Julia A. Gomes shared her work as part of a platform presentation at the 2026 International Neural Tube Defects Conference in Banff, AB. Go Julia!
Single-Cell Mapping and Functional Validation of Neural Tube Defect Candidate Genes During Neurulation and Early Organogenesis and Their Response to Teratogens
Julia A. Gomes, Lin Li, Amanda M. Gutierrez, Trisha Sengupta, Vaidehi Chauhan, and Joshua F. Robinson
Picture provided by Dr. Finnell and the 2026 International NTD Conference
Miguel Padilla Gomez presented his wonderful work related 2026 CIRM Trainee Networking Conference in Sacramento
Effects of Endometriosis-Associated Chemicals on Human Endometrial Stromal Fibroblasts
Miguel Padilla Gomez, Lin Li, Xiaowen Ji, Juan Irwin, Jessica Chen, Joshua F. Robinson
Picture from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) (LinkedIN)
Liliana Rivera presented her summer research at the UCSF/Kaiser Permanente Undergraduate Research Internship (URI) Summer Symposium! As a 2026 URI scholar, Liliana participated in the program’s intensive 8-week research and clinical training experience while conducting research in the Robinson Lab.
Expanding Applicability of the Rat Whole Embryo Culture Model for Toxicological Investigations: Morphological Assessment and Comparative Transcriptomic Profiling of the Ectoplacental Cone, Yolk Sac and Amnion Extraembryonic Membranes
Liliana Rivera, Lin Li, Joshua F. Robinson.
Presentations and awards at the 2026 Birth Defects Research and Prevention Annual Meeting.
Platform Presentations
Mapping Teratogen-Induced Disruption of Embryonic Lineage Trajectories at Single Cell Resolution
Lin Li
**Innovator Award Finalist and Wilson Presentation Award Finalist
Single-Cell Mapping of Neural Tube Defect Genes in Human and Rodent Embryogenesis
Julia do Amaral Gomes
Integrating Exposomics and Human-Relevant NAMs to Identify Developmental Toxicants
Symposium: Exposome Research: Longitudinal Cohorts as a Critical Piece of the Puzzle Symposium
Joshua F. Robinson
Poster Presentations
Acute and Chronic Quaternary Ammonium Compound Exposure Disrupts Human Neurodevelopment in a hESC-Based Model
Julia do Amaral Gomes, Jessica Chen, Amanda M. Gutierrez, Lin Li, Yoichi Fernandez, Miguel P. Gomez, Joshua F. Robinson.
Congratulations to Dr. Julia do Amaral Gomes, recipient of the BDRP-SOT Edward W. Carney Trainee Award, recognizing her early accomplishments in reproductive and developmental toxicology.
UCSF was well represented at the BDRP Annual Meeting, including colleagues from the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE), Drs. Amy Padula and Dimitri Abrahamsson.
Poster Presentations at the 2026 Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI) Annual Meeting.
This was our first time presenting at SRI and a great opportunity to connect with collaborators across the reproductive sciences. We presented our collaborative work with Dr. Linda Giudice as part of the UCSF-Stanford ENACT Center.
Utilizing Non-Targeted Plasma Profiling to Identify Environmental Contributors and Disease Signatures of Endometriosis
Lin Li1†, Xiaowen Ji2†, Amanda Gutierrez1, Julian Edwards2, Miaomiao Wang2, Juan Irwin1, Binya Liu1†, Kim Chi Vo1, Amber Casillas1, Shea Stubblefield1, Varnika Dhandapani1, Jessica Chen1, Miguel Padilla Gomez1, Jessica Opoku Anane1, Jeannette Lager1, Camran Nezhat3∗, Tomiko Oskotsky1, Dimitri Abrahamsson1, Marina Sirota1, Linda
Giudice1∗, June-Soo Park2∗, Tracey Woodruff1∗, Joshua Robinson1
1University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); 2California Environmental Protection Agency; 3Camran Nezhat Institute, Stanford University Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Compartment-Specific Placental Proteomic Signatures of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy
Nida Ozarslan1†, Matthew Gormley1, Layla Aboufares1, Amanda Gutierrez1, Emilia Basilio1, Sirirak Buarpung1, Laura Weil1, Amy Padula1, Joshua Robinson1, Susan Fisher1, Stephanie Gaw1
1University of California, San Francisco
Congratulations Dr. Mengjing Wang, Dr. Hao Chen, and colleagues! Our new study in Environmental Science & Technology identifies molecular mechanisms by which PFOA and other PFAS may disrupt human placental function, highlighting altered metabolic and immune pathways and novel candidate molecular targets.
Presentations at the 2026 Society for Toxicology Meeting in San Diego, CA!
Poster Presentations
Early Developmental Neurotoxicity of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds
Julia A. Gomes, Jessica Chen, Lin Li, Amanda M. Gutierrez, Yochi Fernandez, and Joshua F. Robinson
Transcriptomic Characterization of Birth Defects-Associated Genes During Early Organogenesis
Julia A. Gomes, Lin Li, Amanda M. Gutierrez, Trisha Sengupta, Vaidehi Chauhan, and Joshua F. Robinson
Single-Cell Profiling of Normal Development and ATRA-induced Teratogenicity in Rat Whole Embryo Culture
Lin Li, Amanda M. Gutierrez, Julia A. Gomes, Jessica Chen, Emilia Basilio, and Joshua F. Robinson
Platform Presentations
Mechanistic Insights into PFAS-Induced Placental Dysfunction: Integrative Proteomic, Transcriptomic, and Computational Analysis of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Toxicity in Primary Human Cytotrophoblasts. Symposium Session: New Frontiers in Reproductive Toxicology: Emerging Contaminants and Novel Mechanisms of Toxicity
Joshua F. Robinson
Awards at the 2025 Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention Meeting in Denver, CO!
All three of our outstanding postdocs, all of whom presented a poster and gave a talk at BDRP, were recognized for their efforts and received competitive awards.
Additionally, Dr. Mengjing Wang was a finalist in the Innovator Award competition with his presentation, Integrative Proteomic and In Silico Analysis of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Exposures in Primary Human Placental Cytotrophoblasts".
All three postdocs also received travel awards.
Congratulations! Dr. Lin Li and colleagues for publishing "Profiling the cytotoxic effects of naled and other pesticides in primary human placental cytotrophoblasts" in Toxicological Sciences!
