Research Labs

Discover basic science & translational laboratories and clinical research in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences. Explore cutting edge clinical studies by our faculty.

Basic Science & Translational Laboratories

Basic Science and Translational Laboratories

Alperin Lab – Dr. Alperin's laboratory uses a multi-prong approach to study the impact of pregnancy, birth injury, and aging on the structure, function, plasticity , and regenerative potential of the female pelvic soft tissues. Ultimately, we hope that this research will help reduce the epidemic of pelvic floor disorders and improve the lives of millions of women.
Breen Church Lab – The Breen Church Lab focuses on: 1) Neuroendocrine mechanisms controlling reproduction and fertility; 2) Mechanisms underlying stress and stress–associated disease states on fertility; and 3) Early life programming of delayed or deficient fertility.
Burnett Lab – Dr. Burnett's lab applies expertise in cellular and molecular biology to the understanding of how metabolism impacts pelvic floor disorders including pelvic organ prolapse, recurrent urinary tract infections, urinary and fecal incontinence.
Cook-Andersen Lab – The Cook-Anderson Lab is interested in: post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression; transcriptional silencing in the oocyte and oocyte maturation; early embryo development and embryonic genome activation, nuclear reprogramming, the molecular basis of ovarian aging.
Fisch Lab – The Fisch Lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying pregnancy disorders and exposures to improve maternal and child health throughout the lifespan.
Kauffman Lab – The Kauffman Lab uses a variety of molecular, cellular, physiological and neuroanatomical techniques to study how the brain and hormones interact to control reproduction in mammals. More specifically, we assess how neural circuits stimulate or inhibit Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, thereby regulating the neuroendocrine reproductive axis.
Laurent Lab – The Laurent Lab applies our expertise in human pluripotent stem cell research and genomics to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal human development, in order to improve the health of mothers and babies.
Lawson Lab – The main focus of the Lawson Laboratory is on understanding how the brain and pituitary interpret and respond to the various signals that control reproductive hormone synthesis and secretion.
Mellon Lab – The Mellon Lab is interested in how the brain controls reproduction through the neuroendocrine system with emphases on development, hormone signaling, gene expression, circadian rhythm, and mouse models of human disease.
Daniel Nassar, MD – Dr. Nassar's research interests focus on minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and advanced gynecologic ultrasound, particularly for diagnosing and treating conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids. His research also explores surgical and ultrasound education, artificial intelligence for endometriosis diagnosis, and the genetic origins and medical treatment of endometriosis.
Pantham Lab – The Pantham Laboratory applies a combination of high-throughput, computational and physiological approaches to decipher the molecular mechanisms of placental function in pregnancy, with the aim of improving the diagnosis and management of pregnancy disorders in which the placenta plays a primary role.
Minhazur Sarker, MD – Dr. Sarker's research interests focus on maternal-fetal medicine, particularly placenta accreta spectrum, fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. He also has research interests in maternal outcomes, pregnancy complications, and improving obstetric care and outcomes.
Schlaepfer Lab – The Schlaepfer Lab is in The Moores Cancer Center Division of Gynecologic Oncology and our research focus is on understanding the molecular changes driving ovarian cancer anchorage-independent cell survival and treatment resistance. We are developing new mouse tumor models to study ovarian cancer and we incorporate new technologies such as CRISPR knockouts, multiplex immunohistochemistry, RNA sequencing, flow cytometry, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics in our research. Visit schlaepferlab.org to learn more.
Stupack Lab – The Stupack lab has the following projects active: Tumor Cell Survival, Genomic Analysis of Tumors, and Repurposing Proteins by Cancer Cells
Thackray Lab – At the Thackray Lab, their research is focused on understanding the etiology and pathophysiology of PCOS using relevant mouse and tissue culture models. We are currently studying the influence of genetic variation on gonadotropin hormone production and fertility. We are also investigating interactions among metabolism, the gut microbiome and the reproductive axis in PCOS.
Wilkinson Lab – The Wilkinson Lab studies are centered on the impact of gene regulatory circuits in normal development and disease.

Clinical Research

Sanjay Agarwal, MD – Dr. Agarwal’s research interests are to diagnose endometriosis without surgery and to find long term treatments of endometriosis that are well tolerated.
Jorge Alvarado, MD – Dr. Jorge L. Alvarado's research focuses on graduate medical education and care of transgender and gender diverse people. He is actively involved in developing surgical and transgender curriculum for resident physicians.
Sarah Averbach, MD – Dr. Averbach's research team designs and evaluates interventions that address barriers to equitable access to family planning care, including abortion and contraception. Her work aims to address the implementation gap that has resulted in evidence-based family planning methods failing to reach the people who need and want them to prevent pregnancy and improve their reproductive agency. The three main strategies that her team evaluates are to i) simplify the requirements for when family planning care can be provided, ii) expand the types of facilities where family planning care can be provided, and iii) broaden the provider base, demonstrating who can safely provide family planning care.
Jerasimos Ballas, MD – Dr. Ballas' research interests include placenta accreta spectrum disorders, substance use disorders in pregnancy and environmental and social determinants of health as they relate to pregnancy and childbirth. He published numerous peer-reviewed articles, which have appeared in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine and Journal of Pediatric Surgery.
Lindsey Burnett, MD, PhD – Dr. Burnett's research focuses on understanding why and how pelvic floor disorders occur at a molecular level to ultimately develop novel treatment and preventative strategies with a focus on the role of metabolism in these disorders.
Julia Cormano, MD – Dr. Cormano's work focuses on medical education research, with projects ranging from medical student assessment to use of virtual reality for obstetric simulation training.
Antoni Duleba, MD – Dr. Duleba’s research interests focus on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, reproductive endocrinology, and ovarian biology, including the hormonal and molecular mechanisms underlying these conditions. His work also includes fertility, reproductive aging, fertility preservation, and early embryo development.
Ukachi Emeruwa, MD – Dr. Emeruwa's research interests focus on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, particularly postpartum hypertension and preeclampsia, as well as clinical trials and community-level approaches to reducing disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality. She also studies social factors affecting maternal health outcomes.
Ramez Eskander – Dr. Eskander’s interests include clinical and translational research, encompassing the development and conduct of clinical trials exploring novel therapeutics, immunotherapeutic combinations, as well as alternate targeted agents.
Cecile Ferrando, MD – Dr. Ferrando is a board-certified urogynecologist who specializes in the treatment of pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and fecal incontinence. She is committed to the advancement of the field and is passionate about researching clinical and surgical outcomes in urogynecology.
Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, MD, MS – Dr. Gyamfi-Bannerman who is the chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, is a board-certified perinatologist who specializes in caring for women with high-risk pregnancies. She is internationally recognized for her research in this area, with a primary focus on preterm birth, both in prevention and in the use of antenatal corticosteroids, or steroids.
Scott Harvey, MD, MS – Dr. Harvey's research interests focus on critical care in obstetrics, maternal morbidity and mortality, postpartum hemorrhage, and obstetric surgical outcomes. He also has interests in obstetric preparedness and simulation/education for managing critically ill pregnant patients.
Marni Jacobs, PhD – Dr. Jacobs is interested in lifecourse epidemiology for reproductive health and the use of easily obtained clinical measures for prediction of poor pregnancy outcomes.
David Klein, MD – Dr. Klein's research interests focus on minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, including robotic-assisted laparoscopy and fertility-preserving treatment of fibroids, adenomyosis and endometriosis. He also has interests in medical education, patient communication, and HPV-related disease and cervical, vaginal and vulvar dysplasia.
Leah Lamale-Smith, MD - Dr. Lamale-Smith's research interests focus on maternal-fetal medicine, prenatal imaging and fetal conditions, and pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia. Her work also includes placental disorders and improving the diagnosis and prediction of adverse pregnancy and fetal outcomes.
Emily Lukacz, MD – Dr. Lukacz is a urogynecoloist and professor focusing on research which includes evaluating surgical procedures for incontinence and prolapse as well as studying causes and prevention of pelvic floor disorders.
Katherine Macaulay, MD – Dr. Macaulay is an OB/GYN who provides comprehensive care to women, including maternity care, well-woman care, and treatment for common gynecological issues such as abnormal Pap smears, fibroids, ovarian cysts, abnormal bleeding, or gynecological infections. Her research interests include sexual function in breast cancer survivors, the effects of menopause and hormone therapy on sexual function, and health needs assessment for women in midlife and menopause.
Michael McHale, MD – Dr. McHale conducts innovative research addressing multiple unmet needs in gynecologic oncology. This includes strategies for early detection of ovarian cancer, novel imaging modalities to assess for metastatic disease and clinical trials exploring novel therapeutics for gynecologic malignancies.
Audra Meadows, MD – Dr. Meadow's research interests focus on maternal health, health equity, and improving maternal and infant outcomes, with particular emphasis on racial and socioeconomic inequities in maternity care and severe maternal morbidity. Her work also examines strategies to improve the quality, safety, and experience of pregnancy and birth.
Sheila Mody, MD – Dr. Mody's research interests focus on contraceptive counseling and utilization, particularly among women with complex medical conditions such as epilepsy, breast cancer and cystic fibrosis. She also studies family planning procedures, pain management, reproductive health access and patient-centered care.
Sandy Ramos, MD – Dr. Ramos' research interests focus on diabetes in pregnancy, high-risk pregnancy, and improving maternal and fetal outcomes. Her work also includes maternal-fetal medicine research involving placental disorders, fetal health, and pregnancy-related complications.
Maureen Ries, MD – Dr. Ries’ research and professional interests include global women’s health, obstetric and gynecologic care, vulvar skin disorders, and general gynecologic surgery. She also has a strong focus on global clinical education and training in resource-limited settings.
Cheryl Saenz, MD – Dr. Saenz is a board-certified gynecologic oncologist with over 20 years of experience. Dr. Saenz is a member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), the largest multi-institutional organization conducting research into the treatment and prevention of gynecologic cancer
Su Lab – Dr. Irene Su's lab conducts innovative patient-oriented research studies on ovarian function, reproductive health, and reproductive care delivery, focused on adolescents and your adults with cancer.
Maryam Tarsa, MD – Dr. Tarsa's research interests are screening for cardiovascular disease in pregnancy and postpartum.
Nicole Teal, MD – Dr. Teal utilizes community-engaged implementation science research and practice to improve equity in obstetric outcomes.
Shira Varon, MD – Dr. Varon's current research focuses on measuring ovarian function in premenopausal women undergoing abdominal myomectomy. I am testing AMH before surgery and 12 weeks after abdominal myomectomy during which a tourniquet is used around the uterine and ovarian vessels to decrease operative blood loss.