Principal Investigators

Dr. Harrison has a special interest in fetal surgery which he has pioneered with his colleagues at UCSF. For the past 18 years Dr. Harrison has studied the pathophysiology and natural history of a number of life-threatening fetal abnormalities including congenital diaphragmatic hernia, congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung, sacrococcygeal teratoma, fetal obstructive uropathy, and myelomeningocele. He has developed techniques for both in-utero open fetal surgery and endoscopic surgical repair (FETENDO Fetal Surgery) of many fetal abnormalities. In addition, Dr. Harrison's team has developed in-utero stem cell transplantation to treat immunodeficiencies, enzyme deficiencies, and hemoglobinopathies. Dr. Harrison leads the multidisciplinary UCSF Fetal Treatment Center Team that has developed an international reputation for treating complex birth defects before and after birth. 

Dr. Hirose completed his undergraduate education in 1990 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he received a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Before enrolling in medical school, he performed robotics research in telerobotics at the SECOM Intelligent Systems laboratory and at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratories.

Dr. Hirose's interests and specialties include minimally invasive surgery, fetal and neonatal surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, bariatric surgery, robotics, and surgical education. His research interests include fetal surgery for disorders of twin gestations, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, myelomeningocele, and gastroschisis.

Dr. Lee's clinical interests include neonatal surgery, fetal surgery, minimally invasive surgery and biliary surgery. His basic science research interests include tissue engineering, proteomic assessment of fetal-maternal diseases, and integration of emerging technologies into clinical surgery. He has published numerous clinical and basic science articles in these fields. He is well-recognized as a leader in fetal surgery and pediatric minimally invasive surgery , having given numerous national and international talk. Additionally, he is on the editorial board of the pediatric endoscopic journal and in teaching fetal surgery and advanced pediatric laparoscopic courses. He has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on a number of fetal surgery and minimally invasive surgical trials, and is currently a co-investigator on a number of clinical trials including fetal surgery for myelomeningocele and is leading a multi-instiutional effort to investigate the role of maternal steroid administration for fetuses with large congenital cystic adenomatoid malformations.

Tippi MacKenzie took three years to do research on fetal surgery and in utero stem cell transplantation at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Following residency, she returned to CHOP for her clinical pediatric surgery fellowship.

Dr. MacKenzie's clinical interests include fetal surgery, advanced laparoscopy, and endocrine and biliary surgery. She has an active laboratory and is a member of the Biomedical Sciences Program and the Institute for Regeneration Medicine. Her research focus is on mechanisms of tolerance induction following in utero stem cell transplantation.

During Dr. Miniati's pediatric surgery fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital in 2004, he developed a clinical interest in congenital diaphragmatic hernia, particularly with respect to the development of treatment strategies to improve outcomes. Other areas of clinical interest for him are cystic lung masses and pediatric renal, non-Wilms', tumors-topics on which he has published in peer-reviewed journals. Now at UCSF, Dr. Miniati continues his clinical and basic science research pursuits, focused on the underlying biology and pathophysiology of pulmonary development, growth, and function.

Varied in their research interests, faculty in the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center are very active in both clinical and bench research. Dr. Larry Rand, director of Perinatal Services at the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center, is an obstetrician and gynecologist who specializes in high-risk pregnancy and maternal-fetal medicine, with particular expertise in fetal disorders. He focuses on both retrospective and prospective clinical investigation, including randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, and has a special interest in complicated monochorionic twin pregnancies. For example, he recently developed and maintains an extensive database to review and analyze short- and long-term maternal-fetal outcomes for affected pregnancies. He has presented his research in the fetal treatment community internationally and was nominated for a Young Investigator Excellence in Research Award at the 2009 American Institute for Ultrasound Medicine national meeting. In addition Dr. Rand channels his research time on global health initiatives. He travels to West Africa and Central America several times a year to perform surgery and provide high-risk obstetric care to patients with limited access, and to create sustainable health programs in these countries.