A record number attend Ob-Gyn Research Day 2025
Over 330 participants came together to share and celebrate research on “the most important day of the year” for the department
She listed the skills she herself has acquired from nearly three decades of research experience: problem solving, critical thinking, data management, organization, presentation and resilience — at times, frustration management, too, which falls under “the bigger scope” of doing research, she said.
“We would be remiss if we did not celebrate the friends and family who pick us up and encourage us when our cell cultures became contaminated on day seven of a seven-day experiment. Or when you forgot to press save on the database and poof, it’s gone.”
Doubtless, the presenters on this day agreed. And after a dozen podium presentations, several video abstracts and 20 breakout sessions — plus a raised glass to department award winners during the reception — trainees and faculty rolled up their sleeves and got back to work, swelled by the support of the U of T ob-gyn community.
The Henderson Lecture: Preterm labour and intra-amniotic infection
The prestigious Henderson Lecture — established in 1965 in honour of clinician-scientist and eminent member of the department Dr. Donald Nelson Henderson — kicked off the day’s presentations by offering a perspective on new and emerging research from a distinguished guest.
This year’s speaker was Roberto Romero, chief of the pregnancy research branch of NICHD/NIH. He began his talk by asking a simple question: What is premature labour?
“This is the most important problem of modern obstetrics,” said Romero.
A birth is considered preterm if it occurs before 37 weeks. However, the hormone pathway that labour takes, either before this gestation time or after, is the same. So, what is the distinguishing physiological factor between preterm labour and normal labour?
“Many years ago, we proposed that the difference between normal labor and preterm labor is pathologic activation of the common pathway,” said Romero, adding that his team studied extensively the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the onset of premature labor.
The most important cause for this activation, Romero proposed, is intra-amniotic infection.
Such infections happen when the natural barrier in the cervical canal, the mucus plug, is dislodged. Microorganisms, which are present in everyone, then ascend through the lower genital tract, and the normally sterile environment around the fetus becomes compromised.
“Once in the amniotic cavity, the microorganisms may get access to the fetus, and the fetus responds with an inflammatory response,” said Romero. “Overall, one of every three preterm deliveries comes from a mother who has microorganisms in the amniotic cavity.”
He cited observations in studies from Europe, Asia and South America that concur with his research, conducted at Yale. In a subsequent study with Bo Hyun Yoon, Romero found that patients with intra-amniotic infections could be successfully treated with antibiotics.
Trainees’ presentations evaluated by faculty judges
Medical students, graduate students, residents and fellows made over 130 presentations at research day, from either the podium in the full-capacity ballroom or one of the twenty breakout sessions.
Sarah Ferguson, a professor and vice chair of research in the department, said the day was the most important in the department’s calendar. She was pleased with what she saw.
“These were high-level studies that have impact," she said. "The breadth across disciplines, the innovation and the sophistication of their interpretation of the data was impressive. Across all levels of training, too, not just fellows or senior residents. The maturity they showed, how they handled questions on the spot, was phenomenal.”
Samples of topics include gyn-onc fellow Anouk Benseler’s study on birth rates after oncologic immunotherapy, which is a new type of treatment that boosts the immune system to eliminate cancer cells. MFM fellow Catherine Windrim explained an interdisciplinary project that developed a virtual reality simulator to fill a training gap in a rarely performed surgery for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. GREI fellow Akanksha Kulshreshtha’s study looked for strategies to encourage donation of leftover reproductive material in patients undergoing IVF.
All presentations were scored by faculty judges based on the criteria of originality, scientific merit, study quality and presentation. The day’s winners were sorted by level of training for both podium and breakout sessions.
Siobhan Wilson won in the medical student category for a podium presentation. She is in her third year.
Wilson led the full-capacity crowd through research that examines a specific protein ratio to predict the time-to-delivery in patients with preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a condition that affects 3 to 5 per cent of pregnant women worldwide and results in 42,000 maternal deaths. Managing this condition can involve the administration of antenatal corticosteroids, optimally within 1 to 7 days before delivery. But the nature of the condition makes it difficult to determine this window.
Wilson’s study found that the ratio of two proteins — soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) — is a useful predictor to determine whether delivery will occur in 7 to 14 days.
It was Wilson’s first in-person presentation. As exciting and nerve-wracking as that was, she said, it inspired her.
“It just drives you further to keep pushing out the research and doing more with it. When other people ask questions, you think of new ones yourself. It’s really collaborative, sharing discovery and innovation in a room like this where everyone is dedicated to the same cause.”
Celebrating promotions and presentation awards
Before the award winners were revealed, Lisa Allen, a professor in the department, chair of the promotions committee and division head of paediatric and adolescent gynaecology, took to the stage to announce three successful faculty promotions beginning with Ally Murji, who was promoted to full professor.
Allen said it was apt this announcement came on research day: “If you want to look at what he’s done since his last promotion, he’s had 55 publications and 2,200 citations.”
Amanda Selk, also promoted to professor, was praised for her extensive publishing and presentations, her awards, and her public outreach — at one-time named as a top-10 obstetrician to follow on Twitter.
Deborah Robertson, promoted to associate professor, was singled out for her research contributions and 12 teaching awards. “Compassionate, exceptional and inspiring,” said Allen, Robertson went beyond educator to role model, mentor and advocate.
The Dr. J.W. Knox Ritchie Research Awards for the day's presentations were handed out by Kellie Murphy, a professor and chair of the ob-gyn department. One by one, the winners walked up to receive their certificates, smiling, amid cheers.
To Murphy, all the research on display, from med students to residents, from fellows to postdocs, made this a wildly successful event.
“I was amazed by the incredible breadth and wealth of knowledge, the different fields and methodologies — really top notch," she said. "You all made me very proud, and I’m very grateful to be a part of this incredible, inspiring community.”
Pics from the day!
