The Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine uses a combination of research approaches — from retrospective analyses to prospective observational studies and randomized clinical studies — to measure health care outcomes and better optimize the care of obstetrical patients.

Basic and Translational Research

Members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology are engaged in basic research to enhance our understanding of human reproduction and improve outcomes for mothers and their newborns. Such research is conducted in laboratories in the Department and in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences.

Many of the Division’s faculty members work in tandem with faculty in the Green Center to research diverse aspects of female reproductive biology and molecular mechanisms.

Our scientific findings are then used to develop and implement new methods for prevention, early detection, diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and treatment of high-risk pregnancies.

Clinical Research

In addition to our work in the laboratory, we are dedicated to controlled trials intended to objectively evaluate principles of obstetrical care.

In 2024, our department received nearly $9 million in grants from the NIH, ranking us as the ninth most funded Ob/Gyn department in the nation in the Blue Ridge rankings published by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

Faculty members in our Division have research interests that include:

• Anemia in pregnancy
• Cesarean scar ectopic pregnancies (CSEPs)
• Disease in pregnancy (including COVID, mpox, and syphilis)
• Fetal effects in women with pregestational diabetes
• Genetic testing
• Gestational diabetes and hypertension
• High-level imaging
• Infants with Down syndrome
• Infants with limb differences
• Maternal mental health
• Postpartum diabetes screening
• Preeclampsia and eclampsia
• Racial and socioeconomic health disparities
• Social determinants of health
• Vaccine-induced maternal-fetal antibody function

Because of our expertise, our faculty members are often invited to present, speak, and moderate at national conferences for our specialty, including those hosted by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Our work is also regularly featured in national publications and in major textbooks such as Williams Obstetrics.

Ongoing Clinical Research Projects

Dr. Christina Herrera

K23 - Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award
National Institutes of Health: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Dr. Herrera, an Assistant Professor, received a K23 grant to study placental differences among normal pregnancies and those complicated by chronic hypertension using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). One in three pregnant people with chronic hypertension deliver pre-term due to placental-mediated complications of superimposed preeclampsia or fetal growth restriction (FGR), so additional insights on these disease processes may also be inferred. Specifically, Dr. Herrera is investigating longitudinal functional MRI parameters (such as perfusion and diffusion) and radiomic characteristics (patterns of gray scale within an image) to determine phenotypic signatures of healthy and hypertensive placentas.

Dr. Emily Adhikari

R21 - Exploratory/Developmental Grant
National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Dr. Adhikari’s project, “Pre-analytic factors affecting molecular tests for congenital syphilis,” is one of 10 projects awarded funding as part of an $2.4 million NIAID program focused on new diagnostic devices and approaches to detecting syphilis infection. The projects aim to simplify the testing process, and, in doing so, accelerate public health responses to congenital and adult syphilis. Dr. Adhikari, an Assistant Professor, is joined by Dr. Jeffrey SoRelle, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics, who is Co-Principal Investigator on the project. Read more here.

Dr. Yevgenia Fomina

Reproductive Scientist Development Program Scholar
National Institutes of Health: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

The Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP) provides career development support and mentored training for obstetricians and gynecologists who have completed their clinical training and are committed to a career conducting basic science research in an academic setting. Dr. Fomina, an Assistant Instructor, will be mentored by Dr. Mala Mahendroo, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences. Read more here.

Dr. Nicholas Burns

Visiting Scholar
American Board of Medical Specialties

Dr. Burns, an Assistant Professor, has been selected to participate in the American Board of Medical Specialties (AMBS) Visiting Scholars Program for 2024–2025. His project, which is co-sponsored by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), is focused on evaluating the relationship between ABOG certification and early-career patient outcomes.

Established in 2014, the Visiting Scholars Program is a one-year, part-time research program that supports early-career physicians and researchers in scholarship and leadership development focusing on initial and continuing board certification. Program participants remain at their home institutions, collaborate with self-selected mentors, and participate in monthly virtual sessions with research project-in-progress updates to peers, mentors, subject matter experts, and Visiting Scholars alumni. Read more here.

Dr. Anne Ambia

Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Pilot Award Program
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Ambia, an Assistant Professor, was awarded a 2024 UT Southwestern CTSA Pilot Award for her proposal “Sebum sampling in cholestasis of pregnancy.” Read more here.

Dr. Christina Herrera

Y23 – Pilot and Feasibility Grant
Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC)

Dr. Herrera, an Assistant Professor, is working with Dr. Ashley Solmonson, an Assistant Professor in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences and of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Their project aims to understand how metabolism is altered with maternal diseases like chronic hypertension and placenta-mediated pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia.

They previously received a CTSA Pilot Award to screen for metabolic changes in placentas and serum from patients with chronic hypertension, but their data was confounded by the co-morbidity of obesity. The Pilot and Feasibility Grant will allow Dr. Herrera and Dr. Solmonson to investigate the impact of obesity on placental pathology and metabolism, independent of other co-morbidities.

Dr. David Nelson and Dr. Elaine Duryea

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

Dr. Nelson, Chief of the Division and Associate Professor, and Dr. Duryea, Associate Professor, were selected for an $18 million funding award to investigate ways to improve postpartum health among primarily low-income Black and Hispanic women. The study will employ two models of care to determine which one results in earlier detection and treatment of complications among mothers after delivery. One group will receive virtual education and communication via push notifications; the other will have regular telehealth visits.

The study builds on knowledge gained from existing UT Southwestern and Parkland programs that aim to reduce high mortality rates among new mothers in southern Dallas County. The Extending Maternal Care After Pregnancy (eMCAP) program provides community health workers, nurse home visits, scheduled virtual visits, and an in-person mobile unit with medical providers, social workers, and pharmacy services deployed within the community to extend and enhance postpartum care for diabetes, hypertension, and behavioral health conditions. Read more here.