Marlena Fejzo
Personal Information
Born: 1968
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Brown University BA Applied Math 1989; Harvard University PhD Genetics 1995
"“There’s tons of people working on cancer, and I’m one of the only people working on hyperemesis. If I stopped working on it, the road would have ended.” (time.com); “There continues to be bias. I spoke to a doctor this week who has a patient hospitalized,” Fejzo said. “Besides him, the whole rest of the team dismissed her inability to eat as depression. As soon as they gave her steroids, her nausea and vomiting lifted, she ate, and immediately her mood improved." (today.usc.edu); "My personal experience with HG and the frustration with being unheard and blamed by my doctors is what motivated me to discover GDF15, the hormone responsible for hyperemesis gravidarum," (finance.yahoo.com); "
— Marlena Fejzo
Professional Life
Field of Study: Medicine
Institution/Corporation: USC Keck School of Medicine; Harmonia Healthcare; Harvard Medical School
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Research Advisor and Board Member of the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation (2002); Foundation for Women's Health Board;
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2023 named 1 of 10 Fiercest Women in Life Sciences, fierce Pharma; 2023 TIME Women of the Year; 2024 a TIME 100 Health Honoree; 2024 Victoria J. Mastrobuono Award in Women's Healthcare, NOW
Achievements: Led the team at USC that discovered GDFI5 hormone which is likely the cause of morning sickness; the hormone is created by the fetal portion of the placenta produced by cells during stress; the extreme form of the condition is hyperemesis gravidarum; she is currently the CSO at Materna Bioservices which is exploring treatment for morning sickness; has published peer-reviewed scientific articles on many diseases of women including ovarian cancer, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, and discovered the first genes for uterine fibroids, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, and hyperemesis gravidarum; discovered two genes linked to developing potentially painful uterine growths known as fibroids;
is the granddaughter of the Austrian composers Arnold Schoenberg and Eric Zeisl
is the chief scientific officer at a new women’s health company, Harmonia Healthcare, which this year in May opened an HG-focused treatment center in New Jersey and plans to expand to New York City
became interested in studying Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) due to her own experiences with the condition & being told by her doctors that her symptoms were all in her head & a cry for attention
furthered her research by partnering with 23andMe to have their clients complete a questionnaire with some questions about hyperemesis symptoms & amassing the data that ultimately identified GDF15 as the cause
is currently investigating the diabetic drug Metformin as a treatment for HG; holds 2 patents