Dr. Admon is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Admon earned her undergraduate degree in Public Health Studies at the Johns Hopkins University and was awarded Outstanding Senior Graduating in Public Health Studies. She earned a full tuition Dean’s Merit Scholarship to attend the University of Michigan Medical School, where she also completed residency training in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Admon then earned her master’s degree in Health and Healthcare Research through National Clinician Scholars Program at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. During her fellowship, she gained expertise conducting large-scale epidemiological work focused on addressing preventable maternal morbidity and mortality. Today, Dr. Admon is an R01-funded physician-scientist who is passionate about improving maternal health.

Dr. Admon serves in many roles across the University of Michigan, including as an Associate Director of the Health Policy & Economics Pathway of Excellence at the University of Michigan Medical School as a member of the Faculty Senate’s Medical Affairs Advisory Committee. Nationally, she serves on the editorial board at the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology (the Green Journal) and as an oral board examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecologist (ABOG).

Abiola Ahmed Alaka, MD is a PGY-3 Physician at University of Michigan Health system, Michigan Medicine Department of Internal Medicine. His interests span across Medical Education, Leadership, Mentorship, cardiology, Research, Health Equity, Policy, and Advocacy. One of my core research interests is in sex related difference in cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease outcomes. My current research study focuses on understanding the Gender-related disparities in pericarditis after Premature Ventricular Complex (PVC) ablation.

Contraction of the heart is triggered by an electrical impulse, which is normally initiated in the pacemaker region of the heart known as the sinus node. The cardiac electrical impulse is the result of an orchestrated action of several protein macromolecules known as ion channels. The channel proteins are, in a sense, molecular machines that translocate ions (e.g., Na+, K+ and Ca++) across the membrane of each heart cell. Properties of an ion channel depend on its three-dimensional structure as well as on the interactions of the channel protein with other (accessory) proteins in specific micro-domains of the cell. A number of cardiac rhythm disturbances have been associated with mutant ion channel proteins, accessory proteins to the ion channels, or the improper interactions between the two groups of proteins. We are interested in understanding the cellular and molecular bases for these rhythm abnormalities. In the laboratory, we use a combination of electrophysiological, biochemical and molecular biological techniques to carry out our investigations.

I am a clinical lecturer within the Department of Dermatology at the University of Michigan. I am trained as a dermatologist and have research experience in genetics, molecular biology, skin biology, immunology, and transcriptomics. I received my PhD in Human Genetics from the University of Michigan, where I studied small RNA biology using C. elegans as a model organism. I subsequently completed a “2+2” combined clinical dermatology residency and translational research fellowship in cellular and molecular dermatology. My current research interests involve investigating the basis of female sex bias in autoimmune disease and exploring mechanisms connecting skin inflammation to systemic autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders ranging from cutaneous and systemic lupus erythematosus to psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

The Bridges lab is interested in the regulation of macronutrient metabolism by cellular signaling mechanisms. We use rodent models to understand how mTORC1, AMPK, and glucocorticoid signaling affect lipid, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism and their impacts on physiological homeostasis.  The influence of biological sex is understudied with respect to metabolic regulation, and are actively researching how sex and sex hormones modify macronutrient metabolism, to better understand the effects on obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. 

Courtney J. Burns, BSE, is a medical student currently on a full-time research year in the Department of Anesthesiology in between her third and fourth years at the University of Michigan Medical School. She works with Dr. Michael Mathis to study sex-based differences in the perioperative diagnosis of heart failure through a mixed-methods lens, and has previously worked with Dr. Durga Singer and Dr. Reshma Jagsi on studies investigating gender inequities in academic medicine. Her research has been supported by the American Heart Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Alpha Omega Alpha.

Chen Chen, MPH, MBBS, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, under the supervision of Dr. Lynda Lisabeth, Professor of Epidemiology and Senior Associate Dean for faculty affairs in School of Public Health. Ms. Chen’s doctoral dissertation research will focus on sex differences in post-stroke outcomes and their contributors, especially social determinants, using data from large population-based studies. Her long-term goal is to become an independent stroke researcher focused on stroke in women.

Dr. Davis is interested in addressing the needs of pregnant women or those considering pregnancy. Some women with cardiac disease want to become pregnant and have special considerations during and after pregnancy. Other women may unexpectedly develop cardiac complications during pregnancy. Dr. Davis and her colleagues are also finding that high blood pressure and diabetes that show up during pregnancy are risk factors for developing heart disease later in life. Dr. Davis is passionate about furthering the care for this population.

Dr. Ganesh studies the genetic and molecular basis of cardiovascular traits and diseases. She completed undergraduate and medical school at Northwestern University, after which she trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and Cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed her postdoctoral fellowships the  National Heart Lung and Blood Institute/ National Human Genome Research Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Institute of Genetic Medicine. Her laboratory currently employs genetic and genomic analysis methods to identify and study genetic mechanisms of arterial diseases in both adult and pediatric populations, including diseases with notable sex differences in disease manifestation such as fibromuscular dysplasia, arterial aneurysm and dissection, and hypertension. Her lab has had continuous extramural funding, and she has over 90 peer reviewed manuscripts. She has mentored both basic and clinically-oriented trainees in her laboratory.

Dr. Erin Giles is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology and a member of the Rogel Cancer Center. She earned her PhD in Medical Science from McMaster University (Canada) and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Canter and Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center. Dr. Giles brings experience using integrative, translational approaches to study the impact of obesity on metabolic health in pre-clinical models, with an emphasis on postmenopausal breast cancer. Her research is currently focused on how menopausal weight gain and associated adipose inflammation contribute to breast cancer risk and progression, and how diet, exercise, and pharmacological interventions can be used to decrease these obesity-associated comorbidities after menopause. She has a strong history of funding success, including grants from the National Institutes of Health (K99/R00 and R01), the American Institute for Cancer Research, Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas, and Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Aria Grabowski is a registered dietitian and PhD candidate at the School of Public Health. Her research focuses on three key areas: 1) investigating the impact of pregnancy timing and spacing on long-term maternal health outcomes, 2) examining how diet and environmental toxicant exposures during critical periods such as pregnancy and lactation affect long-term maternal and child health, and 3) enhancing clinical lactation care and education.

The Gregg lab conducts basic and translational metabolic disease research at the Caswell Diabetes Institute. The Gregg lab is focused on characterizing early life events that predispose individuals to developing metabolic disease, with the ultimate aim of identifying interventions to improve metabolic outcomes in high risk individuals. The Gregg lab uses animal models along with biospecimens from human mother infant cohorts to study how nutritional influences in the neonatal/infancy period can have a long lasting impact on the risk of cardiometabolic diseases including obesity, insulin resistance, pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction, diabetes, and NAFLD. We are also investigators for large observational clinical study examining the impact of maternal blood sugar in pregnancy on human milk composition and infant metabolic risk markers. For this project the Gregg lab serves as the molecular milk analysis center and biorepository. Throughout this work we have also assessed for sex differences in offspring outcomes.

Dr. Gualano is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Health System. She is the co-director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center Wellness Committee, and has an interest in organization culture and employee engagement. Her clinical interests are coronary and structural heart disease, and academic interests are health care outcomes with a focus on gender differences. 

Dr. Gudjonsson came to the U-M in 2003 as part of an innovative research residency training program. Building upon investigative dermatology training completed in Iceland, Dr. Gudjonsson has been performing basic immunological and genetic work with a major focus on sex-bias autoimmune disease processes and associated comorbidities.  Dr. Gudjonsson is a Scholar of the Taubman Medical Research Institute. He received the Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Dermatology in 2007 and his work has earned several research awards, including awards from the American Skin Association, the Dermatology Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation and the NIH. Dr. Gudjonsson’s research is focused on the immuno-pathogenetics of psoriasis-a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin found in about 2-3% of Americans. His work has contributed to the identification of many of the genetic risk factors that predispose to psoriasis, and how these risk variants affect the biology and pathology of psoriasis.

The long term goal of my research program is to understand the molecular mechanisms of vascular diseases and provide targeted therapy for treatment. Since I started my research in 2005, I focused on gene therapy for proliferative vascular disease by targeting vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). When I moved to the United States in 2008, I continued studies on proliferative vascular disease for another 2 years as a Research Fellow which led me to the study of lipid metabolism and vascular diseases. With the support from a Scientist Development Grant from AHA, as a Research Investigator, I have made significantly contributions to understanding the biological functions of Krüppel-like factor 14 (KLF14) in atherosclerosis, which was identified by human genetic studies. In addition, I identified that perhexiline –a drug currently used for antianginal and heart failure-, is also a KLF14 activator and could attenuate the development of atherosclerosis by regulating lipid metabolism and inhibiting inflammatory response1, 2. Recently, we found for the first time that macrophage-specific Klf14-deficient mice showed significantly increased abdominal aortic aneurysm incidence rate in female mice, which even reached the incidence rate in male mice, indicating impaired protective effects of estrogen/ estrogen receptor pathway. Our team has demonstrated that synthetic high density lipoprotein (sHDL)-mediated targeted delivery of liver X receptor agonist to enhance reverse cholesterol transport can promote atherosclerosis regression without inducing liver side effects3,4. These data raise the interesting possibility that activation of the KLF14 pathway may be a therapeutic target for abdominal aortic aneurysm treatment.

Dr. Hamilton is a Clinical Assistant Professor within the Division of Cardiology. He trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and University of Michigan with fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine and Critical Care. He is interested in the health disparities that exist within the cardiac intensive care unit and coronary angiography laboratory. His research focusing on gender and sex differences in invasive hemodynamic measurements.

Dr. Harris's research aims to advance our understanding of how environmental toxicants contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth and preeclampsia. His research uses a combination of approaches including transcriptomics, metabolomics, primary tissue models and computational/data mining methods to investigate molecular mechanisms of toxicant effects on the placenta and fetal membranes.

Dr Hesson earned her MD and PhD at Michigan State University prior to coming to the University of Michigan for residency in 2016. After finishing residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology, she remained at Michigan to pursue her interests in maternal cardiovascular disease. She did a total of four years of fellowship, three years of Maternal Fetal Medicine training and one year specific to Cardio-Obstetrics. During this time, she completed a T32 in Cardiovascular Medicine with a focus on the vascular genetics of pregnancies complicated by hypertension. She is currently dually appointed in Maternal Fetal Medicine (Obstetrics and Gynecology) and Cardiovascular Medicine (Internal Medicine); she is also the Research Director of the University of Michigan Cardio-Obstetrics program.

Her work focuses on the identification and management of cardiovascular risk in and after pregnancy. She leverages her postdoctoral training in translational research as well as her background in clinical and social sciences to bring a truly cross-disciplinary approach to sex differences in cardiovascular health and disease as they relate to reproductive histories and outcomes.

Dr. Isom is the Maurice H. Seevers Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology, Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Prior to becoming Chair of Pharmacology she served as Director of the Program in Biomedical Sciences and Assistant Dean for Graduate Education in the University of Michigan Medical School. She received her PhD in Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and then trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. William A. Catterall at the University of Washington. Dr. Isom’s postdoctoral research included the first cloning, sequencing, and expression of voltage-gated sodium channel SCN1B and SCN2B, encoding b1 and b2 subunits, respectively.  Dr. Isom’s laboratory at the University of Michigan focuses on voltage-gated sodium channel structure, function, and role in epileptic encephalopathy, including Dravet syndrome.  Her laboratory employs a variety of techniques, including cellular and molecular biology, genetics, and electrophysiology. Highlights of Dr. Isom’s research program include the discovery that sodium channel b subunits, in addition to functioning as ion channel modulators, are multi-functional cell adhesion molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily that regulate neuronal migration, pathfinding, and fasciculation.  She reported the first mutation in SCN1B linked to Dravet syndrome and collaborates with Dr. Jack Parent and Dr. Miriam Meisler to investigate SCN1A, SCN1B, and SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy variants in mouse models and human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) neurons and cardiac myocytes. Dr. Isom is a PI of the NIH-funded Center for SUDEP Research (U01).  In addition to her research activities, she serves as PI of the NIH funded, Pharmacological Sciences Training Program T32 grant, co-chairs the Dravet Syndrome Foundation Scientific Advisory Board with Dr. Parent, serves on the Board of the American Epilepsy Society, serves on NIH grant study sections, chairs the ESTA study section, and serves on editorial boards of scientific journals. She has received awards for research and mentoring, including a NINDS Javits R37 MERIT award and the University of Michigan Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award. In 2011, she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her work in Neuroscience and Graduate Education.

Dr. Karvonen-Gutierrez is the John G. Searle Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Dr. Karvonen-Gutierrez’s research focuses on critical periods of risk for adverse health outcomes in women. Specifically, she evaluates the impact of chronological aging, reproductive aging and obesity and their intersections, on the development and progression of chronic disease and musculoskeletal outcomes through the creation of a metabolically-dysfunctional and pro-inflammatory environment. To address her research agenda, Dr. Karvonen-Gutierrez uses both epidemiologic and clinical research designs leveraging her leadership in ongoing cohort studies as well as new data collection efforts. 

Dr. Abbi Lane is an Assistant professor of Applied Exercise Science at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. She is a fellow of the American Heart Association’s Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health, and she previously served as an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science in the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. Dr. Lane earned her PhD in Kinesiology and Nutrition from the University of Illinois and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Iowa in Health and Human Physiology and at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in the Department of Preventive Medicine. Her research centers on reproductive events in women, such as pregnancy and menopause, and   their influence on short and longer-term cardiometabolic disease risk.  Her projects at Michigan are aimed at understanding how modifiable, lifestyle behaviors can be leveraged to reduce cardiometabolic disease risk after adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Dr. Elizabeth Langen is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician who is the Obstetrical Director of the Cardio-Obstetrics Program at the University of Michigan.  Her clinical work is focused on making pregnancy and birth safe and joyful for women with existing cardiovascular disease as well as those who develop new cardiovascular disorders around childbirth.  Her research has focused on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy as well as abnormalities in labor and birth. 

Dr. Leis' is a Research Investigator in the Epidemiology Department at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the measurement and analysis of comorbidity, and the differential risk for adverse events based on patterning of these conditions. A large focus of her work is in the area of cardiometabolic disease and obesity, and infectious diseases including influenza and COVID-19. To accomplish her research goals, she utilizes several unique datasets including the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study (MBHMS), the Michigan Henry Ford Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness (MFIVE) study, the Influenza and Other Viruses in the Acutely Ill (IVY) study, the US Hospitalized Adult Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network (HAIVEN) study, and the Long-term Outcomes of COVID-19 and Influenza (LOCI) study. She is also experienced working with large datasets of electronic health records and/or administrative data for characterization of exposures and outcomes.

Dr. Levine’s research aims to improve the lives and care of adults with chronic disease. Primary research interests are the epidemiology, prevention, and care of stroke and cognitive impairment, with a focus on vascular risk factors, adherence, and health disparities. Her research includes improving the quality of stroke care; stroke-related dementia and cognitive impairment; and reducing healthcare disparities in cardiovascular disease and stroke. She also focuses on quality improvement program design, implementation and evaluation research, and research on provider behavior. Some of her research is examining cognitive outcomes after stroke, seeking to understand the predictors and long-term trajectory of cognitive decline after stroke. 

Ram is currently working as a Research Investigator in the Department of Pediatrics. He graduated from Michigan Tech with a Ph.D. in 2016 and completed his postdoctoral training in the lab of Emilyn Alejandro, University of Minnesota (2016-2019) and in the lab of Arun Ananthram, University of Michigan (2019-2021).  He has more than 10 years of research experience working with neuroendocrine cells, namely - pancreatic islets and adrenal chromaffin cells. His research interest is to find novel modulators of hormone secretion from these cells by expanding our current understanding of pathways involved in cell development, communication, function, and plasticity under various disease states, including obesity and diabetes.  His current projects involve elucidating the sex differences in diet-induced inflammation. 

I completed my PhD studies in Department of Biochemistry at the Center for Advance Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav-IPN) in Mexico. During my doctoral research, I investigated the regulation of voltage dependent ion channels by pro-inflammatory cytokines in isolated cardiomyocytes using patch-clamping techniques. After completing my PhD, I pursued postdoctoral training in the Center for Arrhythmia Research (CAR) at the University of Michigan. During this time, I gained expertise in understanding the mechanisms underlying alterations in cardiac excitability and applying methodology to investigate cardiac conduction properties and waveform propagation in isolated hearts. My research interests are focused on dissecting the autonomic and intrinsic cardiac mechanisms for arrhythmias that could contribute to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). To explore this, I use hIPSC-derived myocytes with different types of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, as well as mouse and rabbit models of Dravet Syndrome (DS).

Dr. Andre Monteiro da Rocha is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine – Cardiovascular Medicine. He attended the Veterinary School of the University of Sao Paulo where he joined the Department of Animal Reproduction of FMVZ-USP still as an veterinary student. After graduation he furthered his training in Animal Reproduction obtaining a Master's (2001) and a Ph.D. in Animal Reproduction (2005). After obtaining his PhD, Andre worked as a researcher for the biggest human assisted reproduction clinic in South America for 5 years before joining the University of Michigan as a research fellow at UM MStem Cell Laboratories in 2011. In 2015, Andre became part of the Center for Arrhythmia Research and he is also part of the FCVC Regeneration Core Laboratory. Andre’s laboratory has a dual interest in cardiovascular aging and the effect of sex steroid hormones on cardiac rhythm.

Dr. O’Brien is a professor in the Division of Sleep Medicine at the University of Michigan. She obtained her BSc in Physiology and her PhD in Neonatal Physiology and completed a postdoc in maternal-infant health, all in the United Kingdom. She then relocated to the United States and completed a fellowship in sleep research. Her research brought together the fields of obstetrics and sleep, where she focuses on the impact of suboptimal sleep – and its treatment - on adverse pregnancy outcomes. She also directs multiple other studies of the impact of sleep disruption in non-pregnant women, infertile women, pregnant and postpartum women, and in the health of the fetus/infant/child.  

Dr. Oliverio is an Assistant Professor and nephrologist interested in women’s health outcomes in chronic kidney disease and their preferences in healthcare decision making particularly as it relates to pregnancy and contraception. She currently has a NIH-funded career development award to help improve preconception counseling and patient-physician communication for people with CKD and is passionate about ultimately improving care and outcomes for this population. She is also the recruiting site PI for the CureGlomerulonephropathy Network at the University of Michigan and uses CureGN to understand sex differences in glomerular diseases and the impact of adverse pregnancy outcomes on kidney outcomes. 

Dr. Padmanabhan's research is translational and centers on understanding the fetal origin of pubertal and adult reproductive and metabolic disorders and the impact of steroids and estrogenic environmental pollutants in programming such defects. Utilizing integrative approaches ranging from cell and molecular biology as well as in vitro systems to whole animal physiology the emphasis is to understand the fundamental processes controlling reproductive cyclicity in the female, the mechanisms by which environmental / hormonal influences in early fetal life program reproductive failures and insulin resistance such as that seen in hyperandrogenic disorders like Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and to identify prevention and treatment strategies. Research also centers on understanding the neuroendocrine mechanisms involved in the control of follicle-stimulating hormone, a key regulator of ovarian follicular development and fertility in women, its structure function relationships and the neuroendocrine and paracrine mechanisms controlling ovarian folliculogenesis, delineation of which will aid in overcoming infertility problems as well as in developing contraceptive approaches.

Dr. Plazyo graduated with her PhD in 2016 from Wayne State University, where she did research in reproductive immunology. Her first post-doc was at the same University, studying mechanoregulation of inflammation and tissue regeneration.  Dr. Plazyo joined Dr. Johann Gudjonsson’s lab at U of M as a T32 fellow in 2019 and proceeded to study the mechanisms of autoimmunity and autoinflammation in skin and beyond. After numerous publications and 3 funded pilot grants (including one from M-BRISC), she was promoted to a Research Investigator position.  The main focus of Dr. Plazyo’s current research is on the mechanisms of sex bias in autoimmune diseases including lupus, scleroderma, and Sjogren’s syndrome, and how this female-specific immune signaling contributes to preeclampsia. She now has 34 peer-reviewed articles with a cumulative h-index of 20 and numerous talks and poster presentations at national and international scientific meetings.  In addition, Dr. Plazyo is preparing more manuscripts for publication and actively applying for funding to pave her path towards independence.

Dr. Quain has trained in Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiology and has a particular interest in cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy and pregnancy management in women born with congenital heart defects. Historically, many women born with heart defects were advised against ever becoming pregnant, but we are now finding that, with multidisciplinary care and monitoring, even women with complex cardiac anatomy and physiology can have successful pregnancies. Her research interests include understanding placental development in women with single ventricle physiology and it's impact on both maternal and fetal outcomes, as well as pregnancy-associated thromboembolic disease and cardiovascular risk.

For over 30 years Dr. William Rainey's lab has researched the cellular, biochemical and molecular mechanisms that regulate adrenal steroid hormone biosynthesis. Much of the lab's current research focuses on modeling human adrenal disease in mouse and cell culture systems while attempting to translate these bench research findings to the patient bedside. They have two projects that focus on sex-differences in the adrenal disease, primary aldosteronism, the major cause of endocrine hypertension. From the basic science perspective, his lab recently developed a mouse model of primary aldosteronism where female mice are more susceptible to excessive aldosterone production and hypertension. From the translational science side, they have demonstrated clear sex differences in the prevalence of somatic mutations that cause primary aldosteronism in humans. The mutation signature in women leads to earlier onset of disease and a more severe form of hyperaldosteronism with higher blood pressure and a higher likelihood of hypokalemia. Currently, the Rainey lab is  working to define the mechanisms that cause women and men to differ in their genetic causes of primary aldosteronism. 

Dr. Rouf is the newest member of the M-BRISC leadership team, having been recruited from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where she was most recently the director of the Heart Failure Program at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Dr. Rouf received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Medical Doctorate from Duke University School of Medicine. Following her internal medicine residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, she trained in Adult General Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Clinically, she is a board-certified Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant cardiologist who sees patients at Michigan Medicine’s Northville Health Center. Dr. Rouf’s basic and translational research programs employ preclinical models and engineering principles to identify pharmacologic, cell-type specific, and sex-specific strategies that prevent or ameliorate cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure and mitral valve disease which are known to affect women and men differently. Dr. Rouf’s lab is located on the vibrant North Campus Research Complex, home to several biomedical research cores, the Biointerfaces Institute and the Center for Advanced Models for Translational Sciences and Therapeutics. She is a dedicated physician-scientist who is passionate about mentoring the next generation of researchers and is actively recruiting students, postdoctoral fellows and lab technicians to join her lab’s mission to develop novel strategies to treat cardiovascular diseases with greater precision in both women and men.

Dr. Rubenfire's Michigan Medicine academic career in Preventive Cardiology began over 30 years ago emphasizing detection and treatment of coronary disease and cardiovascular risk factors with an emphasis on cardiac rehab, lipids/nutrition, psychological distress, and the metabolic syndrome. The team has over 200 publications in peer reviewed journals and leadership positions locally and nationally. The multidisciplinary faculty use the long term data bases from cardiac rehab, lipids, nutrition, air pollution, and the metabolic syndrome to monitor the values and quality of interventions, assess compliance with quality standards, develop novel treatments, and identify high risk and poorly served groups. Examples include altering the cardiac rehab program to better impact glycemic control and weight loss, demonstrate how inexpensive bedroom air filters can improve blood pressure control, improve referral, participation and quality of care of patients referred to cardiac rehab and with the metabolic syndrome.  The team recently initiated a partnership between major CV centers in Michigan and Ontario (Great Lakes Cardiac Rehabilitation Consortium) to assess differences within and between neighboring health care systems with much different national health care programs and patient care paradigms. Improving the cardiovascular care of women at risk and with coronary heart disease has been a focus since 2020.

The Salmon Laboratory is interested in molecular and epigenetic mechanisms surrounding Aortic Aneurysm growth and rupture. Specific interests include zinc-finger epigenetic regulation of smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts in the context of Aortic Aneurysms and RNA post-transcriptional epigenetic modifications on Aneurysm progression and rupture. The Salmon laboratory is also interested the role of sex differences in aortic aneurysms by investigating androgen and estradiol independent differences in aortic aneurysm formation and rupture. Therapeutically, the Salmon lab seeks to develop a medical treatment therapy to halt progression or prevent rupture in Aortic Aneurysms.

Kristen Schuh, BA, MS, is a Ph.D. candidate in the LSA Psychology Department, under the supervision of Dr. Natalie Tronson. Her research focuses on the effects of hormonal contraceptives on depression, anxiety, motivation, and the stress response using a mouse model. 

Dr. Shavit received his medical and doctorate degrees from Northwestern University in 2000 after completing his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan. He returned to Ann Arbor in 2000 to complete his residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology. Now an associate professor, Dr. Shavit specializes in hemophilia and other bleeding disorders, pediatric thrombotic disorders and thrombophilia. He is a member of the American Society of Hematology, American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Pediatric Society. He is board-certified in pediatric hematology/oncology. Dr. Shavit studies the genetics of human blood clotting disorders (e.g. hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, thrombophilia, and estrogen-induced thrombosis) using zebrafish and mouse models in combination with genome editing tools, such as CRISPR. His laboratory is developing large scale zebrafish mutagenesis screens to identify genetic and chemical modifiers of these disorders. This will be followed by investigation of these modifiers in mouse models and human populations. See more at https://www.shavitlab.org/

Ariella Shikanov is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, with appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program and Macromolecular Science and Engineering. She joined UM in Fall 2012 as an Assistant Professor after completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University in a multidisciplinary collaboration called the Oncofertility Consortium aiming to address infertility induced by chemotherapy in cancer survivors.

The research in the Shikanov lab aims to restore ovarian reproductive and endocrine function in young women and girls with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) using bioengineering tools. The newly designed biomimetic environments with controlled physical and biological properties promote the survival and development of ovarian follicles, drive tissue regeneration and restore biological function both in vivo and in vitro.

Dr. Shikanov is the recipient of The Hartwell Foundation (2014), NSF CAREER (2016), Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Young Innovator (2018) awards and a 2023 American Institute of Medical and Bioengineering (AIMBE) fellow. She is funded by NIBIB and NICHD. Dr. Shikanov was also nominated for the Golden Apple Teaching award (2017) and was voted an Outstanding Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program mentor (2014). In 2020 Dr. Shikanov founded the start-up company, “ArtOva Therapeutics, Inc”, with the goal to bring the technology developed in her lab into the clinic.

Dr. Singer completed her undergraduate degree in Biophysics and Philosophy along with a Master's degree in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her medical school training, Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at the University of Michigan.  She is a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology.  She is  the Associate Director for the Graduate Program in Immunology. In addition, Dr. Singer is a lead for faculty development, wellness and gender diversity, equity and inclusion activities in the Department of Pediatrics and a Faculty Lead for Faculty Development at Michigan Medicine. As a Pediatric Endocrinologist, seeing patients in a clinical setting struggling with obesity and diabetes her laboratory has chosen to focus on increasing our knowledge on the mechanisms driving these diseases.  Her research focuses on understanding the life long impacts of obesity on the immune system.  Dietary fats lead to increases in adiposity but also directly reprogram the immune system and hematopoietic stem cells towards the production of activated myeloid cells (monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils). These leukocytes then traffic to tissues where they produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and promote an environment of insulin resistance.  The research in the Singer lab focuses on understanding which individuals have this specific metabolic inflammatory response.  Her work has identified that women are particularly protected from this myeloid activation and her lab continues to work on understanding mechanisms of this sexual dimorphism.

Dr. Spehar is a current fellow in the general cardiology program. She attended University of Pittsburgh for medical school where she studied the association of physical activity and sedentary time with cardiovascular outcomes in reproductive age women. She then completed her internal medicine training and chief medical resident year at the University of Michigan. She has a specific clinical interest in women's cardiovascular disease and cardio-obstetrics. She is working with Dr. Melinda Davis to investigate patterns of care for pregnancy associated heart failure in the Michigan Medicaid population. 

Dr. Brian Stamm is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan and a Research Fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program through the Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation. He attended Boston College for his undergraduate studies, followed by a Fulbright Fellowship in Munich, Germany. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Stamm then completed his internship and Neurology residency training at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he was academic chief resident in 2021-2022, followed by a fellowship in Vascular Neurology. Dr. Stamm’s interests include acute stroke management, disparities in stroke care and outcomes, medical education, and systems of care. His current research is focused on investigating hypertension-related stroke disparities and designing more equitable systems of stroke care delivery.

IPHI Profile: https://ihpi.umich.edu/our-experts/bstamm

Dr. Laurie Svoboda is a Research Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Svoboda completed her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at Michigan State University and her doctoral degree in Toxicology at the University of Michigan. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she focused on understanding the epigenetic and metabolic drivers of pediatric soft tissue tumors.  Dr. Svoboda's research interests lie at the intersection of toxicology, cell metabolism, oxidative stress, and epigenetics. Her research is aimed at understanding how exposure to environmental toxicants during critical windows of development influences the long-term risk of disease via epigenetic mechanisms. She is also focused on determining how maternal diet and nutrition modify the effects of developmental toxicant exposures. She is additionally interested in understanding the biochemical mechanisms underlying toxicant-induced epigenetic reprogramming. Dr. Svoboda works out of the Environmental Epigenetics and Nutrition lab.

Natalie C. Tronson earned her PhD from the department of Psychology at Yale University, studying the molecular mechanisms underlying memory reconsolidation with Jane R. Taylor. Following a postdoc at Northwestern University with Jelena Radulovic, Natalie moved to the University of Michigan, where she is now an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department, within the Biopsychology Area. Her work uses behavioral and molecular tools in mice to study neural mechanisms of learning and memory, and how dysregulation of these processes contribute to psychiatric and neurological disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Tronson’s current projects focus on sex differences in the molecular mechanisms of memory, the role of neuroimmune activation (in both sexes) after illness or myocardial infarction in later vulnerability to cognitive decline and dementias including Alzheimer’s disease. Her work on sex differences and sex- and gender-related variables has expanded to studying the impact of hormonal contraceptives on the brain. Dr. Tronson’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the Eisenberg Family Depression Center at the University of Michigan, and the Alzheimer’s Association, among others. She has served in multiple leadership roles both within the University of Michigan and the broader scientific community, including as President of the Pavlovian Society (2020-21), Secretary of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, as Reviewing Editor for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (2019-current), and most recently as Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in the Psychology Department at the University of Ann Arbor.

Alison S. Vander Roest is a new assistant professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan with a research focus on cardiac mechanobiology. Her postdoctoral work at Stanford University with Drs. Beth Pruitt, Dan Bernstein, and Jim Spudich focused on using gene edited stem cell derived cardiomyocytes in micropatterned environments to measure the impact of disease causing mutations. Her K99/R00 funded project continues her independent work using multiscale computational modeling approaches to relate cardiac mechanics from the molecular to the cellular/multicellular scale and study the impact of cardiac fibrosis.  

I earned my PhD in computational evolutionary genetics with an emphasis on population dynamics and sex-specific differences (in both genotype and phenotype) from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Germany. My postdoc at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) was also on understanding sexual immune dimorphism, and sexual differences in parental care.

I currently work at Henry Ford Health, Michigan, to study human genetics and medical research focused on individualized and precision medicine.

One of my main research interests is to understand the sex-specific differences in Heart failure risk, progression, and drug response. Studies have shown that underlying genetics of diseases are dependent on the biological and evolutionary processes that differ between the sexes. Presently, I am working with Dr. David Lanfear (Henry Ford Health + MSU Health Sciences) and Dr. Jasmine Luzum (College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan) on utilizing genomics and polygenic scores (which has nearly limitless potential application in biomedical sciences) to study the differences across sex in the genetic drivers of Heart Failure (HF) development among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) for a more inclusive precision medicine approach.

Dr. Catherine Wagner is an integrated cardiac surgery resident at the University of Michigan, interested in sex outcomes disparities after cardiac surgery. From Michigan originally, Dr. Wagner attended The Johns Hopkins University for her undergraduate studies, and received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering with a concentration in cell and tissue engineering, where she graduated with general and departmental honors. She spent time working for AstraZeneca prior to returning to her home state and attending medical school at the University of Michigan. As a medical student, Dr. Wagner was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, received the Dean’s Commendation for Excellence, graduated with Academic Distinction, and was awarded a merit-based scholarship for being one of the top graduating women in her class.

Dr. Wagner is committed to narrowing long-standing sex disparities in outcomes after cardiac surgery. She was selected to be a National Clinician Scholar (formerly the Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship) at Michigan and spent two years of academic development time studying sex-based disparities in outcomes where her work has been published in JAMA network journals, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and Annals of Thoracic Surgery. She also received her Master’s of Science of Clinical Research to lay a foundation to become an academic surgeon scientist. She is also interested in improving family planning for graduate medical trainees and has been invited to engage in national committees and panelists to offer her perspective on pregnancy and family planning as a resident.

Dr. Wagner wants to be a part of M-BRISC to take advantage of the opportunities for collaboration and partnership with other researchers and clinicians who are similarly motivated to improve cardiovascular outcomes for female patients. Through membership, Dr. Wagner could offer a trainee perspective to create programs that engage other early career members. Dr. Wagner would be honored to be a part of M-BRISC to work together to improve women’s cardiovascular outcomes through high-quality science and collaboration.

Margaret Westfall's training is in integrated organ systems and cellular physiology/biophysics and her expertise is in cardiac physiology. Research in Westfall lab focuses on understanding the contribution of the sarcomere to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure.  Studies integrate biochemical, biophysical, proteomic, cellular, and integrative physiological approaches.  The long-term goal of our research is to develop therapeutic strategies to attenuate or prevent cardiac dysfunction caused by chronic modifications of the sarcomeric proteins responsible for cardiac pump function.  Our current studies focus on cardiac troponin I (cTnI), a key molecular switch protein located in the thin filament of the sarcomere, which is also a downstream target for protein kinase C (PKC) signaling.   Chronic signaling via PKC pathway is consistently linked to heart failure.  Ongoing work is determining whether chronic PKC modification of cTnI directly causes impaired contractile function and the impact of this modification on the function of other sarcomeric proteins and other critical organelles.  

I am passionate about research involving the care of young women and girls with bleeding and clotting disorders. Clinically, I see these patients in a combined clinic with pediatric gynecology that I started during my first year as faculty. I am particularly interested in adolescents with hormone provoked venous thromboembolism (VTE). I am also interested in the optimal care of this population in outpatient clinic, the emergency department and during inpatient hospitalizations. I am currently working on multiple collaborative clinical research projects looking at hormone provoked VTE in young women and girls, as well as side effects from anticoagulation in this population. I also collaborate with Dr. Jordan Shavit in studying the effects of both progesterone and estrogen on thrombosis in a zebrafish model. I am an active member of the Foundation for Women and Girls with Blood Disorders which is committed to the study of bleeding and clotting disorders in women.