Kristin D. Gerson

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Additional Appointment Titles

• Active Physician, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Gynecology, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Attending Physician, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA
• Attending Physician, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Graduate Group Affiliations

• Cell and Molecular Biology
• Immunology

Education

• B.A.
  Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 2004.
• MD
  University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 2014.
• Ph.D. (Cancer Biology)
  University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, 2014.

Post-Graduate Training

• Clinical Fellow, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, 2014-2018.
• Intern and Resident, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, 2014-2018.
• Fellowship, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 2018-2021.

Description of Research Expertise

Dr. Gerson is a Maternal Fetal Medicine physician scientist conducting fundamental and translational research in reproductive biology with a specific focus on microbiome-metabolome interactions governing cervical remodeling and preterm birth.

Selected Publications

Gerson KD, Loder A, Landau Z, Anton: Xenobiotic metabolites modify immune responses of the cervicovaginal epithelium: potential mechanisms underlying barrier disruption. BJOG 131(5):665-674, Apr 2024.

Ferguson B, Curry D, Friedman E, McCoy JA, Planet PJ, Flannery D, Puopolo K, Anton L, Gerson KD: Common vaginal microbes modify Group B Streptococcus growth at epithelial barriers: potential mechanisms governing colonization. Accepted as poster presentation at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 44th Annual Pregnancy Meeting Feb 2024.

Ferguson B, Loder A, Gordon SM, Anton L, Gerson KD: Vaginal putrescine attenuates microbe-mediated inflammation in the cervical epithelium. Accepted as oral presentation in the Concurrent Session 1 – Prematurity at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 44th Annual Pregnancy Meeting Feb 2024.

Ferguson B, Loder A, Gordon SM, Anton L, Gerson KD: Vaginal polyamines mitigate inflammasome activation: potential immune mechanisms governing barrier function in preterm birth. Accepted as oral presentation in the Concurrent Session 1 – Prematurity at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 44th Annual Pregnancy Meeting Feb 2024.

McCoy JA, Bromwich K, Gerson KD, Levine LD: Association between intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for Group B Streptococcus colonization and clinical chorioamnionitis among patients undergoing induction of labor at term. Am J Obstet Gynecol 229(6):672.e1-672.e8., Dec 2023.

Sanchez L, Escobar FA, Finn LS, Gerson KD, Janssen M, Acord MR: In utero torsion of an accessory hepatic lobe mimicking a congenital tumor. Pediatr Radiol 53(6):1211-1215, May 2023.

McCoy J, Bromwich KA, Gerson KD, Levine LD: Association between Group B Streptococcus positivity and maternal infectious morbidity. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 43rd Annual Pregnancy Meeting, San Francisco, CA Feb 2023.

Gerson KD, Landau Z, Anton L, Elovitz ME: Xenobiotic metabolites modify immune output of the cervicovaginal epithelium: potential mechanisms underlying barrier disruption. Oral presentation in the Opening Plenary of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 43rd Annual Pregnancy Meeting, San Francisco, CA Feb 2023.

Gerson KD, Yang N, Ravel J, Elovitz ME, Burrus HH: Microbes common in a Lactobacillus-deplete microbiota are negatively correlated with lipid metabolite abundance in pregnancy. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 43rd Annual Pregnancy Meeting, San Francisco, CA Feb 2023.

Gerson KD, Yang N, Landau Z, Ravel J, Elovitz ME, Burrus HH: Tyramine paradoxically suppresses immune output of the cervicovaginal epithelium: potential mechanisms promoting a Lactobacillus-deplete microbiota. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s 43rd Annual Pregnancy Meeting, San Francisco, CA Feb 2023.