Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI)

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 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 

“Perinatal Inflammation and Retinopathy of Prematurity”
Olaf Dammann, MD, SM
Editor-in-Chief, PEDIATRIC RESEARCH, Research Professor in Public Health, Pediatrics, and Ophthalmology, Tufts University School of Medicine

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, Tufts Children's 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, Tufts Children's 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