University of Pennsylvania
Samuel Parry, MD is the Franklin Payne Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Parry received his MD degree at Columbia University and completed residency and fellowship training at SUNY at Buffalo and Penn, respectively. He currently serves as the Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs and previously served as Chief of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division (2005-2022). In his current role as Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs, Dr. Parry is responsible for developing and managing a faculty mentorship program in the Ob/Gyn Department.
Dr. Parry’s research interests include genetic and environmental factors associated with preterm birth and placental biology and infection. He has been funded continuously by the NIH since 1999 and currently serves as principal investigator for the NICHD’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network Clinical Center at Penn and the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Penn. An overarching theme of the Prematurity Research Center is to understand the mechanisms underlying the racial differences in adverse perinatal outcomes. Placenta insufficiency underlies most adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia, preterm birth, still birth, and poor fetal growth. Thus, understanding the contributing factors such as maternal stress, structural racism, environmental injustice, and food insecurity to abnormal placenta function is key to developing interventions and preventative strategies.
Dr. Parry serves as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is Chair of The Foundation for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s Scholarly Activities Committee, and is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Parry previously served as Chair of the Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Biology Subcommittee, NICHD Initial Review Group. His clinical interests include fetal heart rate monitoring, preterm birth, and intrapartum management.