Department Research Day

How Infertility and Treatments Can Affect Human Placenta Function

Margareta Pisarska, MD
Director, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Cedars-Sinai

In this talk, Dr. Pisarska will discuss how infertility affects 1 in 6 people globally. Adverse pregnancy outcomes, although rare are increased in pregnancies conceived following infertility. However, it has been unclear if this is the result of the fertility treatments or underlying infertility. As many of these outcomes are due to placental function and dysfunction, a better understanding of how placentation is impacted by the genetics of infertility and the epigenetic impact of fertility treatments to improve pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, newer advances in scientific tools and models are evolving that can lead to improvements in studying the role of infertility and its impact on placentation. 

Dr. Margareta D. Pisarska is the Director, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She is the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship Director at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She is a Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 

She has a comprehensive research program looking at adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with how the pregnancy/placenta implants, using specific genetics approaches to better understand how genetics and environmental influences, including fertility treatments, as well as fetal sex affect mother and infant, which can have long term health implications. Another area of her research focuses on oocyte development, ovarian function and dysfunction including ovarian failure and polycystic ovary syndrome. She has been continuously funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 2004. She has over 100 publications, reviews, and committee opinions. Her clinical practice reflects her research as she cares for couples with infertility due to multiple etiologies. 

Dr. Pisarska was elected as a Director to the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and currently serves as the Chair of the Fellowship Committee for the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She serves on the Development Committee for the Society for the Study of Reproduction. She is a permanent member of Pregnancy and Neonatology Study Section. She previously served as the Director for the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Division of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chair of the Patient Education Committee and member of the Practice Committee for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, as well as the Secretary Treasurer of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Lead of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Team for the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting Steering Committee. 

She received multiple awards including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) Star Award for 10 years of research contributions and the Service Milestone Award for over 10 years of service on committees for the ASRM. She has been named Best Doctor in America, America’s Top Ob/Gyns, Southern California Super Doctors, and LA Top Doctor for many years.

Middle Cerebral Artery Pulsatility Index and Cerebroplacental Ratio in Late Onset Growth Restriction and Preeclampsia

Scott Infusino, MD
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow

Scott Infusino, MD is originally from Connecticut. He completed his undergraduate education at Wesleyan University and received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics. He attended medical school at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Scott completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, where he first developed an interest in fetal physiology, growth restriction, and Doppler velocimetry. He was able to further this interest throughout his time in fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following completion of his Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, he will begin an additional fellowship in Fetal Therapy at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. 

Duration of Use of a Digital Therapeutic for Fecal Incontinence: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial

Ushma Patel, MD
Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fellow

Ushma Patel, MD is a third year Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She completed residency at UW-Madison through the Global Health Track. Her primary research focus in both residency and fellowship has been incontinence. She is active in the subspecialty's national organization, the American Urogynecologic Society, and serves on the Pelvic Floor Disorders Week Planning Committee. She will be joining Medical College of Wisconsin this fall.

Progression Free Survival as a Surrogate End Point of Overall Survival in Randomized Controlled Trails of Ovarian Cancer Maintenenace Therapies

Matt Wagar, MD
Gynecologic Oncology Fellow

Matt Wagar, MD is a third year gynecologic oncology fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests include equitable and pragmatic clinical trial design, oncoprevention and surgical outcomes. 

"The law is uninterpretable": Experiences of Obstetrician-Gynecologists Providing Pregnancy Care in a Post-Dobbs Wisconsin

Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor (CHS)
Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn

Abigail S. Cutler, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor, Associate Residency Program Director and Director of the Ryan Program in Family Planning at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her clinical practice includes general obstetrics and gynecology in the outpatient and inpatient settings at UW Health, as well as family planning services at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. As a subspecialist in Complex Family Planning, her clinical and research interests include provision of contraception and abortion care, decision-making around reproductive health, and abortion-related policy impacts on health outcomes and medical education.

Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines Shift Endothelial Cells Toward an Immunomodulatory Phenotype—Implications for Preeclampsia

Luca Clemente, PhD
Research Associate
Division of Reproductive Sciences

After working various white- and blue-collar jobs for 20 years, Luca Clemente entered academia as a non-traditional student, ultimately earning a PhD in Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 

As a postdoctoral researcher, Clemente expanded his expertise in cutting-edge techniques like spectral flow cytometry and CITE-Seq, enabling him to perform advanced single-cell multi-omic analyses. His work has focused on uncovering molecular mechanisms underlying preeclampsia, identifying biomarkers, and exploring the role of cytokines in endothelial cell dysfunction.

Currently a Research Associate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Clemente continues to pursue his passion for academic research. He aims to advance the understanding of vascular biology in pregnancy-related conditions.

Effects of Medicaid Coverage for Abortion 

Taehyun Kim, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity

Taehyun Kim is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She completed her PhD in Health Services Research in 2024 at the University of Maryland Department of Health Policy and Management. As an interdisciplinary health services researcher, she studies the impacts of policy intervention on reproductive health access, including Medicaid abortion coverage and contraceptive access initiatives. Using large administrative and survey datasets, her research employs quantitative, quasi-experimental causal methods to conduct analyses. Her work has appeared in Health Affairs, Health Services Research, Social Science & Medicine, and other outlets

Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD
Vice Chair of Research
Associate Professor
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine