s Hospital
June 14, 2019 Families in Context: Using Program Evaluation to Understand Systems of Care Melissa Colón, Ph.D. and Jessica Goldberg, Ph.D. Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research Eliot Pearson Child Study and Human Development Department, Tufts University
May 17, 2019 “Stress and postpartum depression: lessons from preclinical models” Jaime Maguire, PhD Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Professor Tufts University School of Medicine
April 12, 2019 “The Potentially Important Role(s) of Early Cleaving Human Embryos in Their Destiny." Ann Kiessling, PhD Director, Bedford Research Foundation
March 15, 2019 "Gut microbes and cardiometabolic risks: the story of Akkermansia muciniphila" Carlota Dao, Ph.D. Energy Metabolism Laboratory Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
February 8, 2019 “Human milk for preterm infants: benefits and challenges” Mandy Brown Belfort, MD MPH Director of Clinical Research Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine
January 18, 2019 "Fetal-to-placental signaling and timing of parturition" Bingbing Wang, MD, PhD Director of Perinatal Translational Research Laboratory Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
December 7, 2018 “Clarifying autism diagnoses with saliva-based testing" Steve Hicks, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Penn State College of Medicine November 16, 2018 “On moms, microbes & metabolism: How the ‘First 1000 Days’ Influence obesity and metabolic disease risk” Kartik Shankar, PhD, DABT Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Director, Metabolic Programming Lab, Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center October 19, 2018 “Neonatal Sepsis: A view from the SOFA” James L. Wynn, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology, Immunology and Experimental Medicine University of Florida College of Medicine, Division of Neonatology September 21, 2018 “Maternal obesity and offspring health: Opportunities to improve outcomes” Sarbattama Sen, MD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Brigham and Women's Hospital Watch Seminar >
June 22, 2018 “Genomics in Prenatal Care” Neeta Vora, MD Associate Professor Director of Reproductive Genetics Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine University of North Carolina School of Medicine
May 25, 2018 “How did inflammation get into the business of pregnancy?” Gunter Wagner, PhD Alison Richard Professor and Acting Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University
April 13, 2018 “Novel Placental-Mediated Mechanisms of Brain Injury in Infants” Lauren Jantzie, PhD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics & Neurosciences Department of Pediatrics University of New Mexico School of Medicine
March 16, 2018 “Obesity Interventions in Women of Childbearing Age” Susan B. Roberts, PhD Senior Scientist and Director, Energy Metabolism Laboratory Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging
January 19, 2018 "Mechanisms by which Wharton's Jelly mesenchymal stem cells exert immune suppressive signals through exosomes"
Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, Diplomate, ACVIM Professor, Large Animal Medicine Director, Regenerative Medicine Laboratory Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
September 29, 2017 “The cervix and preterm birth: Bioengineering approaches to function and treatment” Michael D. House, MD MIRI Principal Investigator Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Maternal-Fetal Medicine
June 9, 2017 “microRNA biomarkers that govern ovarian inclusion cyst formation and the mode of ovarian cancer spread” Alex Ng, PhD Interim Director of Research, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School
May 26, 2017 “How obesity affects placental lipid metabolism: a tale of two cities” Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University Center for Reproductive Health, MetroHealth Medical Center
March 17, 2017 “Maternal obesity: Short and long-term effects on women and their children” Patrick Catalano, MD Director, Center for Reproductive Health; Director, Clinical Research, Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
February 3, 2017 “The neonatal microbiome: exposures and outcomes” Juliette C. Madan, MD, MS Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
December 16, 2016 "Maternal obesity and the fetal brain: Sex and diet matter!" Andrea G. Edlow, MD, MSc Principal Investigator, Mother Infant Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Tufts University School of Medicine
November 11, 2016 “An Integrated Human/Murine Transcriptome and Pathway Approach To Identify Prenatal Treatments For Down syndrome” Faycal Guedj, PhD Senior Research Associate, Mother Infant Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center
October 28, 2016 “A Fond Farewell: Lessons Learned During My 23 Years at Tufts” Diana W. Bianchi, MD Executive Director, Mother Infant Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center
September 16, 2016 “Lymphoma Occurring During Pregnancy: Antenatal Therapy, Complications, and Maternal Survival” Andrew M. Evens, DO, MSc, FACP Chan Soon-Shiong Endowed Chair in Precision Medicine; Professor and Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Tufts University School of Medicine; Director, Tufts Cancer Center, Tufts Medical Center
June 24, 2016 “In vivo Models for Assessing Fetal Neurodevelopmental Injuries” Laura Goetzl, MD, MPH Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences; Professor, Shriners Hospitals Pediatric Research Center
May 20, 2016 “Ten Provocations from Meta-Research in Neonatology” John A F Zupancic, ScD, MD Department of Pediatrics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
April 15, 2016 "21st Century Clinical Research: Patient Activism, Social Media, Digital Apps" Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine
December 11, 2015 “Advances in Fetal/Placental Imaging” Ellen Grant, MD Director, Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Department of Radiology/Newborn Med/Neurology, Children’s Hospital, Boston
November 20, 2015 “The Promise and Possibilities of Developing Model Human Organs on Chips” Dan Huh, PhD Wilf Family Term Chair, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
October 23, 2015 “Bioinformatics Approach to Preeclampsia” Elizabeth Triche, PhD Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital
September 25, 2015 “Salivary FOXP2 Expression in Speech Emergence and Oral Feeding Readiness in Infants and Children” Emily Zimmerman, PhD, CCC-SLP Director, Speech and Neurodevelopment Lab, Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Northeastern University
August 21, 2015 “Fetal-maternal immune tolerance in human pregnancy; A focus on HLA-G+ extravillous trophoblasts” Tamara Tilburgs, PhD Harvard Catalyst | The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center
June 26, 2015 “Does it Matter if Your Mother Was Obese?” Andrea G. Edlow, MD, MSc Mother Infant Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine
May 15, 2015 "The Impact of Fatty Acid Imbalance in Intestinal Health and Disease in Preterm Infants" Cami Martin, MD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Neonatology
March 20, 2015 "Antidepressants and Pregnancy: Why Can't We Warn the Public?" Adam Urato, MD Tufts Medical Center, Maternal-Fetal Medicine
February 27, 2015 "Reducing the High Incidence of Preterm Delivery in Puerto Rico; the PROTECT Project" Akram Alshawabkeh, PhD, PE George A. Snell Professor of Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering Director, PROTECT Superfund Research Center Northeastern University
January 16, 2015 "A Molecular Assessment of the Consequences of Preterm Birth" Donna Slonim, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, Tufts University Associate Professor, Integrative Physiology and Pathobiology, Tufts University School of Medicine School of Medicine Genetics Faculty, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences
December 19, 2014 “The Role of cffDNA during the Onset of Parturition” Mark Phillippe, MD, MHCM Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital
November 21, 2014 “Transgenerational effects of social stress on maternal mood and offspring social behavior” Ben Nephew PhD Assistant Professor, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
October 24, 2014 “Effects of early oral colostrum priming on salivary antimicrobial peptides in preterm infants” Dr. James Wynn Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University
September 19, 2014 “Do Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants Have a Role in Conception and Early Pregnancy?” Marlene B. Goldman, ScD Director, Division of Clinical Research, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
May 23, 2014 “Trophoblast Inclusions: A Possible Marker of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” Harvey Kliman, MD, PhD Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology Director of the Reproductive and Placental Research Unit, Yale University School of Medicine
April 18, 2014 “The Ethics of Ooplasm Transfer to Prevent a Pregnancy Affected By Mitochondrial Disease” Sheldon Krimsky, PhD Lenore Stern Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dept. of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning, Tufts University
March 21, 2014 "Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Neonatal Lung Disease" Stella Kourembanas, MD Clement A. Smith Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Chief, Division of Newborn Medicine and Chair, Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Program, Boston Children’s Hospital
February 28, 2014 "Global Implementation of NIPT: Ethical, Legal, and Practical Challenges" Subhashini Chandrasekharan, PhD Research Assistant Professor, Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC
January 17, 2014 "Effects of dietary soy on ethanol-impaired placentation and fetal growth" Fusun Gundogan, MD Associate Professor, Brown University, Warren Alpert Medical School, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
December 20, 2013 "Rethinking the epidemiology of preterm birth with examples from environmental toxicology in reproductive outcomes" Thomas Frederick McElrath, MD, PhD Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harvard Medical School
November 15, 2013 “Cervical Mucus Properties Stratify Risk for Preterm Birth” Katharina Ribbeck, PhD Eugene Bell Career Development Professor of Tissue Engineering Department of Biological Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology
October 18, 2013 “Placental Health Testing in Nulliparous Women: Obstetrics in the 21st Century” Dr. John Kingdom, MD, FRCSC (Ob/Gyn & MFM), MRCP (UK), FRCOG (UK) Gordon C. Leitch Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Toronto Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical Imaging, Physiology & Pathology University of Toronto
September 20, 2013 “Cell-free Fetal DNA in Maternal Plasma as a Reflection of Placental Health and Disease” Diana W. Bianchi, MD, Executive Director, Mother Infant Research Institute, Natalie V. Zucker Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine
July 12, 2013 The Genetics of Preeclampsia Richa Saxena, PhD Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School Member, Center for Human Genetic Research Asst. in Genetics, Dept. of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital
August 24, 2012 Progesterone Supplementation: Does it or Doesn’t it Work to Decrease Preterm Delivery? Errol R. Norwitz, MD, PhD, MIRI Investigator Louis E. Phaneuf Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology Tufts University School of Medicine Chairman, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Tufts Medical Center
Sept 28, 2012 Prolactin and the Neural Footprint of Motherhood Robert S. Bridges, PhD Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences Head, Section of Neuroscience and Reproductive Biology Program Director, Combined DVM/MS Program in Comparative Biomedical Sciences Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
November 30, 2012 The Boston Fetal Cardiac Intervention Program at Age 10: Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead Louise Wilkins-Haug, MD PhD Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Division Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine and Reproductive Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital
December 14, 2012 The Epidemiology and Etiology of Preterm Birth Michelle A. Williams, ScD Professor and Chair of Epidemiology Harvard School of Public Health
February 22, 2013 Influence of perinatal stress and environmental factors on risk for autism Theoharis C. Theoharides, MS, PhD, MD, FAAAAI Professor of Pharmacology, Internal Medicine and Biochemistry Director, Molecular Immunopharmacology and Drug Discovery Laboratory Tufts University School of Medicine
May 17, 2013 Chlamydia, Innate Immunity and their Impact on Reproductive Health Robin R. Ingalls, MD Associate Professor of Medicine and Microbiology Boston University School of Medicine Boston Medical Center
June 7, 2013 Suboptimal Perinatal 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Risk Factor or Biomarker? Heather Herson Burris, MD MPH Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Neonatology
August 19, 2011 What is Normal Fetal Growth? Edward Chien, MD Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brown University Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Women & Infants Hospital Sabrina Craigo, MD Professor and Vice Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology Tufts Medical Center
September 8, 2011 Bench vs. Bedside: the Future of Fetal Surgery François Luks, MD, PhD Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics/Gynecology Director, Program in Fetal Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University
October 20, 2011 The Role of the Immune System in the Development of Preeclampsia Jonathan Morris, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Director of Perinatal Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney
November 17, 2011 Pregnancy History Predicts Cardiovascular Disease in Women: What More Do We Need to Know? Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD Director of Developmental Epidemiology Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology Brigham and Women's Hospital
December 16, 2011 The Umbilical Cord as a Source of Early Stem Cells Hans Klingemann, MD, PhD Professor of Medicine, Tufts University Medical School Director, Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program Leader, Hematologic Malignancies, Tufts Medical Center Cancer Center
January 5, 2012 Utility of the Placenta as a Clinical and Research Tool Drucilla J. Roberts, MD Perinatal Pathologist, Massachusetts General Hospital
February 2, 2012 The Role of Pattern Recognition Receptors in Infection-Associated Preterm Labor Vikki M. Abrahams, PhD Associate Professor Dept. of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences Yale University School of Medicine
March 1, 2012 What Can Fetuses and Neonates Teach Us about Lung Regeneration? Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM Professor, Large Animal Internal Medicine Department of Clinical Sciences Director, Lung Function Regeneration Laboratory Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
April 5, 2012 Human Trophoblastic MicroRNAs at the Fetal-Maternal Interface Yoel Sadovsky, MD, Director Magee-Womens Research Institute University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
May 10, 2012 Fetal Programming of Adult-Onset Obesity Michael G. Ross, MD, MPH Professor of Ob/Gyn and Public Health, UCLA School of Medicine and Public Health
June 7, 2012 Knowledge-Based Bioinformatic and Genetic Approaches to Preterm Birth James F. Padbury, MD Oh–Zopfi Professor of Pediatrics for Perinatal Research Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pediatrics The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Pediatrician-in-Chief Program Director, COBRE for Perinatal Biology Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
February 18, 2011 The Neurobiology of Post-Partum Depression in a Mouse Model Jamie Maguire, PhD Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neuroscience Tufts University School of Medicine
March 18, 2011 A Translational Research Approach to Neonatal Developmental Gene Expression Jill L. Maron, MD, MPH, MIRI Investigator Assistant Professor Dept. of Pediatrics, Floating Hospital
April 15, 2011 The Effects of Maternal Obesity on Infant CNS Development and Behavior in Model Systems Manos Pothos, PhD Associate Professor, Dept. of Molecular Physiology and Pharmacology Tufts University School of Medicine
May 20, 2011 Effect of Maternal Obesity on Immune Regulation and Micronutrient Balance Sarbattama Sen, MD, MIRI Investigator Assistant Professor Dept. of Pediatrics, Floating Hospital
June 24, 2011 The Genetics of Prematurity Errol R. Norwitz, MD, PhD, MIRI Investigator Louis E. Phaneuf Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center
July 15, 2011 From the Trashcan to the Transcriptome: Use of Amniotic Fluid Supernatant to Develop New Fetal Therapies Diana W. Bianchi, MD, MIRI Investigator Executive Director, Mother Infant Research Institute Natalie V. Zucker Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology Tufts University School of Medicine
