2023 Danielle Peress Memorial Fund Awards
Pictured above (left to right): Drs. Jessica Morgan, Natalie Neff, and Rachel Ruderman have been selected as the recipients of the 2023 Danielle Peress, MD Memorial Fund Award.
Jessica Morgan, MD, a second-year maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the University of Chicago/NorthShore University HealthSystem, will conduct a study, “Pregnancy Induced Sensitization and T Cell Phenotype in Human Pregnancy.”
Pregnancy induces a paradoxical immune state where tolerance to the fetus is necessary for the pregnancy to continue, but maternal sensitization to fetal antigens also occurs. An observation that healthy pregnancies induce fetus-specific T cell hypofunction raises the possibility that high-risk pregnancies may, at least in part, be due to the intrinsic dysfunction of T cells. Dr. Morgan’s study is a proof-of-concept translational project that aims to evaluate if fetus-specific T cell exhaustion is induced in humans and establish a reliable assay for testing this hypothesis with dendritic cells grown from fetal cord blood stimulated against paired maternal T cells. Anita Suet-Fei Chong, PhD, will mentor Dr. Morgan.
Natalie Neff, MD, a first-year maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, will conduct a study, “Placental growth factor in the evaluation of patients with signs and symptoms of suspected preterm preeclampsia in the triage setting: a prospective multicenter study.”
Severe preterm preeclampsia (sPE) is a hypertensive disease of pregnancy that currently affects approximately 6,000 to 8,000 pregnancies per year in the United States and is the indication for approximately 60% of antepartum admissions. Dr. Neff’s study aims to evaluate the performance of placental growth factor (PlGF) testing in the triage setting as a rule-out test for sPE and/or delivery within seven days among women undergoing evaluation for a suspected hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. Many patients are hospitalized who ultimately do not develop sPE, and there may be many unnecessary hospitalizations and iatrogenic preterm deliveries that could be avoided. Baha M. Sibai, MD, and Jacqueline Parchem, MD, will mentor Dr. Neff.
Rachel Ruderman, MD, MPH, a first-year maternal-fetal medicine fellow at the University of Chicago/NorthShore University HealthSystem, will conduct a study, “Implementation of a universal low-dose aspirin program for pregnant patients in a low-income clinic.”
Low-dose aspirin (i.e., 81 mg daily) use in patients at moderate or high risk for pre-eclampsia has been associated with a significant reduction in the development of pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and preterm birth. However, implementation of risk factor-based medication recommendations is limited by provider recognition of who is eligible. Dr. Ruderman’s study aims to examine the implementation of a universal low-dose aspirin policy at an urban prenatal clinic. Dr. Ruderman’s team hypothesizes that implementing this change at the clinic will increase the frequency of prescribing low-dose aspirin, subsequently improving patient adherence and, ultimately, perinatal outcomes. Sunitha Suresh, MD, will mentor Dr. Ruderman.
Learn more about the Danielle Peress, MD Memorial Fund Award here.
