Member Faculty


Omonigho Aisagbonhi, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology
Research Interests:  Gynecologic and perinatal pathology, post-partum preeclampsia
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/omonigho.aisagbonhi 


Marianna Alperin, MD, MS
Associate Professor
Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Research Interests: The impact of pregnancy, birth injury, and aging on the structure, function, plasticity , and regenerative potential of the female pelvic soft tissues.
https://alperinlab.org/ 
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/marianna.alperin


Sarah Averbach, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Family Planning
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Research Interests: Postpartum contraception
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/sarah.averbach 


Jerasimos Ballas, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Research Interests: Placenta accreta spectrum, treatment of substance use disorders in pregnancy.
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/jerasimos.ballas


Jack Bui, MD, PhD
Professor
Director of Clinical Flow Cytometry, Diagnostic Immunology, and Stem Cell Processing Labs
Department of Pathology
Research Interests: Innate immunity in cancer, infection, and pregnancy
https://builab.cloud.ucsd.edu/


Shaochen Chen, PhD
Professor
Department of Nanoengineering
Research Interests: 3D bioprinting and placenta-on-a-chip
http://schen.ucsd.edu/lab/


Karen L. Christman, PhD
Professor
Department of Bioengineering
Associate Dean for Faculty, Jacobs School of Engineering
Research Interests: Biomaterials for women's health
http://christman.eng.ucsd.edu/home


Heidi Cook-Andersen, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Biological Sciences
Research Interests: Oocyte and embryo development and reprogramming 
https://cookandersenlaboratory.com/


Barbara Durrant, PhD
Henshaw Chair, Director of Reproductive Sciences
San Diego Zoo Global
Research Interests: Assisted reproductive technology including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, reproductive cycle manipulation; Gamete collection, evaluation, and cryopreservation; In vitro embryo production; Estrous cycle and pregnancy monitoring through hormone analysis, ultrasound, infrared thermal imaging
http://institute.sandiegozoo.org/reproductive-sciences


Stephanie I. Fraley, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Bioengineering
Research Interests: Technology development for diagnostics, screening, and surveillance of perinatal infectious diseases
https://fraley.eng.ucsd.edu/


Pascal Gagneux, PhD
Professor
Department of Pathology
Research Interests: Glycoproteins and glycolipids in mammalian and sexual reproduction
https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/pathology/research/labs/gagneux/people/pascal-gagneux/Pages/default.aspx


Alon Goren, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Research Interests: Epigenomic mechanisms of disease 
https://goren-lab.github.io/


Drew Hall, PhD
Associate Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Interests: Biosensors and technology development
http://BioEE.ucsd.edu


Mariko Horii, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology
Research Interests: Understanding pregnancy disorders using a combination of iPSC-based models, clinical data analysis, and RNA profiling
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/mariko.horii


Marni Jacobs, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Research Interests: Perinatal Epidemiology
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/marni.jacobs


Kathryn Johnson, MD, MS
Associate Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests: Newborn medicine and pediatric quality of care
https://providers.ucsd.edu/details/33163/pediatrics


Andrea Z. LaCroix, PhD
Distinguished Professor and Chief of Epidemiology
Director, Women's Health Center of Excellence
Family Medicine and Public Health
Research Interests:  Epidemiology of women¹s health across the life course
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/andrea.lacroix


Daphne Yvette Lacoursiere, MD, MPH
Professor
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Research interest: Impact of obesity in pregnancy, bladder health in women  
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/daphne.lacoursiere 


Leah Lamale-Smith, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Research Interests: Biomarkers in Preeclampsia and Fetal Imaging
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/leah.lamale-smith


Shelley M. Lawrence, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests: Pathogenesis of neonatal sepsis, neonatal neutrophil function, novel treatments for perinatal infectious diseases
https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/pediatrics/Divisions/neonatology/research/labs/Pages/lawrence-lab.aspx


Sandra Leibel, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests: Impact of preterm microbiome on development of allergies and asthma, stem-cell based modeling of lung and brain development, surfactant biology
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/sandra.leibel


Amanda Lewis, PhD
Professor
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Research Interests: Mucosal glycobiology and the female urogenital microbiome
http://lewislabofmicrobialglycobiology.yolasite.com/


Yu-Hwa Lo, PhD
Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research interests: Biomedical devices and systems, microfluidics, biophotonics.
https://sites.google.com/a/logroup.ucsd.edu/web/home


Denise Malicki, MD PhD
Professor
Division of Pediatric Pathology
Department of Pathology
Chief of Pathology, Rady Children's Hospital
Research Interests: Congenital neuromuscular disorders
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/denise.malicki


Krishelle Marc-Aurele MD
Program Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program
Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Divisions of Neonatology and Palliative Medicine
Research Interests: Perinatal palliative care and bereavement
https://providers.ucsd.edu/details/22333/pediatrics


Gerald Morris, MD PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Pathology
Research Interests: T cell development and function in transplantation and immunologic tolerance.
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/gerald.morris


Susan B. Powell, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Research Interests:  Rodent models of neurodevelopmental disorders
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/Susan.Powell
https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/psychiatry/research/CTRIN/Pages/default.aspx


Rebecca Rakow-Penner, MD PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Radiology
Research Interests: Advanced MRI techniques for breast, female pelvis, and fetal imaging
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/rebecca.rakow-penner


Gladys (Sandy) Ramos, MD
Professor
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Research Interests: Diabetes in pregnancy
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/gladys.ramos


Kyung (Kay) E. Rhee, MD, MSc, MA
Professor of Pediatrics, Vice Chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Medical Director, Medical Behavioral Unit, Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego
Director of Research, Division of Hospital Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests:  Novel treatments for pediatric obesity, parenting styles and feeding behaviors, child eating behaviors and cognitive development
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/kyung.rhee
https://chear.ucsd.edu/


Eniko Sajti, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests:  lung immunity, innate immune system development, lung development, hyperoxia-induced injury, epigenomic mechanisms of disease
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/eniko.sajti 


Jianhua Shao, MD, PhD
Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests: Gestational diabetes and fetal programming
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/jianhua.shao


Francesca Soncin, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology
Research Interests: Trophoblast lineage specification and establishment of the maternal-fetal interface.
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/francesca.soncin


Maryam Tarsa, MD
Professor
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Research Interests: Quality improvement and maternal cardiovascular disorders
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/maryam.tarsa


Varykina (Kina) Thackray, PhD
Associate Professor
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Research Interests: Host/microbe interactions related to sex differences, steroid hormone excess/insufficiency and metabolic dysregulation
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/varykina.thackray
http://repro.ucsd.edu/Thackray/default.aspx


Douglas A. Woelkers, MD
Professor
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science
Research Interests:  Management of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Investigation of placental growth factors for prediction and diagnosis of preeclampsia
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/douglas.woelkers


Jared W. Young, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry
Research Interests:  Cognitive/behavioral impact of environments linked to psychiatric risk factors
https://profiles.ucsd.edu/jared.young