Michal A. Elovitz, MD

Michal A. Elovitz, MD is the Hilarie L. Morgan and Mitchell L. Morgan President’s Distinguished Professor in Women’s Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She is a full tenured Professor and serves as Vice Chair of Translational Research. She was the founder and Director of the Maternal and Child Health Research Center (MCHRC) from 2008-2021. A graduate of the University of Texas and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, she completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cornell University and a fellowship in Maternal and Fetal Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Elovitz is considered one of the world’s leading physicians in Maternal Fetal Medicine and has been nationally and internationally recognized for her cutting-edge research in preterm birth and her mentorship in Women’s Health. She has been actively involved in translational and clinical research for the over 20 years. Her research is or has been funded by the March of Dimes, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, National Institute of Child Health and Development, National Institute for Nursing Research, the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. As Director of the MCHRC, one of her research goals was to bring in non-OBGYN researchers into the MCHRC to create multidisciplinary teams to advance research in meaningful metrics. Dr. Elovitz supports, fosters, participates and advocates for collaborative research, from the bench to the bedside, to advance the mission of improving health outcomes for women and their children. She has been very successful at growing a multidisciplinary research team that will undoubtedly push forward the needle on women’s health. Her own research program has focused on understanding the mechanisms and consequences of adverse pregnancy outcomes both for the pregnancy of interest and for implications for the long-term health of the mother and child. Her research integrating immunology and microbiology into pregnancy health has led to novel discoveries in preterm birth.

Aside from advancing the research agenda, Dr. Elovitz believes strongly in mentoring and sponsoring the next generation of physician-scientists in women’s health. She was program director for the Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship at PENN for 11 years where she developed new curriculum, processes for review, and expanded the fellowship in regards to the number of fellows and the clinical sites where they were able to advance their education. She also served as the research director for an institutional K12 (WRHR) award. She believes that the future of Women’s Health lies in supporting and integrating physicians and scientists from OBGYN as well as other disciplines. As such, Dr. Elovitz currently mentors faculty in the field of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatology, Reproductive Endocrinology, Psychiatry, Immunology, Pediatric Neurology, Microbiology and Cardiology. She has mentored undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, and a diverse group of faculty. At PENN, she created the Women for Women (W4W) which serves as both a vertical and horizontal peer mentoring group for women pursuing research. Additionally, to address the broader need to support and empower women in medicine and science, she is one of the co-founders and the current Director of the Womxn’s Health Collaborative (WHC) which serves to foster and grown diversity and equity in women’s health. WHC (womxnshealthcollaborative.org) ; LINK: ADVOCACY

In addition to her research and mentoring, Dr. Elovitz has been an active and engaged clinician. Her clinical expertise lies in managing highly complicated pregnancies from maternal heart disease to cancer. She is most proud of the prematurity prevention program at PENN which she developed and ran for over a decade and served to address the needs of patients at high risk for pregnancy loss and preterm birth (Prematurity Prevention Program Team – Penn Medicine).

Dr. Elovitz has contributed her time and efforts to organizations that promote women’s health and women’s health research. She served as a 6- year standing member of the national specialty board for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). Additionally, she is an active member of the NIH peer review process both as a frequent ad hoc member as well as serving as a standing member for two study sections focused on perinatal health. She has served as Associate Editor for two of OBGYNs main journals, and is involved in organizing and participating in national and international meetings for women’s health research. She is a known national and international speaker on preterm birth, fetal brain injury, translational research and innovative ways to promote research and education in Women’s Health.