Neonatology · Maternal-infant research · UCLA
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Understanding how infections and inflammation during pregnancy shape the health and development of newborns.
About
Dr. Viviana M. Fajardo Martinez is a neonatologist and physician-scientist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her research examines how maternal infections and inflammation during pregnancy influence infant health and neurodevelopment, with a focus on the immune and metabolic pathways behind vulnerability and resilience.
Read more →Research & Publications
Selected studies on how maternal infection during pregnancy relates to newborn health and development.
Communications Biology
Blood immune profiles of mothers and newborns exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy showed changes that have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders.
Scientific Reports
Children exposed to maternal SARS-CoV-2 before birth had developmental delay about ten times more often than pre-pandemic controls.
BMJ Open
Infants exposed to COVID-19 before birth more often showed suboptimal early motor development than matched pre-pandemic infants.