Presenter: Jane Dahlstrom (Canberra Health Services), Drucilla Roberts (Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School), Jess Comstock (University of Utah Health), Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya, & Nathan Blue (University of Utah)
Date: 10/12/24
Brief Description: Discusses
Keywords/Main Subjects: Pathology, perinatal pathology, healthcare access
Copyright: copyright Jane Dahlstrom, Drucilla Roberts, Jess Comstock, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya, & Nathan Blue ©2024
Slides: View / download (Comstock), View / download (Roberts), View / download (Dahlstrom)
Emeritus Professor Jane Dahlstrom
Jane is a Perinatal Pathologist at ACT Pathology for Canberra Health Services and Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University. She has a strong interest in stillbirth investigation including identifying gaps in care and reducing the burden of stillbirth by assisting with addressing inequities. She has been involved in the development of evidence-based, collaboratively designed educational resources for health professionals and parents including being a member of the expert working group for the recently published Care around stillbirth practice guidelines (CASaND) as part of the stillbirthcre.org.au. Over her career, Jane has held leadership positions in the Hospital and University sectors, and several professional organizations, including as past president of the International Pediatric Pathology Association (IPPA). She received an Order of Australia Medal (2019) for services to Medical Education and to Pathology. She is a recipient of the Distinguished Pathologist Medals from the International Academy of Pathology (2022) and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (2023).
Drucilla Roberts
Dr Roberts is Head of Obstetric and Perinatal Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Research Institute, and a professor in the Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School. Her area of expertise and interest is in perinatal pathology – surgical and autopsy pathology. She has a special interest in understanding the biology and clinical significance of pathologic findings. She works on perinatal projects focusing on the placenta both in the US and internationally, including placental malaria, stillbirths, and autopsy pathology in resource-poor settings. She directed the first-ever Harvard Medical School CME course in Sub-Saharan Africa titled “The contribution of anatomic pathology to the health of women and children” with faculty from the USA, South Africa, and Ethiopia in 2011 and in Nigeria in 2013. Dr. Roberts is interested in highlighting the improvements pathologists can make for all patients. Her aim is to raise awareness of issues that can lead to improvements in pathology especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Jess Comstock
Dr. Comstock is a pediatric pathologist in the Division of Pediatric Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Utah Health, with a subspecialty interest in perinatal and placental pathology.
Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya
Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya’s daughter, Autumn Joy, was born still in July 2011. Desperate to give Autumn’s short life great purpose, Debbie has since become a powerful advocate at the state and national levels, working tirelessly to put stillbirth on the map in this country. Over the years she has developed and championed multiple pieces of legislation that focused on improving stillbirth data collection, awareness, education, and bereavement care for families. Most recently she has been working with Members of Congress and their staff to advance federal stillbirth legislation, the bicameral and bipartisan Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act, H.R. 5012/S.2647 which would authorize funding for improved research, data collection, education, reporting, and awareness—all of which will help put the U.S. on the path to ending our country’s stillbirth crisis. Debbie resides in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
Nathan Blue
Nathan Blue, MD, MS, is a physician scientist whose work focuses on the prevention of stillbirth, with a focus on fetal growth restriction, cord accidents, and the development of AI-based risk estimation tools. He has an active clinical practice at the University of Utah, which includes work in the University’s recently launched Utah Pregnancy After Loss clinic. Dr. Blue earned his medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California. He completed his Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at Los Angeles General Medical Center, where he developed a passion for research and a commitment to serving underserved patients. Following this, he pursued a fellowship at the University of New Mexico and served as a Women’s Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) K12 scholar at University of Utah Health from 2018 to 2022. His ongoing NIH-funded research aims to use AI to create personalized prenatal risk assessment tools, helping families and health care providers make informed decisions in uncertain situations. Dr. Blue has also researched topics that include preeclampsia, preterm birth, research integrity and reproducibility in obstetrics and gynecology.
