Scientist profiles M-R

Administrative Assistant: Nadia Ferias
Phone: 416-480-4920
Email: nadia.ferias@sunnybrook.ca

Education:

• MD, 1994, University of Milan, Italy
• Specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, 1998, University of Milan, Italy
• PhD, 2002, science of prenatal development, University of Milan, Italy
• Subspecialist in maternal-fetal medicine, 2017, University of Toronto, Canada

Appointments and Affiliations:

• Associate scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, DAN Women & Babies Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
• Staff physician, division of maternal-fetal medicine, department of obstetrics and gynecology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Associate professor, department of obstetrics and gynecology, faculty of medicine, University of Toronto

Research Foci:

• Fetal and maternal metabolism
• Pathophysiology of preterm birth
• Education in ultrasound
• Early fetal anatomy and prenatal screening

Research Summary:

Dr. Ronzoni's research involves the study of noninvasive precocious markers of infection in pregnancy complicated by preterm birth. She successfully obtained a translational research grant to study the maternal endotoxin concentration in peripheral blood and other inflammatory biomarkers, for the prediction of the latency period to delivery in women with preterm premature rupture membranes.

Moreover, Dr. Ronzoni is involved in the study of prenatal screening and prevention of obstetrical adverse outcomes, such as preeclampsia and preterm birth.

Dr. Ronzoni is also interested in maternal nutrition during pregnancy, and she is co-author of the book Nine Months of Recipes: Healthy and Tasty Foods To Eat During Your Pregnancy, published by Ponte alle Grazie in Italy.

Finally, Dr. Ronzoni is interested in education in ultrasound, and she coordinated a project of innovative learning based on the use of an ultrasound obstetrical simulator for obstetrics and gynecology residents. This training approach has now been formally embedded into the University of Toronto’s residency training curriculum.

Selected Publications:

See current publications list at PubMed.

1. Ronzoni S, D'Souza R, Shynlova O, Lye S, Murphy KE. Maternal blood endotoxin activity in pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019 Oct;32(20):3473–3479. Epub 2018 Apr 26.
2. Ronzoni S, Steckle V, D'Souza R, Murphy KE, Lye S, Shynlova O. Cytokine changes in maternal peripheral blood correlate with time-to-delivery in pregnancies complicated by premature prelabor rupture of the membranes. Reprod Sci. 2019 Sep;26(9):1266–1276. Epub 2018 Dec 12.
3. Ronzoni S, Keunen J, Shah PS, Kelly EN, Windrim R, Seaward PG, Ryan G. Management and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies with fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: a single-center retrospective cohort study. Fetal Diagn Ther. 2019;45(2):85–93.
4. Rosen H, Windrim R, Lee YM, Gotha L, Perelman V, Ronzoni S. Simulator based obstetric ultrasound training: a prospective, randomized single-blinded study. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2017 Mar;39(3):166–173.
5. Palacio M, Ronzoni S, Sánchez-Ramos L, Murphy KE. Progestogens as maintenance treatment in arrested preterm labor: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Nov;128(5):989–1000.

Related News and Stories:

• Helping to prevent preterm birth: Summer student’s project evaluates the benefit of measuring every pregnant woman’s cervical length (July 23, 2019)

Related Links:

• U of T profile, department of obstetrics and gynecology