Faculty

Kristin D. Gerson, M.D., Ph.D.

Jerome F. Strauss, III, MD, PhD Assistant Professorship of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information

Maternal Fetal Medicine
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce Street, 2 Silverstein
Philadelphia, PA 19104

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

Permanent link

> Perelman School of Medicine > Faculty > Details

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

Kristin M. Klohonatz, Zoe Graskin, Rita Leite, Lauren Anton, Rachel F. Ledyard, Michele R. Hacker, Heather H. Burris, Kristin D. Gerson : Cervical mucin expression is associated with preterm birth: molecular determinants of mucus quality in pregnancy. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine’s Annual Pregnancy Meeting, Las Vegas, NV Feb 2026.

Lauren Anton, Olha Kholod, Olivia Palmer, Kristin M. Klohonatz, Zoe Graskin, Rita Leite, Britt A. Goods, Kristin D. Gerson: Menstrual discs for cervicovaginal cellular phenotyping: a novel methodology to define tissue-specific adaptations in pregnancy. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine’s Annual Pregnancy Meeting, Las Vegas, NV Feb 2026.

Olha Kholod, Lauren Anton, Kristin M. Klohonatz, Briana Ferguson, Britt A. Goods, Kristin D. Gerson : Gardnerella vaginalis induces biosynthesis of higher order polyamines: mechanisms of an optimal host immune response. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine’s Annual Pregnancy Meeting, Las Vegas, NV Feb 2026.

Gregory W. Kirschen, Kristin M. Klohonatz, Lauren Anton, Kristin D. Gerson : Gardnerella vaginalis induces lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase activity in the cervicovaginal space. Poster presentation at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine’s Annual Pregnancy Meeting, Las Vegas, NV Feb 2026.

Kirschen GW, Gerson KD.: Performance Characteristics of Current Biomarkers for the Prediction of Spontaneous Preterm Birth. Clin Chem 72: 71-81, Dec 2025.

Anton L, Kholod O, Phatate R, Ferguson B, Klohonatz K, Goods BA, Gerson KD.: Multiomic analysis reveals that polyamines alter G. vaginalis-induced cervicovaginal epithelial cell dysfunction. bioRxiv Dec 2025.

Virkud AV, Tchetgen ET, Schisterman EF, Pineles B, Levine LD, Cole SR, Hinkle SN, Mumford S, Gerson KD, Taylor BD, Blackwell S, Peaceman A, Parry S, Johnson MT, Willis D, Caniglia EC.: Clarifying Contradictions: Transportability in 17OHP-C Trials and Preterm Birth Outcomes Using Doubly Debiased Machine Learning. Am J Epidemiol Sep 2025.

Lauren Anton, PhD, Kristin Klohonatz, PhD, Briana Ferguson, Kristin D. Gerson, MD, PhD : Exposure of the Cervical Epithelium to Gardnerella vaginalis and Vaginal Polyamines Alters Macrophage Immune Responses: Evidence for Cellular Crosstalk at the Host-microbial Interface Poster Presentation at the Society for Reproductive Investigation's Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC Mar 2025.

Gregory W. Kirschen, MD, PhD; Briana Ferguson; Lauren Anton, PhD; Kristin D. Gerson, MD, PhD: Spermine and Spermidine Attenuate Glutathione Oxidation by Gardnerella vaginalis: Antioxidant Potential of Vaginal Polyamines Poster Presentation at the Society for Reproductive Investigation's Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC Mar 2025.

Kristin Klohonatz, PhD; Briana Ferguson; Lauren Anton, PhD, Kristin D. Gerson, MD, PhD : Indolelactate Mitigates Anaerobe-induced Inflammation in the Cervical Epithelium: Potential Role for Lactobacillus crispatus-derived Lactate Derivatives in Immune Protection Poster Presentation at the Society for Reproductive Investigation's Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC Mar 2025.