Presentations at Department Research Day 2025
On May 15, 2025, the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology hosted Department Research Day, an annual presentation of graduating fellows’ thesis projects, research from members of the Department of Ob-Gyn, and posters showcasing a variety of ob-gyn and reproductive health research.
Margareta Pisarska, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Cedars-Sinai, kicked off Department Research Day with the keynote presentation How Infertility and Treatments Can Affect Human Placenta Function.
In her presentation, Pisarska identified different types of adverse pregnancy outcomes related to infertility, explained how the placenta contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and discussed new scientific tools that study the role of the placenta.
Graduating maternal-fetal medicine fellow Scott Infusino, MD, followed with the presentation Fetal Cerebral Doppler in Late Onset FGR and Preeclampsia.
Next, graduating urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery fellow Ushma Patel, MD, presented her research project Duration of Use of a Digital Therapeutic for Fecal Incontinence: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial.
Matt Wagar, MD, graduating gynecologic oncology fellow, presented his project Progression Free Survival as a Surrogate End Point of Overall Survival in Randomized Controlled Trials of Ovarian Cancer Maintenance Therapies.
Following the fellow presentations, Abigail Cutler, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, presented research on the impacts of the Dobbs decision: "The law is uninterpretable": Experiences of Obstetrician-Gynecologists Providing Pregnancy Care in a Post-Dobbs Wisconsin.
Luca Clemente, PhD, research associate in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, presented Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines Shift Endothelial Cells Toward an Immunomodulatory Phenotype—Implications for Preeclampsia.
To round out Department Research Day presentations, postdoctoral research scholar Taehyun Kim, PhD, from the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity, presented Effects of Medicaid Coverage for Abortion.
Throughout the event, posters from more than 20 researchers were on display in the Health Sciences Learning Center atrium. Andrea K. Wegrzynowicz, PhD, researcher in the Stanic Lab in the Division of Reproductive Sciences, received the Best Poster award for the poster Role of the Ovarian Immune Environment in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Incredible work, all! You can watch the 2025 Department Research Day presentations here.