To address the lack of data on vaccine efficacy and safety in pregnant and lactating populations, our team launched a study of immune response and pregnancy outcomes after COVID-19 Vaccine in Pregnancy and Lactation (COVIPAL) in early 2021.
This is a multidisciplinary collaboration with Dr. Mary Prahl (Pediatric Infectious Diseases) and many others.
FAQs
I was vaccinated but I got a COVID-19 breakthough infection. Am I eligible?
I was vaccinated prior to pregnancy, but I am currently pregnant and planning to get a booster. Am I eligible?
I was vaccinated during my recent pregnancy, and I am planning to get a booster. Am I eligible?
In addition, our group works on the the following translational and clinical research projects through multiple collaborations both at UCSF and at other institutions.
Some of these projects include:
- Pesticides, infectious diseases, placental toxicity, and pregnancy outcomes: This collaboration with Dr. Josh Robinson (UCSF) aims to study the interaction between pesticides and response to infections in the placenta, and their relationship with pregnancy outcomes.
- Wildfire smoke and the placenta: This collaboration with Dr. Josh Robinson and Dr. Amy Padula aims to understand the impact of wildfire smoke on placental inflammation and pregnancy outcomes.
The Gaw Lab heads PRIORITY-B, the COVID-19 biorepository that enrolls in parallel with the national PRIORITY Registry (https://priority.ucsf.edu).
We are enrolling mother-infant dyads from pregnancies affected by COVID-19 from specific sites across the country.
With these biologic samples, we are studying the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the pregnant mother and developing baby. We hope to understand how the maternal and fetal immune systems respond to infection, and how they prevent transmission across the placenta, and modulate clinical disease and pregnancy outcomes. These studies are important to understand how to best care for pregnancies affected by COVID-19, and the results will guide treatment and vaccination strategies in this vulnerable population.
Zika virus emerged in 2015 as a new perinatal infection with devastating consequences to the developing fetus.
Through a multi-institutional collaboration (Fiocruz Institute, Rio de Janeiro and UCLA) of clinical and translational studies of Zika pathogenesis in pregnancy, our lab is focused on studying the impact of Zika infection in pregnancy on placental pathology and immune responses, and their role in the modulation of clinical severity of infection. These studies integrate analysis of patient samples from pregnancies affected with Zika virus, as well as laboratory models of Zika infection in the human placenta.
Stephanie L. Gaw, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Maternal Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
Dr. Gaw is a practicing Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician and scientist who studies the impact of infectious diseases on fetal growth and development, and particularly how this is mediated by the placenta. She has a long-standing interest in global health. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras in 1998-2001. She has over 20 years of experience studying malaria both in the laboratory and in the field. She has led collaboratorative research in malaria in Uganda, Zika virus in Brazil, and most recently COVID-19 in pregnancy. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Reproductive Scientist Development Program, the Foundation for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the CDC Foundation.
Emilia Basilio, MD MPH
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow (2020-2023)
Dr. Basilio is an Assistant Professor in Maternal Fetal Medicine at UCSF. She is a recipient of an NIH Diversity Supplement from NIEHS to develop ex vivo models of placental development in the laboratory of Dr. Joshua Robinson.
Lin Li, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2021-2024)
Dr. Li is a postdoctoral fellow in the Joshua Robinson Lab at UCSF.
Joshua Zamora
Volunteer Researcher (2023 - 2024)
Joshua is...
Our goal is to understand how infections in pregnancy impact the mother and fetus.