The HOPE Study
uncovering answers. together.
Core Study Team and Trainees
Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski, PhD, MS, Study PI and UCSF Site Lead
Dr. Jelliffe-Pawlowski leads the HOPE study and is the UCSF site lead for the study. She is a Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics in the UCSF School of Medicine with expertise in the biomarker prediction of adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes. She also serves as Director of Discovery and Precision Health for the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Rebecca Baer, MPH, Senior Epidemiologist
Ms. Baer serves as a Senior Epidemiologist for Prenatal Investigations for the HOPE study. She is a senior epidemiologist and analyst at UCSD and is a researcher with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Scott Oltman, MS, Senior Epidemiologist
Mr. Oltman is a Senior Epidemiologist for Postnatal Investigations for the HOPE study. He is a senior epidemiologist and analyst at UCSF in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and is a researcher with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Ribka Amsalu Tessera, MD, MSc, MAS, Co-Investigator and Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Amsalu serves as a Co-Investigator on the HOPE study. She is a postdoctoral scholar with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Elze Rackaityte, PhD, Co-Investigator and Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Rackaityte serves as a Co-Investigator on the HOPE study. She is a postdoctoral scholar with the UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative and with the Derisi Laboratory.
Safyer McKenzie-Sampson, MSc, Graduate Student Researcher
Ms. McKenzie-Sampson is a doctoral student in the UCSF Epidemiology program and a graduate stduent researcher with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative. She is an expert in the role of structural racism on pregnancy outcomes and serves a key role in investigating these patterns in HOPE.
Odessa Garay, Graduate Student Researcher
Ms. Garay is a graduate student researcher with the HOPE study working together with investigators at San Francisco State University. She is a Genentech Foundation Scholar who assists with community outreach as well as in investigating how societal and cellular factors contribute to pregnancy and infant outcoomes.
Adriana Alejandra Mejia Lopez, Student Researcher
Ms. Lopez is a student researcher with the HOPE study working in partnership with investigators at San Francisco State University. She is a Genentech Foundation Scholar serving key roles in community outreach as well as in helping understand cell-to-society contributors to healthy pregnancy and infant outcomes.
Sarah Mortley, Program Manager, Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine (BCMM)
Ms. Mortley serves as a Program Manager for the Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine (BCMM). As part of this role she manages partner microbiome work between HOPE and BCMM.
HOPE Study Partners (alphabetical)
Jennifer Ahern, PhD, MPH, Site Lead, UC Berkeley
Dr. Ahern is the Associate Dean for Research in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and the Chancellor's Professor of Public Health. She is the UC Berkeley site co-lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Gretchen Bandoli, PhD, MPH, UCSD
Dr. Bandoli serves as Co-Lead of the HOPE study at UCSD where she will work closely with Dr. Chambers on monitoring study progress. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine and Public Health at UCSD.
April Bell, PhD, MPH
Dr. Bell is an Assistant Professor of Family Community Medicine in the UCSF School of Medicine.
Kacie Blackman, PhD
Dr. Blackman is an Assistant Professor in the Health Equity and Research (HERE) Center and the Department of Health Sciences at California State University, Northridge.
Bridgette Blebu, PhD, MPH
Dr. Blebu is a Faculty Investigator at the Lundquist Institute at Hardbor-UCLA.
Ralph Catalano, PhD, UC Berkeley
Dr. Catalano is a Professor of the Graduate School in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. He is the UC Berkeley site co-lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Tina Chambers, PhD, MPH, Study Co-PI, Site Lead, UCSD
Dr. Chambers is a Professor of Pediatrics at UCSD and is the Director of Clinical Research for the Department of Pediatrics at UCSD and Rady Children's Hospital. She co-directs the Center for the Promotion of Maternal Health and Infant Development in the Department of Pediatrics at UCSD and is the President of MotherToBaby California. She is the UCSD site lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Dan Cooper, MD, UC Irvine
Dr. Cooper is a Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Pediatric Pulmonology Division, Founding Director of the Institute for Clinical Translational Science and the Program Director of the UC Irvine Clinical Research Center in the UC Irvine School of Medicine. He is the UC Irvine site co-lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Joseph Derisi, PhD
Dr. Derisi is a Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the UCSF School of Medicine and is Co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg BioHub.
Nadia Diamond-Smith, PhD
Dr. Diamond-Smith is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Institute for Global Health Sciences at UCSF.
Elissa Epel, PhD
Dr. Elissa Epel is a Professor of Psychiatry in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
Jennifer Felder, PhD
Dr. Felder an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences within the UCSF School of Medicine. i.
Jonathan Fuchs, MD, MPH
Dr. Fuchs is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF and is also the Director of the Center for Learning and Innovation at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. He also serves as the Director of Collective Impact for the UCSF California PTBi.
Joanna Halkias, MD
Dr. Halkias is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF whose lab focuses on how early life host-microbe interactions influence adaptive immune responses in the developing infant.
Rebecca Jackson, MD
Dr. Jackson is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UCSF and is the Acting Chair for the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences in the UCSF School of Medicine.
Deborah Karasek, PhD, MPH
Dr. Karasek is an Assistant Professional Researcher in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Senior Researcher with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Miriam Kuppermann, PhD, MPH
Dr. Kuppermann is a professor at UCSF in the Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Epidemiology & Biostatistics in the School of Medicine at UCSF. She is also the Director of the Preconception and Prenatal Interventions and the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Krysia Lindan, MD
Dr. Lindan is a professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics in the School of Medicine at UCSF.
Susan Lynch, PhD
Dr. Lynch is a Professor of Medicine in the UCSF School of Medicine and is Director of the Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine.
Carol Major, MD, Site Lead, UC Irvine
Dr. Major is a Clinical Professor, Director of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, and Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion in the UCI School of Medicine. She is the UC Irvine site co-lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Charles McCulloch, PhD,
Dr. McCulloch is a professor of Biostatics and a Vice Chair in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF
Jeffrey Olgin, MD
Dr. Olgin serves is a PI of the UCSF Citizen Science COVID-19 study (with Drs. Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH and Dr. Gregory Marcus, MD, MAS at UCSF). He is Professor and the Chief of the Division of Cardiology at UCSF.
Alison Paquette, PhD
Dr. Paquette is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a member of the Seattle Children's Research Institute's Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
Matt Pantell
Dr. Pantell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine at UCSF.
Nisha Parikh, MD, MPH
Dr. Parikh is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology in the School of Medicine at UCSF.
Xianhua Piao, MD
Dr. Piao is a Benioff Professor in Children’s Health and the Director of the Newborn Brain Research Institute at UCSF.
Brian Piening, PhD
Dr. Piening is the Technical Director for Clinical Genomics at Providence St. Joseph Health in Portland, Oregon and is also the chief of the Immunogenomics Laboratory.
Aric Prather, PhD
Dr. Prather is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences.
Larry Rand, MD, Clinical Lead, Pregnancy
Dr. Rand is the Marc and Lynne Benioff Endowed Chair in Maternal Fetal Medicine and a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences in the UCSF School of Medicine. He is the Primary Investigator of the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative.
Beate Ritz, MD, PhD, Site Lead, UCLA
Dr. Ritz is a Professor of Epidemiology in the UCLA School of Public Health. She is the UCLA site lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Elizabeth Rogers, MD, Clinical Lead, Newborn and Infancy
Dr. Rogers is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at UCSF, Associate Vice Chair for Faculty Development, and Director of the Intensive Care Nursery ROOTS Small Baby Program.
George Rutherford, MD
Dr. Rutherford leads the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and is Vice Chair in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF.
Kelli Ryckman, PhD, MS
Dr. Ryckman is Associate Dean for Research and a Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Indiana University Bloomington.
Tiffany Scharschmidt, MD
Dr. Scharschmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology in the UCSF School of Medicine. Her work focuses on investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate interactions between bacteria and the developing immune system.
Rebecca Schmidt, PhD, Site Lead, UC Davis
Dr. Schmidt is an Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences at UC Davis. She is the UC Davis site lead for the UC HOPE Collaborative.
Karen Scott, MD, MPH, FACOG
Dr. Scott is the CEO and Owner of Birthing Cultural Rigor, LLC, is an Associate Professor in the Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences department in the UCSF School of Medicine at UCSF, and she is the Primary Investigator of the SACRED BIRTH study at UCSF.
Martina Steurer-Muller, MD
Dr. Steurer-Muller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology, Pediatric Critical Care and in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF.
Jodi Stookey, PhD
Dr. Stookey is a Senior Epidemiologist with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Karen Tabb Dina, PhD, MSW
Dr. Tabb Dina is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Véronique Taché, MD, UC Davis
Dr. Taché is an Associate Professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program Director at UC Davis. She specializes in high-risk pregnancies and her research interests include placental based diseases including fetal growth restriction, and congenital infections (CMV, Zika).
