2024 Bridge Funding Awardee

Dr. Yalda Afshar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA is the recipient of the 2024 Foundation for SMFM Bridge Funding Award, sponsored by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology Foundation. Dr. Afshar is a physician-scientist with a focus on perinatal and placental biology. Her laboratory’s research focuses on understanding the mechanistic and signaling heterogeneity underlying the biology of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders and cardiovascular disease that affects the pregnant person or the fetus.

The Foundation for SMFM Bridge Award will enable Dr. Afshar to 1) define the biological and clinical heterogeneity within PAS disorders and 2) understand the contribution of the scarred uterus and post-hysterectomy repair in the subsequent development of PAS. This award will serve as the basis for future work and hopefully generate preliminary results necessary to obtain future R01-level funding.