Stacie Geller, PhD is a health services researcher and epidemiologist with expertise in women’s health issues, maternal morbidity and mortality, with a special emphasis on post-partum haemorrhage (PPH). She has a well-established national and international research career, having published over 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts, been awarded numerous research grants and conducted several NIH-funded clinical trials.

Dr. Geller’s work in maternal health focuses on factors associated with maternal morbidity and mortality.  She was the Principal Investigator of a CDC/ASPH cooperative agreement “Investigation of factors associated with maternal mortality.” Dr. Geller has developed an innovative model for early identification of high-risk pregnant women and has done extensive work in Illinois to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. As a member of two maternal deaths review committees in Illinois, she is leading the statewide effort to examine severe maternal morbidity.

Dr. Geller’s work extends to global women’s health as well. She has conducted several studies related to the safety and efficacy of misoprostol in SouthEast Asia and Africa. Her international research in maternal morbidity and mortality began with a 5-year NICHD-funded randomized clinical trial comparing the use of oral misoprostol to placebo for the reduction postpartum haemorrhage in women delivering at home or in rudimentary health facilities in rural India. This has led to work with several other international agencies including the Gates and MacArthur Foundations, non-profit organizations and foreign governments to promote implementation of misoprostol into community-based settings in the developing world.

Additionally, in collaboration with the University of Otago and the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Dr. Geller has engaged in several initiatives to improve maternal and newborn health in Maori women. Working with Maori health providers, community leaders and government Dr. Geller has collaborated in implementing the first national review to assess potential preventability of severe maternal morbidities in the country.

Dr. Geller is the Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health-funded BIRCWH Program (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health), a K12 institutional career development grant for women’s health researchers, and has personally mentored many faculty members and fellows, particularly in the areas of research and career development.

Recent Publications

Dobiesz V, Yost G, Robinson N, Kutz-McClain P, Esmailbeighi H, Collofello B, Harrington A, Koch A, Geller S. In pursuit of solving a global health problem: prototype medical device for autotransfusing life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage in resource-limited settings. Current Opinions in Obstetrics & Gynecology 2017; In press.

Briller J, Koch AR, Geller S. Maternal Cardiovascular Mortality in Illinois, 2002-2011. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2017;5:819-826.

Carnahan LR, Geller SE, Leshabari S, Sangu W, Hanselman B, Patil CL. Healthcare providers’ knowledge and practices associated with postpartum hemorrhage during facility delivery in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 2016; 135:268-271.

Miller S, Abalos E, Chamillard M, Ciapponi A, Colaci D, Comandé D, Diaz V, Geller S, Hanson C, Langer A, Manuelli V, Millar K, Morhason-Bello I, Pileggi VN, Castro CP, Robinson N, Skaer M, Souza JP, Vogel J, Althabe F. Beyond “Too Little, Too Late” and “Too Much, Too Soon”: A pathway towards evidence-based, respectful maternity care worldwide. The Lancet 2016;388:2176-2192.

Koch AR, Rosenberg D, Geller SE. Higher risk of homicide among pregnant and postpartum women aged 10-29 in Illinois, 2002-2011. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2016;128:440-446.

Guise JM, Geller S, Regensteiner JG, Raymond N, Nagel J and the BIRCWH Program Leadership. Team Mentoring for Interdisciplinary Team Science: Lessons from K12 Scholars and Directors. Academic Medicine 2016;92:214-221.

Raghavan S, Geller S, Miller S, Goudar SS, Anger H, Yadavannavar MD, Dabash R, Bidri SR, Gudadinni MR, Udgiri R, Koch AR, Bellad MB, Winikoff B. Misopristol for primary versus secondary prevention of postpartum haemorrhage: a cluster-randomised non-inferiority community trial. British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2016;123:120-127.

Geller SE, Koch AR, Martin NJ, Rosenberg D, Bigger HR, for the Illinois Department of Public Health Maternal Mortality Review Committee Working Group. Assessing preventability of maternal mortality in Illinois: 2002-2012. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2014;211:698.e1-11.

Lawton B, MacDonald EJ, Brown SA, Wilson L, Stanley J, Tait JD, Dinsdale RA, Coles CL, Geller SE. Preventability of severe acute maternal morbidity. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2014;210:557.e1-6.

Geller S, Carnahan L, Akosah E, Asare G, Agyemang R, Dickson R, Kapungu C, Owusu-Ansah, Robinson N, Mensah-Homiah J. Community-based distribution of misoprostol to prevent postpartum haemorrhage at home births: results from operations research in rural Ghana. British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2014;121:319-325.

Invited Presentations

“Inclusion of Women in Biomedical Research” North American Menopause National Meeting, Orlando FL, October 2016.

“Maternal Health Supporting Healthy Women” Panel, Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and the Evanston/North Shore YWCA “Women Hold Up Half The Sky” Programming, Evanston IL, November 2016.

“Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review” New Mexico State Legislature Presentation, Santa Fe NM, October 2016.