AshleyMeganHessonMDPhD

Summary

• I am an Assistant Professor in Maternal Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology dually appointed in Cardiovascular Medicine (Department of Internal Medicine). I am the Director of Research for the University of Michigan Cardio-Obstetrics program and Co-Director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center Michigan Biological Research Initiative on Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease.
  
  I am interested in both translational and implementation science as it applies to maternal cardiovascular risk in and around pregnancy. My background is in social science, more specifically in the quantification of variation in physician-patient communication regarding medical risk and recommendations. During fellowship, I held an NIH T32 grant to facilitate further training in vascular genetics as applied to pregnancy and women’s health. I phenotyped a murine model of hypertensive pregnancy and tested sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in this model, assessing their effects during pregnancy and the postpartum period. I also collected, processed, and analyzed placental samples from patients with hypertensive disorders. I am currently the Principal Investigator of a pilot-scale trial of SGLT2i use in the postpartum period following pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders. In this work, I am integrating across my experience in vascular genetics, social science, and quantitative analysis to assess the feasibility and acceptability of postpartum SGLT2i use for the purpose of decreasing the lifelong cardiovascular risk conferred by hypertensive pregnancy.