Advisory Committee

Dr. Lauri Pasch is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. She received her PhD in clinical health psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and completed a fellowship in behavioral medicine at UCSF. Dr. Pasch is an NIH-funded researcher, practicing psychologist, and educator with expertise in women’s reproductive health. Dr. Pasch’s research on the psychological consequences of IVF addressed critical questions concerning IVF failure and stress, clinical depression in fertility patients, and utilization of mental health services. She has been part of a team of researchers who have reported on PCOS phenotypes, medical, behavioral, and neuropsychological correlates of PCOS. Her current NIH-funded research collaboration (with Brainlens laboratory) investigates intergenerational transmission of cognitive and brain function using families created via reproductive technologies as a model. She has also been co-investigator in numerous other longitudinal, multidisciplinary research studying adults and and children and has considerable expertise in clinical research design, implementation, interdisciplinary teams, with emphasis on scientific rigor and integrity. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters and is a frequent invited speaker regionally, nationally, and internationally. She also has directed psychological services for the UCSF Center for Reproductive Health for 19 years, where she counsels patients regarding infertility and third-party family-building. She recently co-taught an ASRM year-long course for licensed mental health professionals on essential skills for the fertility counselor. Dr. Pasch also teaches OBGYN residents and REI fellows how to address the psychosocial needs of their patients. She is currently Director at Large on the ASRM Board of Directors, a member of the ASRM Publications Committee, and serves on the Editorial Board of Fertility and Sterility.

Dr. Sarah K. England is the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University. Dr. England’s laboratory has three main lines of investigation: One focus is to determine how ion channels in the myometrium modulate uterine excitability and contractility during pregnancy. Second, her lab is investigating the role and regulation of the oxytocin receptor in controlling uterine excitability. Lastly, they are studying how disruptions in endogenous circadian rhythms affect pregnancy outcomes. Her laboratory has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, and other federal agencies. Dr. England has authored many research and review articles and has reviewed for multiple journals in both basic science and clinical fields. She serves on review committees for multiple funding agencies including the NIH, March of Dimes, American Heart Association, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and worked in the office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for one year working on policies related to maternal child health issues, women’s health, the healthcare workforce, and health disparities. In addition to running her translational research lab, she serves as the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University and Interim Director for the Center of Reproductive Health Sciences.

Dr. Michael S. Bloom is a Professor of Global and Community Health at George Mason University, where he teaches graduate-level epidemiologic methods. His research characterizes the human health risks of exposure to environmental pollutants in the U.S. and abroad, especially impacts on human reproduction and fetal development, and disparate effects among vulnerable and minoritized populations. He is a member of several peer-reviewed journal editorial review boards, including Fertility and Sterility, for which he is a methodologic reviewer. Dr. Bloom is the co-PI of the Reproductive Development Study, a prospective investigation of birth outcomes and gestational exposure to environmental pollutants found in personal care products and plastics among a diverse population from Charleston, South Carolina, and the co-PI of the Study of Metals and Assisted Reproductive Technologies, which investigates the effects of trace elements on reproductive outcomes among a diverse population of couples using in vitro fertilization (IVF) in San Francisco Bay Area of California. Dr. Bloom’s work has been supported by the National Institutes Health and the Fulbright Association.

Dr. Leslie Appiah is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chief of the Division of Academic Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado. She is a fellowship-trained pediatric and adolescent gynecologist and Director of the Fertility Preservation and Reproductive Late Effects program at the Comprehensive Cancer Center and Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Dr. Appiah received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and completed residency at Sinai Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. She subsequently completed a BIRCWH fellowship in reproductive genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and a clinical fellowship in pediatric and adolescent gynecology (PAG) at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Appiah is an NICHD CREST Scholar through the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and serves on the ASRM Fertility Drugs and Cancer Task Force and Children’s Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-up Guidelines Ovarian Task Force. She has published 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and given over 100 national and international lectures in her area of expertise. She is chair of the Female Oncofertility Scientific Committee of the Oncofertility Consortium and president-elect of the ASRM Fertility Preservation Special Interest Group. Dr. Appiah is a recent Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) alumna and fellow of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society. Dr. Appiah’s clinical and research interests include team science and outcomes research in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult fertility preservation, reproductive late effects in cancer survivorship, and hormone replacement therapy in the medically complex patient. She is passionate about improving the health of girls and women so that they may pursue life, career, and education unencumbered by reproductive health concerns.