Meet Our Team
Principal Investigators
Leena B. Mithal, MD, MSCI
Dr. Mithal is a pediatric infectious diseases specialist with an academic focus and clinical expertise in neonatal and congenital infections. Dr. Mithal is passionate about understanding microbial exposures before birth and in early life; the interaction of microbes and the developing immune system; and the role of the perinatal exposome more broadly in health outcomes.
Stephanie Fisher, MD, MPH
Dr. Fisher is a maternal-fetal medicine physician who has a special interest in preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, and infectious, autoimmune, and cardiometabolic disease in pregnancy. She studies the mechanisms by which social drivers of health and psychosocial stress impact risk of placentally-mediated adverse pregnancy outcomes in people from diverse communities through metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative stress pathways.
Tonia Branche, MD, MPH
Dr. Branche is a neonatologist who cares for premature and critically ill neonates. She is invested in health equity and advocacy to improve care and birth outcomes for racially and ethnically minoritized individuals. She has a strong passion for public health and community development, and her research centers on understanding causes of health inequity and creating interventions and community programs to improve health disparities in neonatal and perinatal care.
Research Team
Mary Akel, MPH
Mary is a public health professional with a decade of research experience in basic science, clinical, and translational research. She possesses a wealth of expertise in project management and execution, development of research tools and databases, leadership, and dissemination. Mary oversees research-related aspects of this project and supports both OB and Lurie research staff.
Estefania Espinosa, BS
Estefania has worked in clinical research for nearly six years; her prior experience includes managing a biotechnology laboratory focused on viral and vaccine research. Her research interests include equity, inclusion, and diversifying research and working with underserved communities to facilitate access to healthcare resources. Estefania works closely with Erie staff to recruit and enroll mothers from Erie Family Health Centers clinic practices.
Vanessa Hernandez, MS
Vanessa has more than five years of research experience working in basic science laboratories and contributing to published work on Alzheimer’s disease and ovarian cancer. Her current research interests focus on partnering with BIPOC communities to diversify participation in research. Vanessa works closely with Kennedi and Estefania to recruit and enroll mothers from Northwestern Medicine and Erie Family Health Centers.
Kennedi Williams, BA
Kennedi is a recent graduate from the University of Chicago with vested research interests in health disparities affecting Black and Latine communities, environmental injustice and its associated health effects, as well as global and public health. Kennedi works closely with Northwestern Medicine (NM) staff to recruit and enroll pregnant individuals from NM.
Ivy Gleason, BA
Ivy is a University of Michigan graduate with more than five years of research experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, and adolescent and pediatric health. She is a coordinator on the Pediatrics team, leading postnatal study visits and working closely with mother–infant dyads during the first two years of a child’s life. She is passionate about neurodevelopmental and behavioral health, improving health equity, and supporting families during this critical early stage.
Samantha Gottlieb, BS
Sam is a recent graduate from Duke University with interests in perinatal health, social determinants of health, and medicine. She is one of our pediatrics coordinators and works closely with our study families during the first two years of the child's life.
Madeline Meirhaeghe, BS
Maddie is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities with research interests in perinatal health, placental pathology, infectious diseases, and medicine. She is a pediatrics coordinator who works closely with families during the two years of follow-up after birth.
