Table 13: Mindfulness in Academia

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Phil Bennett, MD, PhD

Phillip Bennett is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology to Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust at Queen Charlottes and Hammersmith Hospitals. He is Director of the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, NHS Research Director for Women's and Children's Health and Biomedical Research Centre Theme Lead for Women's Health for Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust. He is also Clinical Academic Training Lead in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust and NW Thames Deanery).

Professor Bennett's principal research interests are the biochemistry and endocrinology of human term and preterm labour, and the stratification, prediction and prevention of preterm birth.

 

Perrie O'Tierney-Ginn, PhD

What is Your Current Position?

Assistant Professor of Reproductive Biology & Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University, and Staff Scientist in Obstetrics & Gynecology at MetroHealth Medical Center

What are your current research endeavors and/or other academic contributions?

The O’Tierney-Ginn lab conducts translational studies of placental lipid transport at the MetroHealth campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Our overall interest is to understand the effect of the maternal nutritional environment (metabolism, diet, body composition) on placental function, and fetal nutrient delivery and growth.

Our work is highly translational – we have a ‘bedside-to-bench’ approach – following women during pregnancy with the intention of understanding how her unique metabolic milieu affects her baby’s growth and future health. We believe this relationship is mediated by adaptive alterations in placental function and nutrient delivery, that are assessed in our lab using techniques ranging from basic molecular biology to mass spectrophotometry.

What has been the most pivotal moment in your career?

I found later in my PhD that the renal volume in offspring of our mouse model was dependent on maternal hypertension, not the genotype of the offspring itself.  This made me ask (naively?) “does the maternal environment in pregnancy affect fetal development?” to a mentor, Dr. Anne Croy. Her response was “you need to meet Kent Thornburg”. This led to my postdoc in the Thornburg lab, and was the beginning on my career in studying developmental origins of disease.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a trainee?

Don’t be afraid to explore a new area. That is how you mature as a scientist, expand your network, and broaden research horizons.

 

Emre Seli, MD

What is Your Current Position?

Emre Seli, MD, is Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Seli received his medical degree from the University of Istanbul and completed his Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University. His postdoctoral training included a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as well as a research fellowship in molecular biology, both at Yale University.

What are your current research endeavors and/or other academic contributions?

As a physician-scientist, his primary focus is to understand and treat infertility. His laboratory characterized the mechanisms regulating translational activation of gene expression in the oocyte. Dr. Seli and his colleagues also made seminal contributions to our understanding of oocyte and embryo competence in IVF and the potential role of non-invasive diagnostic technologies in this context. Dr. Seli is the recipient of many National Institutes of Health (NIH) and pharmaceutical industry-sponsored research grants. He has trained more than 50 pre- and post-doctoral fellows, published more than 100 scientific articles, and received numerous research awards, including the Ira and Ester Rosenwaks New Investigator Award from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and the President’s Achievement Award from the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI). Dr. Seli’s current research focuses on determinants of oocyte and embryo health, and mechanisms of ovarian aging. 

What has been the most pivotal moment in your career?

Dr. Seli delivered more than 150 invited lectures nationally and internationally, and he is the recipient of the “Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) Excellence in Teaching Award” based on evaluations of his lectures by Yale Medical Students. In addition, Dr. Seli edited four books (Non-invasive Management of Gynecologic Disorders, Infertility, Fertility Preservation, and Human Gametes and Pre-implantation Embryos: Assessment and Diagnosis), and is currently co-authoring the 9th edition of the most acclaimed book in the field, “Speroff’s Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility“.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a trainee?

Try to create win-win scenarios.