Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation

By: Faith Jeffcoat

Clinical Trial Trailblazers 

Research and innovation are thriving at the Erie Campus of Magee-Womens Research Institute with the celebration of a significant milestone: over 1,100 research enrollments since the regional expansion four years ago, with more signing up every day.  

“Thanks to the very generous $6 million donation from the Erie Community Foundation and the investments from the Hamot Health Foundation, we are thrilled to have achieved more than 1,100 recruitments. The women of Erie have truly embraced the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research and contribute to science and new discoveries,” says Linda Paterniti, former Director of Satellite Operations at Magee-Womens Research Institute, Erie Campus.  

Beginning with in-person recruitment efforts in the summer of 2021, the inaugural year was dedicated to establishing a robust research infrastructure, including laboratory facilities and staffing. Then in 2023, its footprint expanded to the UPMC Specialty Clinic's West Ridge office, broadening access to cutting-edge trials in the community.  

To date, the Magee-Womens Erie Campus has launched more than 20 trials locally, and co-sponsored six seed grants with Penn State Behrend, fostering local research collaboration. Building on the Penn State Behrend partnership, the launch of the EVery Mom study marks the first clinically focused study. EVery Mom explores trauma's impact on biomarkers of stress in expectant mothers' bloodstreams. This pioneering research has the potential to help better understand the relationship of how trauma impacts a woman during their pregnancy.

Among other notable studies, Magee-Womens in Erie has supported SCOOP3, a study assessing postoperative cognitive dysfunction in older women undergoing pelvic organ prolapse surgery. The Heart Health for New Moms trial which explored lifestyle interventions targeting cardiovascular health in new mothers, the ongoing TAPER trial which is examining 2 common applications of vaginal estrogen cream for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections.

Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The secret sauce of our enviable recruitment is without doubt the amazing research assistants. They are passionate, professional, and incredibly dedicated.”
Dr. Halina Zyczynski, Medical Director of Magee-Womens Research Institute, Erie Campus.

While Magee-Womens Research Institute, Erie Campus, has already achieved remarkable success, the team is focused on future growth.  

“[Magee-Womens Research Institute, Erie Campus] will continue to build on our initial success in pregnancy-focused research and biospecimen acquisition for translational research by facilitating relationships between Magee-Womens investigators and Hamot-based primary care practices in Erie,” says Linda. “We anticipate that these collaborations will lead to the implementation of community-based studies that will benefit our investigators, providers, and patients, and continue to advance women’s health.”

A Growing Legacy

We look forward to launching new studies that target prevalent conditions in women’s health. The studies and their sponsors are:  

• RELIEF: A Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)  sponsored multicenter study of BOTOX therapy for urgency incontinence in women over age 70 years. Study aims include learning if older women should have a dosage reduction to optimize benefits and minimize unintended adverse effects of treatment)  
• GEMSTONE: A Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. observation study of the clinical, humanistic and economic burden of menopause induced vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes). Participants will provide their perspective on how vasomotor symptoms impact quality of life, sleep and mood, and the extent to which currently available treatments are effective in controlling their burden.  
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) sponsored multicenter comparative effectiveness study of two aspirin doses for prevention of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
• Womens Biome: The goal of this study is to identify potential markers or pre-cursors of cancer and other women's health conditions as well as factors that may affect them so that researchers can potentially identify prevention and treatment targets
• Expanding the MWRI biospecimen procurement and processing services (Biobank) to include peritoneal biopsies for investigations of endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain disorders.
• MWRI Erie campus will continue to sponsor an Erie community student in the College Summer Internship Program at Magee-Womens Research Institute  

Some of the successful flagship trials include pregnancy-focused research, like:

• The Magee Obstetric Maternal and Infant (MOMI) Biobank, a research program that collects patient samples to better understand pregnancy and ensure healthier outcomes for both moms and babies. Magee-Womens in Erie has enrolled 696 participants as of 12/11/24.  
• The Miracle of Life trial, an observational study to validate a blood test designed to predict pregnancy complications, has seen 228 enrollments.  
• The Deep Phenotyping of Pregnancy Project (DP3) is a multisite observational study to construct a blueprint of a healthy pregnancy, 87 pregnant women and 57 fathers from the Erie region joined the study.  They account for 20% of total enrollments. This study examines the effects of factors like air quality, the microbiome, components of the blood, stress, physical activity, and the father of the baby’s medical history.

To date, 19 investigators have had their groundbreaking studies supported by staff of the Magee-Womens Research Institute, Erie Campus.  

Mary Ackenbom, MD	Oren Barak, MD
Megan Bradley, MD	Wilson Brown, PhD
Janet Catov, PhD, MS	Nicole Donnellan MD
John Harris, MD	Alisse Hauspurg, MD
Grace Lim, MD, MS	Arun Jeyabalan, MD
Pamela Moalli MD, PhD	Maryfrancis Mondungo PhD
Carla Picardo, MD	Ashley Russell, PhD
Yoel Sadovsky, MD	Paul Speer, MD
Jeffrey Troutman, DO	Stephanie Zou, MD
Halina Zyczynski, MD