University of California-San Diego · BiologyStelzer Lab
Ina Stelzer · La Jolla, California
Research Focus
Ina Stelzer's research lab focuses on understanding the complex interplay between the brain, immune system, and hormone signaling during pregnancy, particularly how these factors contribute to spontaneous preterm birth. By investigating the role of dopamine and other neuroimmunoendocrine processes, the lab aims to develop new predictive tools and therapeutic strategies to improve maternal and fetal health. This work has the potential to significantly impact public health by enhancing our understanding of pregnancy complications.
dopamineneuroimmunoendocrinespontaneous preterm birthimmune systempregnancypsychosocial stressblood biomarkersthreat detection
Research Aims
3AIM 01Determine the impact of central dopamine on inflammation-induced preterm birth in a mouse model.
AIM 02Identify predictive neuroimmunoendocrine signatures related to spontaneous preterm birth in human pregnancies.
AIM 03Examine the effect of dopamine on inflammatory signaling at the maternal-placental interface using human endometrial stromal cells.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemurine modelsimmunohistochemistrypsychometric assessmentsfluid biomarker analysisCerebrospinal Fluid analysisstatistical modelinglongitudinal cohort studiesdata analysis with R/Pythonflow cytometry
Output against the department
Publications75bottom 22% of dept.810th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.8kbottom 11% of dept.915th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.