Dr. Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski is the Chief of the Division of Lifecourse Epidemiology and a Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and of Global Health Sciences in the UCSF School of Medicine. She is also the Director of Precision Health and Discovery with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative, the Lead and Founder of the UCSF HOPE Research Consortium, the Primary Investigator of the HOPE Study, and a Primary Investigator (multi-PI) of the PROMPT Study.

Throughout her professional roles, Dr. Jelliffe-Pawlowski's work focuses on uncovering the causes of adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes and identifying interventions through the development of novel tools and tests applicable globally. Her research has received funding from prestigious sources such as the National Institutes of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the March of Dimes, and the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative (funded by Marc and Lynn Benioff). She has authored over 150 scientific papers on pregnancy and infant health and holds patents for blood tests and algorithms predicting preterm birth, preeclampsia, and mortality/morbidity in preterm infants. Her work has been featured in various media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, WIRED Magazine, CNN, NPR, BBC, the Today Show, the CBS Evening News, and many others.

Dr. Jelliffe-Pawlowski has served as an adviser on state, national, and international committees and task forces dedicated to the early detection and prevention of preterm birth and developmental disabilities. She possesses extensive expertise in researching racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in adverse pregnancy and infant outcomes. She resides in Berkeley, California, with her husband and daughter.