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James M. Roberts, MD

James M. Roberts, MD is professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; professor of epidemiology in the Graduate School of Public Health; the Elsie Hilliard Chair of Women and Infants' Health Research; vice president for research at Magee Women's Hospital; and director of the Magee Women's Research Institute.

Dr. Roberts' early work was on signal transduction in myometrium. For the last 16 years, he has concentrated on the pregnancy complication preeclampsia. His current research efforts include fundamental, clinical and health services approaches to the understanding and management of the disorder in this country and abroad. He has received national and international recognition for this work.

He was the recipient of the Chesley Award for lifetime achievement in the study of hypertension in pregnancy by the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. He is the author of more than 200 publications and is a reviewer for numerous medical and scientific journals. He has served on the editorial boards of several journals, including Developmental Physiology, Placenta, The Journal of Gynecological Investigation, Women's Health Issues, Hypertension and Hypertension in Pregnancy. He has served on scientific review boards of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Medical Research Council of Canada (now the Canadian Institute for Health Research), the Food and Drug Administration and the March of Dimes.

He served as chair of the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Maternal Fetal Medicine Network from 1990-99 and is past president of the Perinatal Research Society, North American Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy, Society of Gynecological Investigation and the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy.

Dr. Roberts was formally admitted to fellowship ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in September 2000. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the USA National Academy of Sciences and was awarded the Duane Alexander Award for excellence in mentoring by the NICHD. His research has been funded for the past 20 years by numerous agencies including the NIH and the March of Dimes. He has trained more than 45 MD and PhD scientists of whom more than 80 percent remain in academic positions.