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- Christina Megli, MD, PhD
Christina Megli, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences; OB‑GYN Resident Research Director; Basic Science Accreditation & Continuous Quality Improvement Faculty Lead, Magee-Womens Research Institute
I am a clinician with expertise in maternal‑fetal medicine and reproductive infectious diseases. I work with patients with high‑risk pregnancies and as a clinician am frustrated by the lack of diagnostic prediction tools and treatment options for my patients.
Christina Megli, MD, PhD
Research in Brief
Dr. Megli studies how a pregnant person’s immune system changes during pregnancy—and how those changes impact infection outcomes for both mother and baby. By analyzing patient data, placental immune cells, and molecular signals, she aims to develop better prediction tools and treatments that protect mothers and infants throughout pregnancy.
Current Projects
- Investigating how pregnancy modulates innate immunity and impacts infectious pathogenesis
- Characterizing amnion mesenchymal macrophages and their response to infection (SMFM 2024 poster)
- Studying mechanisms of preeclampsia and postpartum hypertension (SMFM 2024)
Selected Publications
- Megli CJ, Carlin SM, Giacobe EJ, Hillebrand GH, Hooven TA. Virulence and pathogenicity of group B Streptococcus: Virulence factors and their roles in perinatal infection. Virulence. 2025 Dec;16(1):2451173. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2025.2451173. Epub 2025 Jan 23. Review. PubMed PMID: 39844743; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11758947.
- Megli CJ, Zack R, McGaughey J, Hoehl R, Whisky T, Hartman A, McMillen C. Oropouche virus infects human placenta explants and trophoblast organoids. [preprint]. 2024 November. Available from: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.16.623866v1. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.16.623866.
- Cabo LF, Yang L, Gao M, da Silva RJ, Washington NN, Reilly SM, Megli CJ, Coyne CB, Boyle JP. Toxoplasma gondii infection misdirects placental trophoblast lineage specification. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 12;. doi: 10.1101/2024.09.10.612241. PubMed PMID: 39314453; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11419090.
- Megli CJ, DePuyt AE, Goff JP, Munyoki SK, Hooven TA, Jašarević E. Diet influences community dynamics following vaginal group B streptococcus colonization. Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Jun 4;12(6):e0362323. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03623-23. Epub 2024 May 9. PubMed PMID: 38722155; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11237455.
- Megli CJ, Hauspurg A, Venkataramanan R, Caritis SN. A Possible Mechanism of Action of 17α-Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate: Enhanced IL-10 Production. Am J Perinatol. 2023 Oct;40(14):1585-1589. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1739354. Epub 2021 Nov 16. PubMed PMID: 34784615; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9879021.
- Yankello H, Lee Y, Megli C, Wayne E. Bi-directional communication between monocytes and trophoblasts under hypoxia and hypoxia-reperfusion conditions. bioRxiv. 2023 September. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.23.558721.
- Shapero K, El-Dalati S, Berlacher K, Megli C. Outcomes of Endocarditis in Pregnancy: A Single-Center Experience. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2023 Sep;10(9):ofad470. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofad470. eCollection 2023 Sep. PubMed PMID: 37779596; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10538254.
- Megli C, DePuty A, Goff J, Munyoki S, Hooven T, Jašarević E. Diet influences community dynamics following vaginal group B Streptococcus colonization. [preprint]. 2023 September. Available from: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.10.556920v1. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.10.556920.
- McDonald K, Browning D, Greenfield K, Lin K, Meier J, Butoryak M, Sasaki A, Hand T, Megli C, Knoop K. Disruption of maternal IgA by prenatal antibiotics precedes intestinal E. coli colonization and late-onset sepsis in neonates. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences. 2023 September. doi: https://doi.orgmegli/10.1101/2023.09.04.23295031.
- Mark EG, Demirci JR, Megli C, Martin JM, Rick AM. Vaccination Beliefs and Attitudes of Lactating People During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. J Hum Lact. 2023 Aug;39(3):415-425. doi: 10.1177/08903344231159640. Epub 2023 Apr 3. PubMed PMID: 37009722; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10354528.
For additional publications, click here.