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Uma Reddy, MD, MPH

Mary Lake Polan, MD, PhD, MPH Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
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About

Titles

Mary Lake Polan, MD, PhD, MPH Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences

Executive Vice Chair, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health

Biography

Uma M. Reddy, MD, MPH, is a nationally and internationally recognized maternal-fetal medicine specialist, clinician-scientist, and leader in academic medicine who has devoted more than two decades to advancing research aimed at improving outcomes for women and infants. Her areas of expertise include stillbirth, preterm birth, labor management, and maternal health.

Reddy graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in biology from Brown University and earned her MD from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She received a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and subsequently completed fellowship training in maternal-fetal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

During her 15 years at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Reddy oversaw many of the nation's most influential obstetric research initiatives, including the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network. She also served as project scientist for major collaborative studies, including the Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network, the Genomics and Proteomics Network for Preterm Birth Research, and the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be (nuMoM2b).

Reddy joined Yale School of Medicine in 2018 as professor and chief of maternal-fetal medicine, where she led multiple NIH-funded studies, including the GO MOMs study, and was selected for the prestigious Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. From 2022 to 2025, she served as the Virgil G. Damon Professor and vice chair of research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and professor of population and family health at the Mailman School of Public Health, where she led several major NIH-funded initiatives focused on maternal health.

In 2026, Reddy returned to Yale as the Mary Lake Polan, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and executive vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.

She has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and has played a key role in developing national obstetric guidelines through the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In recognition of her transformative contributions to obstetric research, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2024.

Reddy is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine. Her clinical expertise includes the management of high-risk pregnancies complicated by prior pregnancy loss, preterm birth, diabetes, hypertension, and other maternal medical conditions.

Last Updated on June 25, 2026.

Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellow
Thomas Jefferson University (2000)
MPH
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Biostatistics (1999)
Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar
Johns Hopkins University (1997)
Resident
Johns Hopkins Hospital (1995)
Intern
Johns Hopkins Hospital (1992)
MD
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (1991)
ScB
Brown University, Biology (1988)

Research

Overview

Medical Research Interests

Health Care; Pregnant People

Public Health Interests

Maternal & Child Health

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Uma Reddy's published research.

Publications

2026

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Activities

  • activity

    New England Journal of Medicine

  • activity

    JAMA

  • activity

    Lancet

  • activity

    Addictive Behaviors

  • activity

    Advances in Public Health

Honors

  • honor

    Invitation to The White House Stillbirth Prevention Event to celebrate the passing of the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act,

  • honor

    Elected Member

  • honor

    Elected Member

  • honor

    Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine

  • honor

    Yale Medicine Advanced Leaders Program, School of Management

Clinical Care

Overview

As an obstetrician-gynecologist who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, Uma Reddy, MD, MPH, says she enjoys taking care of mothers—and children—when they need it most.

“If you have an uncomplicated pregnancy, the baby is staring off life on the right foot. But if you have complications, that can set the child up for a lifetime of increased risks and chronic diseases,” explains Dr. Reddy, who is director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. “For me, it’s exciting to be right there at the beginning and try to maximize a mother and baby’s health. And for high-risk pregnancies, where women have concerns, it’s rewarding to see a healthy birth.”

Dr. Reddy treats women whose pregnancies are considered complicated for a number of reasons, including a mother or child with a heart defect, a baby with a birth defect, or women who have previously experienced a stillbirth or a preterm birth.

“Ten percent of pregnancies in the United States are complicated by a preterm birth, which is when a baby is born before 37 weeks,” Dr. Reddy explains. “It’s a common complication and our goal is to prevent another preterm birth if a woman has already had one. We also treat a variety of maternal medical conditions, such as women who have diabetes, high blood pressure, or connective tissue disorders like lupus that might put them at higher risk of complication.”

Dr. Reddy’s research focuses on stillbirth, including examining causes and ways to better prevent it. She spent much of her career at the National Institutes of Health, where she led the Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network, which funds multiple clinical trials across the country.

Dr. Reddy is also a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine.

Clinical Specialties

Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences; Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Board Certifications

  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine

    Certification Organization
    AB of Obstetrics & Gynecology
    Original Certification Date
    2003
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology

    Certification Organization
    AB of Obstetrics & Gynecology
    Original Certification Date
    1997

Get In Touch

Contacts

Mailing Address

Yale School of Medicine

PO Box 208063

New Haven , CT 06520-8063

United States

Administrative Support