Research Interest
Dr. Blaga is a public health researcherfocused on improving maternal and child health by supporting smoking cessation during and around pregnancy. She has locally coordinated the implementation of three mHealth projects in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, by assisting with the development of the conceptual architecture of a smoking cessation app for pregnant couples and by setting up the standard operating procedures for two randomized controlled trials, one of a telephone-based motivational interviewing intervention for smoking cessation during pregnancy and one for a short message service intervention to prevent postnatal smoking relapse. In addition, Dr. Blaga is searching for new ways to engage users in mHealth interventions by fostering the use of behavioral nudges.
The long-term goal of her research is to contribute to the improvement of maternal and child health in Romania and neighboring Eastern European Countries by supporting the implementation of research evidence into public health practice.
Dr. Blaga is an Assistant Professor in the department of Public Health at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania and an Adjunct Scholar in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University.
Bibliography
Dr. Blaga has an interdisciplinary educational background (MS in research design and data analysis, PhD in political sciences with a thesis on behavioral economics and development of tobacco control policies), allowing her to integrate social and behavioral health concepts, strong research skills, and public policy components in her work. She received her graduate degree from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She has been a Fogarty trainee in two capacity building projects: (1) the Iowa Non-communicable Chronic Diseases Research Training Program in Romania (1D43TW008308-01A) and (2) the 2016 Global mHealth Research Training Institute, which equipped her with the basic knowledge and skills needed to conduct meaningful public health research. Sheis using her behavioralhealth training and her 10-year research expertise to design, implement, and evaluate pregnancy smoking cessation interventions in Romania. She hasheld subaward Principal Investigator roleson five National Institutes of Health-funded projects in the last five years K01TW009654;R21TW010896; 5R21TW010896 02S1; 5R21TW010896 02S2; 1R21HD103039 01).
Awards and Honors
Travel award to participate in the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Nicotine and Tobacco Research, March 2017, Florence, Italy.
Global mHealth Research Training Institute, Fogarty's Center for Global Health Studies (CGHS), U.S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, June 2016.
Research scholarship through grant POSDRU/187/1.5/S/155383 – “Quality, excellence, transnational mobility in doctoral research” – to support her doctoral research conducted in 2015.
Intermediate term scholarship – Fogarty International Center’s Non-Communicable Diseases Research Training Program in Romania, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, USA, August-December 2012
Publications
Adjunct Faculty
Oana Blaga, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
Joshi Niraj, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
Mili Thakur, MD
Adjunct Faculty
Research Interest
Dr. Thakur is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who specializes in reproductive endocrinology, infertility and medical genetics and genomics. Her research focuses on ovarian and oocyte biology. Current projects include:
Deterioration of oocyte quality and ovarian function due to chemotherapeutic agents.
Perturbations in the ovarian microenvironment leading to primary ovarian insufficiency in classic galactosemia.
The long-term goal of this research is to develop fertility preservation and treatment strategies to extend fertility in women facing ovarian dysfunction due to cancer treatments; inherited genetic disorders such as classic galactosemia or environmental exposures.
She is an attending physician at The Fertility Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan and a clinical adjunct assistant professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University.
Dr. Thakur received her medical degree from Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India, where she studied endometrial receptivity in women with unexplained infertility using the uterine biophysical profile. She went on to complete a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine/ Detroit Medical Center, where she received the Arthur G. Seski, M.D. Chairman’s award for overall excellence. She completed a 4 year combined fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Medical Genetics at Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics and Detroit Medical Center/ Wayne State University School of Medicine. During her fellowship, she studied primary ovarian insufficiency in girls and women with classic galactosemia diagnosed by the Michigan newborn screening program. She also studied how D-galactose and its metabolites, galactitol and galactose 1-phosphate adversely affect oocyte quality and embryo development in classic galactosemia. She received the prestigious Society of Reproductive Investigation’s president’s award in 2016 for this work.
v- 4/2017 Award for best fellow oral presentation, Resident and Fellow Research Day, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
- 1/2017 Pacific Coast Reproductive Society Scholarship Award
- 3/2016 Pacific Coast Reproductive Society Outstanding paper award
- 3/2016 Pacific Coast Reproductive Society Scholarship Award
- 2/2016 Pfizer-SRI President’s award by the Society of Reproductive Investigation
- 5/2015 Second prize, Fellow research – oral presentation, Annual Junior Fellow Research Day, Michigan Section ACOG meeting in Lansing, MI
- 5/2015 Third prize, Fellow research – oral presentation, Annual Junior Fellow Research Day, Michigan Section ACOG meeting in Lansing, MI
- 4/2015 John M. Malone, Jr. Best Clinical Science Poster award at the 2015 Wayne State University and University of Toronto Joint Scientific Conference in Detroit, MI
- 5/2014 First prize, Fellow research – oral presentation, Annual Junior Fellow Research Day, Michigan Section ACOG meeting in Lansing, MI
- 10/2013 ASRM Resident Reporter Award
- 6/2013 Arthur G. Seski, M.D./Chairman’s award for overall excellence in Obstetrics and Gynecology
- 6/2013 Wayne State University Excellence in Academic Achievement Award
- 6/2012 Sydney F. Bottoms M.D. Award – Excellence in Research Presentation
- 11/2011 Wayne State University Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine Best Overall Resident Award
- 8/2011 Wayne State University Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine Best Overall Resident Award
- 6/2011 Wayne State University Excellence in Academic Achievement Award
- 1/2011 Wayne State University Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine Best Overall Resident Award
- 6/2010 Wayne State University Excellence in Academic Achievement Award
- 5/2010 First Place, Resident Research – poster presentation, ACOG Michigan Section Annual Junior Fellow Research Day
- 5/2010 Second Place, Resident Research – oral presentation, ACOG Michigan Section Annual Junior Fellow Research Day
- 4/2007 First Prize, Oral Presentation, Annual Meeting of Obstetrics and Gynecology society of Northern India
- 2003 Best Graduate, Medical School (MMBS) Class of 1998
- 2002 Kamal Puruskar (for academic excellence), Panjab University, India
- 2002 Swami Gold Medal (for academic excellence), Panjab University, India
- 2000-2003 National Science Fellowship to pursue research in medicine, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Indian Council of Medical Research
- 1998-2003 scholarship for being amongst the top 10% students of MBBS 199 class, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India
Publications
BIOGRAPHY
Niraj Joshi, Ph.D. received his undergraduate, masters’ and doctoral education in Zoology (Reproductive Biology) from the The M. S. University of Baroda in India. He completed his postdoctoral resarch under the supervision of Dr. Asgi Fazleabas on Epigenetic and Molegular Regulation of Endometriosis. He is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. His research focuses on understanding the role of miRNAs in regulating cell cycle, inflammation and progesterone resistance in endometriosis using baboon model and human clinical samples.