We are delighted to announce that Dr. Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology and Immunology, became Director of the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences (CRePHS) effective July 1, 2026. She previously served as Associate Director of the Center. Dr. Gomez-Lopez succeeds Sarah K. England, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine, who served as director and Vice Chair of Research in the Department and who is stepping back in her leadership roles to focus on research and transition towards retirement.
Dr. Gomez-Lopez brings extensive international training and expertise in maternal-fetal immunology to this leadership role. She earned her undergraduate degree in Chemical Bacteriology and Parasitology from the National School of Biological Sciences at the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City. She continued her M.Sc. and Ph.D. training at the same institution, earning Honorable Mention for both degrees, and conducted her graduate research in collaboration with the National Institute of Perinatology, where she focused on the cellular immunology of pregnancy. She then pursued postdoctoral training in Physiology of Pregnancy and Parturition at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, followed by Reproductive Immunology at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia.
“It is an honor to serve as the next Director of the Center for Reproductive Health Sciences. I look forward to building on the outstanding foundation established by Dr. Sarah England and working with our exceptional faculty, trainees, and staff to foster collaboration, innovation, and scientific excellence. Together, we will advance discovery and innovation across the full spectrum of reproductive health while fostering the next generation of scientists and physician-scientists.” – Nardhy Gomez-Lopez, PhD
Prior to joining WashU Medicine in 2023, Dr. Gomez-Lopez served in multiple leadership roles within the Perinatology Research Branch (PRB), an intramural research branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), hosted by Wayne State University School of Medicine. She was Deputy Project Site Manager of Translational Research, Section Head of the Maternal-Fetal Immunobiology Unit, and Director of the PRB Clinical Laboratory and Biorepository for nearly a decade. During her time at Wayne State University School of Medicine, she also rose through the academic ranks to Full Professor with tenure.
Her research program focuses on maternal-fetal immunology and host-microbe interactions in pregnancy, with the ultimate goal of improving the diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and prevention of pregnancy complications, including preterm birth, preeclampsia, and fetal growth restriction. Among her many seminal contributions, she has advanced the understanding of maternal and fetal immune responses during pregnancy, helped define the molecular mechanisms underlying sterile intra-amniotic inflammation, discovered a population of homeostatic macrophages at the maternal-fetal interface, and used single-cell technologies to uncover key cellular and molecular pathways involved in both physiologic and pathologic parturition.
Dr. Gomez-Lopez has published more than 220 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Science Translational Medicine, Cell Reports, Cell Reports Medicine, Nature Communications, Nature Protocols, and JCI Insight, among others, and has authored solicited contributions for The Lancet, Trends in Immunology, and the Journal of Immunology. She serves in six editorial roles, has mentored more than 40 trainees and numerous master’s and doctoral students, and has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations spanning immunology, microbiome science, neonatology, and multi omics, strengthening partnerships across the Departments of Pathology & Immunology, Pediatrics, and Molecular Microbiology.
Dr. Gomez-Lopez has built a highly successful, continuously funded research program throughout her career. Her research has been supported by both intramural and extramural NICHD funding, and since joining WashU Medicine she has secured a strong portfolio of competitive extramural funding. Her research is currently supported by multiple NIH awards from NIAID and NICHD, as well as funding from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, to advance maternal-fetal immunology, pregnancy complications, and neonatal health.
“We are extremely lucky to have leaders of this caliber shaping the mission of our department and even luckier that their combined legacy of discovery and mentorship will continue to advance science in reproductive and women’s health.” – Dineo Khabele, MD
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Gomez-Lopez and welcoming her into this new leadership role, and in thanking Dr. England for her many years of scientific leadership, mentorship, and service.