Our fellows have presented oral and poster presentations at annual scientific meetings for numerous regional and national/international societies, including the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), Society of Reproductive Investigation (SRI), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), International Society of Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD), New England Perinatal Society (NEPS), and Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP).
Research mentors
Fellows have research mentors in the division, as well as additional staff and resources available through the OB/GYN department and Tufts Medical Center. Each fellow spends 18 months doing research; there are multiple avenues for fellows to pursue their research interests. Dr. Sabrina Craigo is the Clinical Research mentor and Dr. Michael House is the Basic Research mentor. Areas of clinical and research excellence within the division include, but are not limited to: detection of fetal anomalies by sonography, fetal medical treatment, molecular cytogenetics, cervical insufficiency, preeclampsia and obesity. Fellows are encouraged to pursue their research interests and collaboration with other departments is welcomed.
Mother Infant Research Institute
The Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI) at Tufts Medical Center is a multidisciplinary basic science/translational research institute, with investigators from MFM, Newborn Medicine, Clinical Genetics and Pediatric Neurology. MIRI investigators have multiple NIH grants and have successfully mentored MFM fellows through their thesis projects. Three more NIH-funded investigators joined MIRI in 2018. Neonatologist and physician-scientist, Jill Maron, MD, MPH, currently serves as Executive Director of the Mother Infant Research Institute.
The team is composed of a Director, Dr. Vidya Iyer, and at any one time between 6-9 research associates/assistants/volunteers, most of whom are internationally-trained physicians. The team is supervised by Dr. Britta Panda. As Director of the Clinical Trials Research Team, Dr. Vidya Iyer is responsible for the operations and logistics of the team’s performance.
Clinical trials
In addition to MIRI, the Departments of OB/GYN and Pediatrics have established a large Clinical Trials Research Team which primarily supports industry-sponsored clinical trials. The team is also involved in running investigator-initiated trials, federally-funded studies, and provide support for research projects initiated by residents and fellows. Currently, the team is involved in about 46 projects spread across the Department of OB/GYN (included 11 federally-funded studies) and approximately 50 trials in Pediatrics. Activities performed by the team include, but are not limited to, screening for eligible study subjects, subject recruitment, sample collection and processing, designing workflow for new trials, collecting and abstracting data, assistance with IRB applications and renewals, help with protocol design and writing, and preparing for federal and sponsor audits.
Each fellow is required to attend a statistics/clinical study design course. The department sponsors their attendance at a statistics/clinical research study design course at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University.
Fellows who are especially interested in cultivating their skills in clinical research and study design can take additional graduate courses at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences during their research/elective months.