Kathleen Fisch

Kathleen Fisch, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. She serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics (CCBB) and Co-Director of the ACTRI Center for Excellence in Translational Immunogenomics (CETI), leading initiatives in computational genomics and bioinformatics infrastructure.

• University of California, Berkeley: B.A. in Integrative Biology
• University of California, Davis: Ph.D. in Ecology (Population Genetics)

Her research focuses on genomic and computational approaches to maternal-fetal medicine, placental biology, and translational immunogenomics. This includes studies on preeclampsia, HPV-mediated cancers, and SARS-CoV-2 placental transmission using multi-omics and systems biology frameworks.

Key publication trends include:

• Genomic analysis of placental lesions in preeclampsia
• Single-cell transcriptomics in reproductive tissues
• Computational modeling of pain signatures and opioid addiction
• HPV extrachromosomal DNA in oropharyngeal cancer
• Epigenetic regulation in viral infections and autoimmune conditions

Dr. Fisch collaborates on NIH-funded projects including R21HD110893 (Placental Lesions in Preeclampsia), U54HD110347 (Pregnant Female Reproductive Tissue Mapping), and U54DA049115 (Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures Program).