Irina Buhimschi, MD,MMS

Dr. Irina A. Buhimschi, MD MMS is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Director of the Research Division at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine which she joined in 2019.

The primary focus of the Buhimschi laboratory has been the elucidation of the mechanisms responsible for preterm labor and preeclampsia that together account for the large majority of preterm births, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. A central theme has been the application of innovative technologies such as proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics, metagenomics and metabolomics closely integrated with the need for clinical applicability and in transforming innovation in the laboratory into better diagnostics and treatments for pregnancy complications.

She has authored and co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor on 12 patents. Dr. Buhimschi is internationally recognized for her pioneering proteomics studies, which have advanced understanding of key pregnancy disorders, including inflammation-associated preterm birth, preeclampsia, and preterm premature rupture of membranes. Her laboratory was the first to identify protein misfolding and proteostasis dysregulation in preeclampsia, drawing parallels to mechanisms observed in Alzheimer’s disease. This work led to the development of the Congo Red Dot test, a novel diagnostic approach that detects urine congophilia and is currently being advanced for clinical use in the United States and globally. In recognition of its potential to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, this technology received the Patents for Humanity Award from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) an award reserved for game-changing technology that meets global humanitarian challenges. Dr. Buhimschi has a long track record of mentoring medical and graduate students, clinical fellows, and young faculty. She currently serves as co-PI on the UIC Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) grant funded by NIH’s Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH). Since 2023, Dr. Buhimschi also serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research part of UIC’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR).

1. Ackerman WE, Buhimschi IA, Jing H, Brown TL, Zhao G, Buhimschi CS. Concordant and discordant transcriptomic signatures of twin placentas in the setting of preeclampsia. Hypertension 2026:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.125.25854. PMC12978509

2. Buhimschi CS, Zhao G, Rood KM, Solden L, Webster SD, Guessas M, Hearne S, Moussa A, Guessas S, Jing H, Berryman K, Ackerman WE, Buhimschi IA. Rapid clearance of bacteria from maternal bloodstream after delivery in pregnancies complicated by preterm pre-labor rupture of the membranes. Sci Rep 2026;16(1):6725. PMC12440102

3. Campbell RC, Tanna NK, Hartwig J, Buhimschi CS, Buhimschi IA. Determinants of the association between maternal anemia and neonatal hemoglobin. Nutrients 2025;17(14):2292. PMC12300598

4. Medegan Fagla B, Tai L, Buhimschi IA. ApoE, human fertility, and reproduction. In: Apolipoprotein E: From Biochemistry and Biology to Translational Medicine. Springer Nature. Eds Oriá RB, Ashford JW, Smith CJ. pp. 1–28. [Chapter]

5. Medegan Fagla B, York J, Christensen A, Dela Rosa C, Balu D, Pike CJ, Tai LM, Buhimschi IA. Apolipoprotein E polymorphisms and female fertility in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Sci Rep 2024 Jul 10;14(1):15873. PMC11233746

6. Diaz-Rodriguez G, Braverman A, Elam GL, Norris-Stojak D, Harmon K, Hartwig J, Dunlap T, Nixon H, Rasamimari P, Buhimschi IA, Buhimschi CS. Is faster better? Relationships of cesarean acuity with risk of low Apgar scores and fetal acidemia. Am J Perinatol 2024 May;41(S 01):e1925–e1934.

7. Ackerman WB, Buhimschi CS, Brown TL, Zhao G, Summerfield TL, Buhimschi IA. Transcriptomics-based subphenotyping of the human placenta enabled by weighted correlation network analysis in early-onset preeclampsia with and without fetal growth restriction. Hypertension 2023 Jun;80(6):1363–1374. PMC10192030

8. Cross SN, Buhimschi IA, Duzyj CM, Shook LL, McCarthy ME, Hardy JT, El Helou Y, Zhao G, Buhimschi CS. Endocan, a soluble marker of endothelial cell activation is a molecular marker of disease severity in women with preeclampsia. Reprod Sci 2022 Aug;29(8):2310–2321. PMC10066856

9. Campbell RK, Buhimschi CS, Zhao G, Dela Rosa C, Stetson BT, Backes CH, Buhimschi IA. Prevalence of and risk factors for iron deficiency in twin and singleton newborns. Nutrients 2022;14(18):3854. PMC9500937

10. Valtanen R, Buhimschi CS, Bahtiyar MO, Zhao G, Jing H, Ackerman W, Glabe CG, Buhimschi IA. Conformation-dependent anti-Aβ monoclonal antibody signatures of disease status and severity in urine of women with preeclampsia. Pregnancy Hypertens 2022;28:51–59. PMC9133023

Other relevant publications

1. Medegan Fagla B, Tai L, Buhimschi IA. ApoE, human fertility, and reproduction. In: Apolipoprotein E: From Biochemistry and Biology to Translational Medicine. Springer Nature 2025/2026. Eds Oriá RB, Ashford JW, Smith CJ. pp. 1–28. [Chapter]

2. Medegan Fagla B, Buhimschi IA. Protein Misfolding in Pregnancy: Current Insights, Potential Mechanisms, and Implications for the Pathogenesis of Preeclampsia. Molecules 2024 Jan 26;29(3):610. PMC10856193

3. Weinreich HM, Jin V, Crowell L, Skovlund S, Williams Q, Buhimschi IA. Surgical Instrument Designers and Inventors – Where are the Women? Am Surg 2023 May 6:31348231172164

4. Buhimschi CS, Bahtiyar MO, Zhao G, Abdelghany O, Schneider L, Abdel-Razeq S, Dulay AT, Lipkind H, Lopez E, Rogers L, Bhandari V, Buhimschi IA. Antenatal N-acetylcysteine to improve outcomes of premature infants with intra-amniotic infection and inflammation (Triple I): Randomized Clinical Trial. Pediatr Res 2020 Aug 20;1–10. PMC7451831

5. Rood KM, Buhimschi CS, Dible T, Webster S, Zhao G, Samuels P, Buhimschi IA. Congo Red Dot paper test for antenatal triage and rapid identification of preeclampsia. EClinical Medicine 2019: 8: 47-56. PMC6537515

6. Buhimschi CS, Jablonski KA, Rouse DJ, Varner MW, Reddy UM, Mercer BM, Leveno KJ, Wapner RJ, Sorokin Y, Thorp JM, Ramin SM, Malone FD, Carpenter MW, O’Sullivan MJ, Peaceman AM, Saade GR, Dudley D, Caritis SN and Buhimschi IA for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. Cord blood haptoglobin, cerebral palsy and death in infants of women at risk for preterm birth. A secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial. EClinical Medicine 2019;9:11-19. PMC6510719

7. Millen KR, Buhimschi CS, Zhao G, Rood KM, Tabbah S, Buhimschi IA. Serum and urine Thioflavin T (ThT) enhanced fluorescence in severe preeclampsia. Hypertension 2018;71:1185–1192. PMC5945331

8. Tabbah SM, Buhimschi CS, Rodewald-Millen K, Pierson C, Bhandari V, Samuels P, Buhimschi IA. Hepcidin, an iron regulatory hormone of innate immunity, is differentially expressed in premature fetuses with early-onset neonatal sepsis. Am J Perinatol 2018;35(9):865–872. PMC7412256

9. McCarthy ME, Buhimschi CS, Hardy JT, Dulay AT, Laky CA, Bahtiyar MO, Papanna R, Zhao G, Buhimschi IA. Identification of haptoglobin “switch-on” status in archived placental specimens indicates antenatal exposure to inflammation and potential participation of the fetus in triggering preterm birth. Placenta 2018;62:50–57. PMC5804989

10. Oliver EA, Klebanoff M, Yossef-Salameh L, Oza-Frank R, Moosavinasab S, Reagan P, Muglia L, Buhimschi CS, Buhimschi IA. Preterm birth and gestational length in four race-nativity groups including Somali-Americans. Obstet Gynecol 2018;131(2):281–289

11. Shook LL, Buhimschi CS, Dulay AT, McCarthy ME, Hardy JT, Duzyj CM, Zhao G, Buhimschi IA. Calciprotein particles as potential etiologic agents of idiopathic preterm birth. Sci Transl Med 2016;8(364):364ra154.

12. Papanna R, Mann LK, Moise Jr. KJ, Kyriakides T, Johnson A, Garcia EI, Buhimschi CS, Buhimschi IA. Histologic changes of the fetal membranes after fetoscopic laser surgery for twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Pediatr Res 2015;78(3):247–255.

13. Buhimschi IA, Nayeri UA, Shook LL, Pensalfini A, Funai EF, Bernstein IM, Glabe CG, Buhimschi CS. Protein misfolding, congophilia, oligomerization and defective amyloid processing in preeclampsia. Sci Transl Med 2014;6(245):245ra92.

14. Nayeri UA, Buhimschi IA, Laky CA, Cross SN, Duzyj CM, Ramma W, Sibai BM, Funai EF, Ahmed A, Buhimschi CS. Antenatal corticosteroids impact the inflammatory rather than the antiangiogenic profile of women with preeclampsia. Hypertension 2014;63(6):1285–1292.

15. Buhimschi CS, Bhandari V, Dulay AT, Nayeri UA, Abdel-Razeq SS, Pettker CM, Thung SF, Zhao G, Han YW, Bizzarro M, Buhimschi IA. Proteomics mapping of cord blood identifies haptoglobin “switch-on” pattern as biomarker of early-onset neonatal sepsis in preterm newborns. PLoS ONE 2011;6:e26111. PMC3189953

NIH/NICHD RO1, “Misfoldome-centered MultiOMICS approach to unravel preeclampsia subphenotypes.” 2015-2020, Principal Investigator

NIH/NIAID R21 “Mkp-1 suppresses immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 to prevent sepsis-associated immune dysfunction and mortality” 02/11/2019 – 01/30/2021, Co-Investigator (PI: Y. Liu, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital)

NIH/NHLBI R01 “Early prediction of spontaneous patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure and PDA-associated outcomes” 12/15/2018 – 11/30/2023, Co-Investigator (PI: J. Slaughter & C. Backes, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital)