Dr. Michal Elovitz, Chief Medical Advisor of Mirvie, is a physician-scientist with a demonstrated history of research success from the bench to the bedside. She is a successful mentor promoting physician-scientists in women's health research, and both founded and directed the Womxn's Health Collaborative. She has strong professional skills in Perinatal Medicine, Molecular Biology, Reproductive Immunology Microbiome, Pregnancy, Healthcare, Biomarkers, Discovery Research, Clinical Research, and Translational Research.

In this episode, Dr. Elovitz speaks with Fempower Health on an innovation Mirvie is currently focused on: preventing pregnancy complications, in particular, preeclampsia (dangerous blood pressure elevation during pregnancy).

Despite the U.S. having the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, health risks in pregnancy have remained understudied, underfunded, and underserved. 

Pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes impact 1 in 5 women. But with no accurate way to predict these conditions before symptoms appear, both moms and babies enter crisis mode when diagnosed in their third trimester.

Dr. Elovitz explains one of those complications, preeclampsia, and explores how better screening can help.

Discussed in this episode:

• What is preeclampsia?
• Preeclampsia risk factors and long-term effects
• Blood tests that predict potential complications during pregnancy 
• How the Mirvie RNA platform works to detect early complications 
• What is the benefit of having a Mirvie test over regular blood pressure tests in pregnancy? 
• The future of science with innovative testing for pregnant women
• Making information and data more accessible to advocate for pregnancy health

“There have to be silos broken down. If we want to advance women’s health, we need to be partnering. We need to work together if we actually care about changing women’s health.”  - Dr. Michal Elovitz

Related to this episode:

• Episode With Dr. Joanne Stone: Preventing the Preventable During Pregnancy
• Follow Mirvie on LinkedIn and Twitter 
• Follow Dr. Elovitz on Twitter @docelovitz 
• Read about Genetic Testing During Pregnancy
• Listen to more episodes about Pregnancy 

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About Dr. Michal E. Elovitz

Michal A. Elovitz, MD is a tenured physician-scientist and the Hilarie L. Morgan and Mitchell L. Morgan President’s Distinguished Professor in Women’s Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Elovitz brings the clinical and research world together to advance reproductive, pregnancy, and women’s health. She has been actively involved in fundamental and translational research for 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. 

**The information shared by Fempower Health is not medical advice but for informational purposes to enable you to have more effective conversations with your doctor.  Always talk to your doctor before making health-related decisions. Additionally, the views expressed by the Fempower Health podcast guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.**

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