Gertie Marx Research Competition

The Gertie Marx Research Competition, named in honor of one of the pioneers of obstetric anesthesia, is SOAP's preeminent forum for the presentation of research by members in training, residents, and fellows. The competition includes recognition and cash awards for presentations most highly judged by an international panel of scholars. Awards are presented in conjunction with the SOAP Annual Meeting. 

2024 Competition Results

1st Place 

Heather Acuff, MD, PhD
Peripartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders and the Development of Preeclampsia

2nd Place 

Michael Furdyna, MD
Etiologies and Management of Maternal Cardiac Arrest During Peripartum Anesthetic Care: A Study from the Multicenter Perioperative Outcomes Group Consortium  

3rd Place

Erin Dengler, MD
Local Anesthesia Injection (ILA) Pain Severity as a Predictor of Post-Cesarean Pain and Obstetric Quality-of-Recovery Scores (ObsQoR-11): A Prospective Observational Study


 

2023 Competition Results

1st Place 

Elizabeth Colburn, B.A.
OTIP – An Innovative Obstetric Triage Implementation Package to Reduce Delay and to Improve the Quality of Care at Referral Hospitals in Ghana

2nd Place 

Amber Wesoloski
Comparison of an automated, electronic-medical-record-based postpartum hemorrhage prediction model to currently published risk stratification tools 

3rd Place

Adnan Al-maaitah, MD
Higher Fibrinogen Concentrate Doses Required in Pregnant Patients: A Novel In Vivo Pharmacokinetic Study in Parturients with Hypofibrinogenemia

Moderator: Brian Bateman, MD
Judges:

  • Brendan Carvalho, MD
  • Ruth Landau, MD
  • Jill Mhyre, MD
  • Arvind Palanisamy, MD
  • Paloma Toledo, MD
  • Cynthia Wong, MD

2022 Competition Results

1st Place  James O'Carroll, MD 
A multicenter evaluation of quality of recovery following cesarean delivery
2nd Place  Natalia Portela, MD
Spontaneous and oxytocin-induced contractility after exposure to intravenous anesthetic agents: an in-vitro study in human myometrium
3rd Place Katelyn Scharf, MD 
Maternal PaO2, PaCO2, and Acid-Base Status on Neonatal Outcomes 

Judges:

  • Ashraf Habib, MD, moderator
  • Ruth Landau, MD
  • Anton Chau, MD
  • Feyce Peralta, MD
  • Michaela Farber, MD
  • Jake Beilin, MD

2021 Competition Results

1st Place (tie) Elisheva Fiszer, MD 
The effect of high dose versus low dose epidural fentanyl on gastric emptying in non-fasted parturients: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial
1st Place (tie) Riley A. Landreth, MD
The ED90 of intrathecal chloroprocaine for cervical cerclage placement: an up-down sequential allocation dose-response study
3rd Place Fergal McDonagh, MD 
Carbetocin versus oxytocin at elective cesarean deliveries: a double-blind, randomized controlled non-inferiority trial of high and low dose regimens

Judges:

  • Richard Smiley, MD, moderator
  • Joanna Kountanis, MD
  • Ruth Landau, MD
  • Brendan Carvalho, MD
  • Philip Hess, MD
  • Allison Lee, MD

2020 Competition Results

1st Place (tie) Burshra Taha, MD 
The Dural Puncture Epidural Technique: An Investigation with Porcine Epidural and Spinal Spaces
1st Place (tie) Neil Kalariya, MD
Calcium Chloride for the Prevention of Uterine Atony During High Risk Cesarean Delivery: A Piot Randomized Clinical Efficacy and Safety Study
3rd Place David Combs, MD 
Identification of fetal genetic variants associated with FLY1 transcription and preeclampsia

Judges:

  • David Chestnut, M.D., moderator
  • Katherine Arendt, M.D.
  • James Eisenach, M.D.
  • Cynthia Wong, M.D.
  • Jill Mhyre, M.D.
  • Richard M. Smiley, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Carolyn Weiniger, M.B., Ch.B

2019 Competition Results

1st Place Natasha Clunies-Ross, M.B.,B.S., B.Sc., FRCA, BC Women’s Hospital, University of British Columbia
The effect of carbetocin dose on transmural dispersion of myocardial repolarization in healthy parturients scheduled for elective cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia – A prospective, randomized clinical trial
2nd Place Fatima Khatoon, M.B.,B.S., Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha – Qatar
Relative potency of noradrenaline vs. phenylephrine infusions in the prevention of hypotension after spinal anaesthesia for caesarean delivery
3rd Place Danny Mireault, M.D., Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, University of Montreal
Uterine Exteriorisation Versus in Situ Repair for Elective Cesarean Delivery Using a Phenylephrine Infusion; a Randomized Controlled Trial

Judges:

  • Rovnat Babazade, M.D.
  • Melissa E. Bauer, D.O.
  • Scott Segal, M.D., M.S.
  • Richard M. Smiley, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Paloma Toledo, M.D., M.P.H.

2018 Competition Results

1st Place Britany L. Raymond, M.D., B.S., Vanderbilt University Medical Center
A Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Unused Opioids after Cesarean Delivery
2nd Place Jason G. Hirsch, M.D., UCLA
Comparison of Bupivacaine-induced Cardiotoxicity and Intralipid Rescue in Non-Pregnant and Late Pregnant Rats
3rd Place Rochelle Molitor, M.D., Mayo Clinic
Intrathecal morphine compared to intrathecal hydromorphone for post-cesarean analgesia: a double-blind prospective randomized controlled trial

Judges:

  • Robert D’Angelo, M.D.
  • Joy L. Hawkins, M.D.
  • Jill M. Mhyre, M.D.
  • Felicity Plaat, M.D.
  • Manuel C. Vallejo, Jr., M.D., D.M.D.
  • Carolyn Weiniger, M.B., Ch.B

2017 Competition Results

1st Place Malavika Prabhu, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
A Shared Decision-Making Intervention for Opioid Prescribing After Cesarean Delivery: a Single-Arm Trial
2nd Place Justin R Lappen, M.D., MetroHealth Medical Center
Pulse Pressure and the Risk of Post-Epidural Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) Abnormalities: A Randomized Controlled Trial
3rd Place Erin J Ciampa, M.D., Ph.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
The Protein Content of Cerebrospinal Fluid is Altered in Preeclampsia

Judges:

  • Ruth Landau, M.D.
  • Robert Dyer, FCA (SA), Ph.D.
  • Yehuda Ginosar, B.Sc., M.B.,B.S.
  • Ashraf Habib, M.B.,B.Ch., M.Sc., M.S.N., FRCA
  • Michael Froelich, M.D., M.S.

2016 Competition Results

1st Place Katie J Gray, M.D., Ph.D., Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Elevated Angiogenic Factors Across Gestation In Women With Postpartum Hemorrhage
2nd Place Linda Street, M.D., Wake Forest School of Medicine
Gestational and Postpartum Sleep Apnea: Exhaled Nitric Oxide as a Biomarker in a Predictive Model
3rd Place Anthony Chau, B.Sc., M.D., FRCPC, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
A Prospective, Randomized Trial of Standard Epidural, Dural-Puncture Epidural, and Combined-Spinal Epidural Labor Analgesia Techniques on Maternal and Fetal Outcomes

 Judges

  • Robert Gaiser, M.D.
  • May Pian-Smith, M.D., M.S.
  • Mark Rollins, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Barbara Scavone, M.D.
  • Carolyn Weiniger, M.B., Ch.B

2015 Competition Results

1st Place Chiraag Talati, M.B.B.S., BSc (Hons), FRCA, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto
Recovery Time of Oxytocin Induced Desensitization in Human Myometrium In-Vitro
2nd Place Benjamin G. Cobb, M.D., Stanford University
Active Warming Utilizing Forced Air and Intravenous Fluid Warming Combined Decreases Hypothermia and Shivering During Cesarean Delivery
3rd Place
(tie)
Carlos M. Delgado, M.D., University of Washington
PIEB (Programmed Intermittent Epidural Bolus) Versus CEI (Continuous Epidural Infusion) for Labor Analgesia: Results of a Pilot Set-Up and Where to Go From There
3rd Place
(tie)
Emily Sharpe, M.D., Wake Forest University
Modeling Recovery From Pain Following Non-Emergent Cesarean Delivery

Judges

  • Brenda Bucklin, M.D.
  • Daniel J. Cole, M.D.
  • Warwick Ngan Kee
  • McCallum R. Hoyt, M.D., M.B.A.
  • Barbara M. Scavone, M.D.

2014 Competition Results

1st Place Kathleen F. Brookfield, M.D., Stanford University
Pharmacokinetics and Placental Transfer of Magnesium Sulfate in Pregnant Women
2nd Place Kyra Bernstein, M.D., Columbia University
Calcium Activated Chloride Channels: Critical Mediators of Calcium Dynamics in Human Myometrial Cells
3rd Place Kelly G. Elterman, M.D., Harvard Univeristy
The Influence of a Night Float Call System on the Incidence of Inadvertent Dural Puncture in Obstetric Anesthesia: A Retrospective Impact Study

Judges

  • Ferne Braveman, M.D.
  • Brenda Bucklin, M.D.
  • Daniel J. Cole, M.D.
  • McCallum R. Hoyt, M.D., M.B.A.
  • Barbara M. Scavone, M.D.

2013 Competition Results

1st Place Hans P. Sviggum, M.D. Brigham and Women’s Hospital
A Randomized Controlled Study Assessing Bupivacaine Temperature on Epidural Labor Analgesia
2nd Place Mubeen Khan, M.D. University of Toronto
Carbetocin at Elective Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Determine the Effective Dose, Part 3-Final
3rd Place Mohammed A. Abdel Rahim, M.D., B.Med.Sc. University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Analysis of Dose Response of Intravenous Anesthetic for Fetal Procedures

2012 Competition Results

1st Place Naida Cole, M.D. Mount Sinai Hospital
Carbetocin vs. oxytocin: In-vitro human myometrial contractions after oxytocin pre-treatment
2nd Place Joel Shapiro, M.D. Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center
Non-invasive placental and fetal organ hemodynamic monitoring using BOLD fMRI in pregnant mice: comparing the effects of maternal ephedrine and phenylephrine administration
3rd Place Pervez Sultan, M.D. University College London Hospital
Endogenous pain inhibition does not appear to be the mechanism responsible for pregnancy-induced analgesia

Judges

  • David Bogod, MBBS, FRCA, LLM
  • Joy Hawkins, M.D.
  • Maya Suresh, M.D.
  • Robert D’Angelo, M.D.
  • Manuel Vallejo, Jr., M.D., D.M.D.
  • Philip Hess, M.D.

2011 Competition Results

1st Place Clemens M. Ortner, M.D. DESA University of Washington
Pre-operative scar hyperalgesia in women undergoing repeat cesarean section
2nd Place Meike A. Soens, M.D. Brigham and Women’s Hospital
No pain, no gain- spinal capsaicin and bupivacaine for prolonged sensory selective block in rats puncture
3rd Place Feyce Peralta, M.D. Northwestern University
Obese parturients and the incidence of postdural puncture headache after unintentional dural puncture

Judges

  • Roshan Fernando, M.B., Ch. B.
  • McCallum Hoyt, M.D., M.B.A.
  • Ruth Landau, M.D.
  • Kiki Palacios, M.D.
  • Lawrence C. Tsen, M.D.
  • Cynthia Wong, M.D.

2010 Competition Results

1st Place Neeti Sadana, M.D. Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Traditional vs. new transfusion protocol for obstetric hemorrhage.  Which is better?
2nd Place Vanessa Olbrecht, M.D. Massachusetts General Hospital
The epidemiology of subarachnoid hemorrhage in pregnancy
3rd Place Adrienne Kung, M.D. Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center
The prevention vs. treatment of intrathecal opiod Induced pruritis with ondansetron

Judges

  • Yakov Beilin, M.D.
  • Robert McKay, M.D.
  • Linda S. Polley, M.D.
  • Brenda Bucklin, M.D.
  • David J. Wlody, M.D.
  • Richard N. Wissler, M.D., Ph.D.