Monica Ailawadi Mainigi, MD

Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Attending, Infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Attending, Reproductive Surgical Facility, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Attending, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Program Director, Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Contact Information

Clinical Practice:
PENN Fertility Care
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
3701 Market Street, 8th Floor

Lab:
421 Curie Blvd BRB II/III Room 1352
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-662-2972

I3H Keywords

Allergy, Asthma, and Other Inflammatory Diseases
Tumor Microenvironment

Education

BS (Biology)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996
MD
New York University School of Medicine, 2000

Post-Graduate Training

Resident, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA , 2000 - 2004
National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow
Center for Research on Reproduction and Women’s Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA , 2004 - 2006
Fellow, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA , 2006 - 2009

Certifications

American Boards of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2008
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, 2012
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology: Focused Practice Designation in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (PAG), 2018

Description of Clinical Expertise

Clincally I see patients with infertilty as well as gynecologic issues including endometriosis and polycystic ovary disease. Additionally I have focused a portion of my clinical practice on adolescent gynecology, focusing on surgical treatment of structural disorders of the reproductive tract and endocrine disorders of puberty and menstruation. I see adolescent patients both at my office at 3701 Market Street as well as during office hours at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Over the past 14 years I have established myself as an expert in the field of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and am referred patients from throughout the mid-Atlantic.

Description of Research Expertise

My laboratory in the Center for Women’s Health and Reproductive Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania focuses on examining the interactions between peri-implantation exposures, such as ART, and early placentation utilizing animal models, in vitro culture systems, and human tissues. Studying early implantation in humans is challenging. Therefore, to address these challenges, my laboratory has partnered with bioengineers and developed an organ-on-a-chip model to study early placentation. Using this 'implantation-on-a-chip' device and primary human cells, we have found that uterine immune cells play a critical role in regulating early trophoblast invasion and spiral artery remodeling and that patients at risk for abnormal placentation may have changes in these immune cell populations. We are currently using this model to further understand the different cells and factors that play a critical role in normal and abnormal placentation.

Selected Publications

Thea N Golden, Sneha Mani, Rebecca L Linn, Rita Leite, Natalie A Trigg, Annette Wilson, Lauren Anton, Monica Mainigi, Colin C Conine, Brett A Kaufman, Jerome F Strauss, Samuel Parry, Rebecca A Simmons : Extracellular vesicles alter trophoblast function in pregnancies complicated by COVID-19 J Extracell Vesicles 2025 April 2025
Simoni MK, Negatu SG, Park JY, Mani S, Arreguin MC, Amses KR, Huh DD, Mainigi M*, Jurado KA* : Type I interferon exposure of an implantation-on-a-chip device alters invasive extravillous trophoblast function. Cell Rep Med. 6(3):101991 March 2025 Notes: 40054459
Pollie MP, Peipert B, Kim S, Mainigi MA. : Isolated Inhibin-Producing Granulosa Cell Tumor Causing Primary Amenorrhea: A Case Report. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol ePUB ahead of print Feb 2025
Chen X, Tober J, Dominguez M, Tang AT, Bockman J, Yang J, Mani S, Lee CN, Chen M, Thillaikumaran T, Mericko-Ishizuka P, Mainigi M, Speck NA, Kahn ML. : Lineage tracing studies suggest that the placenta is not a de novo source of hematopoietic stem cells. PLoS Biol. 23(1):e3003003 Jan 2025
Leigh A Humphries , Jeremy Applebaum, Monica A Mainigi , Caitlin Martin , Divya K Shah : Predicting a successful match among applicants to reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship Fertil Steril Epub Aug 2024
Sneha Mani, James Garifallou, Se-jeong Kim, Michael K. Simoni, Dan Dongeun Huh, Scott M. Gordon and Monica Mainigi : Uterine macrophages and NK cells exhibit population and gene-level changes after implantation but maintain pro-invasive properties Frontiers in Immunology 15:1364036 March 2024
Hunter D. Reavis*, Stefan M. Gysler*, Grace B. McKenney, Matthew Knarr, Hannah J. Lusk, Priyanka Rawat, Hannah S. Rendulich, Marilyn Mitchell, Dara S. Berger, Jamie S. Moon, Suyeon Ryu, Monica Mainigi, Marcin P. Iwanicki, Dave S. Hoon, Laura M. Sanchez, Ronny Drapkin : Norepinephrine induces anoikis resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer precursor cells JCI Insight 9(5):e170961 March 2024
Soledad Henríquez, Maria Jose Valdivia, Monica Mainigi, Claudio Villarroel, Luis Velasquez, Jerome F. Strauss III, Luigi Devoto : The role of estrogen metabolites in human ovarian function Steroids 203:109368 March 2024
Rhon-Calderon EA, Hemphill CN, Vrooman LA, Rosier CL, Lan Y, Ord T, Coutifaris C, Mainigi M, Schultz RM, Bartolomei MS. : Trophectoderm biopsy of blastocysts following IVF and embryo culture increases epigenetic dysregulation in a mouse model Human Reproduction 39(1) : 154-176, January 2024
Lee IT, Berger DS, Koelper N, Senapati S, Mainigi M. : Race, ovarian responsiveness, and live birth after in vitro fertilization Fertility and Sterility 120(5) : 1023-1032, November 2023