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Pamela Moalli, MD, PhD

  • Fellowship Director, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, UPMC Medical Education Program
  • Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
  • Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
  • Associate Professor, McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
  • Associate Professor, Clinical & Translational Research Institute

    Education & Training

  • Graduate School – Northwestern University – PhD – Molecular & Cellular Biology
  • Medical School – Northwestern University – MD
  • Residency – University of Pittsburgh – Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Fellowship – University of Pittsburgh – Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
Research Grants

NIH Grants:  R01

Research Summary

The primary focus of Dr. Moalli’s research has been on prolapse meshes – first defining their impact on the vagina and then transitioning to mechanisms of complications. Based on this knowledge, her group is developing novel elastomeric meshes whose properties more closely match those of the vagina. Recently, she has explored regenerative techniques to rebuild compromised vaginal supportive tissues. The strength of her research group is that it is highly interdisciplinary with expertise in biochemistry, biomechanics, computational analyses, and biomaterials. The expertise gained from this work has benefitted both the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network and the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Currently, she is leading a national multicenter trial defining mechanisms of anterior vaginal wall failure following a native tissue versus a mesh-augmented repair of uterovaginal prolapse.

Representative Publications
  1. Impact of polypropylene prolapse mesh on vaginal smooth muscle in rhesus macaque. Shaffer RM, Liang R, Knight K, Carter-Brooks CM, Abramowitch S, Moalli PA. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Oct;221(4):330.e1-330.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2019.05.008. Epub 2019 May 16.  PMID: 3110258
  2. Sung VW, Borello-France D, Newman DK, Richter HE, Lukacz ES, Moalli P, Weidner AC, Smith AL, Dunivan G, Ridgeway B, Nguyen JN, Mazloomdoost D, Carper B, Gantz MG.  Effect of Behavioral and Pelvic Floor Muscle Therapy Combined With Surgery vs Surgery Alone on Incontinence Symptoms Among Women With Mixed Urinary Incontinence: The ESTEEM Randomized Clinical Trial.  NICHD Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.  JAMA. 2019 Sep 17;322(11):1066-1076. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.12467
  3. Routzong MR, Moalli PA, Maiti S, De Vita R, Abramowitch SD.  Novel simulations to determine the impact of superficial perineal structures on vaginal delivery.  Interface Focus. 2019 Aug 6;9(4):20190011. doi: 10.1098/rsfs.2019.0011. Epub 2019 Jun 14. PMID: 31263532
  4. Tennyson L, Rytel M, Palcsey S, Meyn L, Liang R, Moalli P. Characterization of the T Cell Response to Polypropylene Mesh in Women with Complications. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Nov 9. pii: S0002-9378(18)31143-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.11.121. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30419195.
  5. Barone WR, Knight KM, Moalli PA, Abramowitch SD. Deformation of Transvaginal Mesh in Response to Multiaxial Loading. J Biomech Eng. 2019 Feb 1;141(2). doi: 10.1115/1.4041743. PubMed PMID: 30347035.
  6. Carter-Brooks CM, Zyczynski HM, Moalli PA, Brodeur PG, Shepherd JP. Early catheter removal after pelvic floor reconstructive surgery: a randomized trial. Int Urogynecol J. 2018 Aug;29(8):1203-1212. doi: 10.1007/s00192-018-3641-3. Epub 2018 Mar 29. PubMed PMID: 29600401.
  7. Knight KM, Moalli PA, Abramowitch SD. Preventing Mesh Pore Collapse by Designing Mesh Pores With Auxetic Geometries: A Comprehensive Evaluation Via Computational Modeling. J Biomech Eng. 2018 May 1;140(5). doi: 10.1115/1.4039058. PubMed PMID: 29350744.
  8. Siddiqui NY, Gregory WT, Handa VL, DeLancey JOL, Richter HE, Moalli P, Barber MD, Pulliam S, Visco AG, Alperin M, Medina C, Fraser MO, Bradley CS. American Urogynecologic Society Prolapse Consensus Conference Summary Report. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2018 Jul/Aug;24(4):260-263. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000533. PubMed PMID: 29309287.
  9. Berger AA, Abramowitch S, Moalli PA. 3D vascular anatomy of the presacral space: impact of age and adiposity. Int Urogynecol J. 2018 Jan 3. doi: 10.1007/s00192-017-3542-x. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29299627.
  10. Oliphant S, Canavan T, Palcsey S, Meyn L, Moalli P. Pregnancy and parturition negatively impact vaginal angle and alter expression of vaginal MMP-9. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Feb;218(2):242.e1-242.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.11.572. Epub 2017 Nov 16. PubMed PMID: 29155140.