Percy Pacora, M.D., M.P.H.

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Academic Affiliations
  • Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS
Education and Training
  • M.P.H., Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
  • M.D., Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú
  • Medical Residency – Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universidad Nacional de San Marcos, Hospital Madre Niño San Bartolomé, Lima, Perú
  • Post-graduate training in Surgery of Pelvic Floor, Hospital Nacional Docente Madre-Niño “San Bartolomé,” Lima, Perú
  • Post-graduate training at Harvard University, Program in Refugee Trauma, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • Visiting Research Fellow -- Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS, Hutzel Women’s Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, USA
  • Visiting Fellow – Colposcopy and Gynecologic Oncology, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas, Lima, Perú
  • Visiting Fellow -- Gynecology Surgery, Vincent Memorial Hospital at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Visiting Fellow -- Diabetes and Pregnancy, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
  • Visiting Fellow -- Diabetes and Pregnancy, National Diabetes Control Program, Maternal Fetal Division, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Research Accomplishments
  • Determined the mechanism of death in structurally normal stillbirths
  • Determined the reduction of fetal growth velocity that precedes antepartum death
  • Discovered an association between placental delayed villous maturation and chronic fetal hypoxia
  • Established the diagnostic performance of the beta-glucan assay in the detection of intra-amniotic infection with Candida species
  • Established the diagnostic criteria for detecting prediabetes and diabetes mellitus in pregnancy
  • Reported the prevalence of gestational diabetes in Lima, Peru
  • Established that placental gene variations and maternal cardiovascular and metabolic genes are associated with placental abruption
  • Reported the first description of angiopoietin -2 as a physiologic constituent of amniotic fluid that decreases with advancing gestation, and which median amniotic fluid concentration is increased in patients with intra-amniotic infection/inflammation
  • Established that funisitis and chorionic vasculitis are the histologic counterparts of the fetal inflammatory response syndrome
  • Reported the first description of the presence of interleukin-18, a proinflammatory pleotropic cytokine implicated in host defense against infection in human parturition;
  • First described the presence of lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein with antimicrobial properties, in human pregnancy, intra-amniotic infection, and term parturition
  • Authored and co-authored more than 115 peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals and 20 book chapters related to women and infant health
Awards and Recognitions
  • Outstanding Contribution and Consultant for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2017-2019
  • Second Award in Clinical Investigation on Human Health Clinica Centenario Peruano Japonesa (Peruvian Japanese Society, 2016. Lima, Perú
  • First Award in Clinical Investigation, Peruvian Diabetes Association (ADIPER) 2015. Lima, Perú
  • First Award in Clinical Investigation of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital Madre-Niño "San Bartolomé,” 2015, Lima, Perú
  • First Award in Clinical Investigation on Human Health, 2014, Peruvian Japanese Society
  • University Book Award for “Crecimiento Fetal y Neonatal en el Peru” (Fetal Growth and Development in Perú) Asamblea Nacional de Rectores 2007 (National Assembly of Rectors), Perú
  • Award as Visiting Fellow in the National Institute of Health Visiting Program, Perinatology Research Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Fogarty International Center, 1997
  • Award to attend the 15th International Federation Diabetes Congress in Kobe, Japan, November 1994.
  • First Award in Clinical Investigation of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 30th Anniversary of Hospital Madre-Niño "San Bartolomé,” November 1991, Lima, Perú
  • First Award at the 3rd Contest of Clinical Investigation, 1991, Peruvian American Medical Society and Asociación Médica, Peruano-Norteamericana, July 1991, Lima, Perú
  • Second Award in Premio Roussel de Residentado, 1989, Medico, Lima, Perú
  • First Award in Clinical Investigation at the Second Peruvian Congress of Endocrinology (II Congreso Peruano de Endocrinología), 1987, Lima, Perú
Research Interests
  • Fetal death
  • Prediabetes and diabetes in pregnancy
  • Obesity and pregnancy
  • Prevention and long -term consequences of obstetrical syndromes
Select Publications
  • Romero R, Pacora P, Kusanovic JP, Jung E, Panaitescu B, Maymon E, Erez O, Berman S, Bryant D, Gomez-Lopez N, Theis KR, Bhatti G, Kim CJ, Yoon BH, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Yeo L, Diaz-Primera R, Marin-Concha J, Lannaman K, Alhousseini A, Gomez-Roberts H, Varrey A, Garcia-Sanchez A, Gervasi MT. Clinical chorioamnionitis at term X: microbiology, clinical signs, placental pathology, neonatal bacteremia, and implications for clinical care. J Perinat Med. 2020. Accepted; in press.
  • Kacerovsky M, Romero R, Stepan M, Stranik J, Maly J, Pliskova L, Bolehovska R, Palicka V, Zemlickova H, Hornychova H, Spacek J, Jacobsson B, Pacora P, Musilova I. Antibiotic administration reduces the rate of intraamniotic inflammation in preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Jul; 223:114.e1-114.e20. PMID: 32591087
  • Jaiman S, Romero R, Pacora P, Jung EJ, Kacerovsky M, Bhatti G, Yeo L, Hsu CD. Placental delayed villous maturation is associated with evidence of chronic fetal hypoxia. J Perinat Med. 2020 Jun 25; 48:516-518. PMID: 32396141
  • Jaiman S, Romero R, Pacora P, Jung E, Bhatti G, Yeo L, Kim YM, Kim B, Kim CJ, Kim JS, Qureshi F, Jacques SM, Erez O, Gomez-Lopez N, Hsu CD. Disorders of placental villous maturation in fetal death. J Perinat Med. 2020 Apr 1. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32238609
  • Galaz J, Romero R, Slutsky R, Xu Y, Motomura K, Para R, Pacora P, Panaitescu B, Hsu CD, Kacerovsky M, Gomez-Lopez N. Cellular immune responses in amniotic fluid of women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. J Perinat Med. 2020 Mar 26; 48:222-233. PMID: 32083453
  • Theis KR, Romero R, Motomura K, Galaz J, Winters AD, Pacora P, Miller D, Slutsky R, Florova V, Levenson D, Para R, Varrey A, Kacerovsky M, Hsu CD, Gomez-Lopez N. Microbial burden and inflammasome activation in amniotic fluid of patients with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. J Perinat Med. 2020 Feb 25; 48:115-131. PMID: 31927525
  • Tarca AL, Romero R, Pique-Regi R, Pacora P, Done B, Kacerovsky M, Bhatti G, Jaiman S, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Gomez-Lopez N. Amniotic fluid cell-free transcriptome: a glimpse into fetal development and placental cellular dynamics during normal pregnancy. BMC Med Genomics. 2020 Feb 12; 13:25. PMID: 32050959
  • Alhousseini A, Romero R, Benshalom-Tirosh N, Gudicha D, Pacora P, Tirosh D, Kabiri D, Yeo L, Thachil J, Hsu CD, Hassan SS, Erez O. Nonovert disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in pregnancy: a new scoring system for the identification of patients at risk for obstetrical hemorrhage requiring blood product transfusion. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2020 Feb 3:1-16. Online ahead of print.  PMID: 31931643
  • Para R, Romero R, Gomez-Lopez N, Tarca AL, Panaitescu B, Done B, Hsu R, Pacora P, Hsu CD. Maternal circulating concentrations of soluble Fas and Elabela in early- and late-onset preeclampsia. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2020 Feb 2:1-14. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32008387
  • Bhatti G, Romero R, Rice GE, Fitzgerald W, Pacora P, Gomez-Lopez N, Kavdia M, Tarca AL, Margolis L. Compartmentalized profiling of amniotic fluid cytokines in women with preterm labor. PLoS One. 2020 Jan 16; 15:e0227881. PMID: 31945128
  • Tarca AL, Romero R, Erez O, Gudicha DW, Than NG, Benshalom-Tirosh N, Pacora P, Hsu CD, Chaiworapongsa T, Hassan SS, Gomez-Lopez N. Maternal whole blood mRNA signatures identify women at risk of early preeclampsia: a longitudinal study. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2020 Jan 3:1-12. PMID: 31900005
  • Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Hassan SS, Bhatti G, Berry SM, Kusanovic JP, Pacora P, Tarca AL. The cellular transcriptome in the maternal circulation during normal pregnancy: a longitudinal study. Front Immunol. 2019 Dec 17; 10:2863. PMID: 31921132
  • Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Tarca AL, Miller D, Panaitescu B, Schwenkel G, Gudicha DW, Hassan SS, Pacora P, Jung E, Hsu CD. Gasdermin D: Evidence of pyroptosis in spontaneous preterm labor with sterile intra-amniotic inflammation or intra-amniotic infection. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2019 Dec; 82:e13184. PMID: 31461796
  • Romero R, Gomez-Lopez N, Winters AD, Jung E, Shaman M, Bieda J, Panaitescu B, Pacora P, Erez O, Greenberg JM, Ahmad MM, Hsu CD, Theis KR. Evidence that intra-amniotic infections are often the result of an ascending invasion - a molecular microbiological study. J Perinat Med. 2019 Nov 26; 47:915-931. PMID: 31693497
  • Handelman SK, Romero R, Tarca AL, Pacora P, Ingram B, Maymon E, Chaiworapongsa T, Hassan SS, Erez O. The plasma metabolome of women in early pregnancy differs from that of non-pregnant women. PLoS One. 2019 Nov 14; 14:e0224682. PMID: 31726468
  • Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Galaz J, Xu Y, Panaitescu B, Slutsky R, Motomura K, Gill N, Para R, Pacora P, Jung E, Hsu CD. Cellular immune responses in amniotic fluid of women with preterm labor and intra-amniotic infection or intra-amniotic inflammation. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2019 Nov; 82:e13171. PMID: 31323170
  • Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Leng Y, Xu Y, Slutsky R, Levenson D, Pacora P, Jung E, Panaitescu B, Hsu CD. The origin of amniotic fluid monocytes/macrophages in women with intra-amniotic inflammation or infection. J Perinat Med. 2019 Oct 25; 47:822-840. PMID: 31494640
  • Winters AD, Romero R, Gervasi MT, Gomez-Lopez N, Tran MR, Garcia-Flores V, Pacora P, Jung E, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Theis KR. Does the endometrial cavity have a molecular microbial signature? Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 9; 9:9905. PMID: 31289304
  • Chahal HS, Gelaye B, Mostofsky E, Sanchez SE, Mere JF, Mercado FG, Pacora P, Williams MA. Physical exertion immediately before early preterm delivery: a case-crossover study. Epidemiology. 2019 Jul; 30:582-589. PMID: 31166217
  • Tarca AL, Romero R, Benshalom-Tirosh N, Than NG, Gudicha DW, Done B, Pacora P, Chaiworapongsa T, Panaitescu B, Tirosh D, Gomez-Lopez N, Draghici S, Hassan SS, Erez O. The prediction of early preeclampsia: results from a longitudinal proteomics study. PLoS One. 2019 Jun 4; 14:e0217273. PMID: 31163045
  • Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Panaitescu B, Miller D, Zou C, Gudicha DW, Tarca AL, Para R, Pacora P, Hassan SS, Hsu CD. Gasdermin D: in vivo evidence of pyroptosis in spontaneous labor at term. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019 May 6:1-11. Online ahead of print. PMID: 31006293
  • Pacora P, Romero R, Erez O, Maymon E, Pantaneiscu B, Kusanovc JP, Tarca A, Hsu CD, Hassan SS. The diagnostic performance of the beta-glucan assay in the detection of intra-amniotic infection with Candida species. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2019 May; 32:1703-1720. PMID: 29226760
  • Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Maymon E, Kusanovic JP, Panaitescu B, Miller D, Pacora P, Tarca AL, Motomura K, Erez O, Jung E, Hassan SS, Hsu CD. Clinical chorioamnionitis at term IX: in vivo evidence of intra-amniotic inflammasome activation. J Perinat Med. 2019 Apr 24; 47:276-287. PMID: 30412466
  • Theis KR, Romero R, Winters AD, Greenberg JM, Gomez-Lopez N, Alhousseini A, Bieda J, Maymon E, Pacora P, Fettweis JM, Buck GA, Jefferson KK, Strauss JF 3rd, Erez O, Hassan SS. Does the human placenta delivered at term have a microbiota? Results of cultivation, quantitative real-time PCR, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and metagenomics. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Mar; 220:267.e1-267.e39. PMID: 30832984 Free PMC article.
  • Pacora P, Romero R, Jaiman S, Erez O, Bhatti G, Panaitescu B, Benshalom-Tirosh N, Jung EJ, Hsu CD, Hassan SS, Yeo L, Kadar N. Mechanisms of death in structurally normal stillbirths. J Perinat Med. 2019 Feb 25; 47:222-240.  PMID: 30231013

GOOGLE SCHOLAR PROFILE

Courses
  • Obstetrics, labor and delivery , obstetrical emergencies, thesis.