Enrique Schisterman, PhD

Dr. Enrique F. Schisterman is Perelman Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine in recognition of his contributions to reproductive epidemiology and epidemiological methods.

Dr. Schisterman’s career has been defined by a holistic approach that integrates methodological innovation with substantive investigation. His complementary training in epidemiology and statistics has enabled him to both develop new analytical methods and apply them to understand the etiology of reproductive health outcomes. This dual focus has produced advances in both how we study fertility and pregnancy, and in what interventions can improve reproductive outcomes.

His clinical research includes several landmark randomized trials. The Effects of Aspirin on Gestation and Reproduction (EAGeR) Trial demonstrated that low-dose aspirin increases live birth rates in women with prior pregnancy loss and chronic inflammation. The Folic Acid and Zinc Supplementation Trial (FAZST) provided definitive evidence against the utility of these supplements for male fertility, highlighting the need for rigorous evaluation of commonly used interventions. The BioCycle Study, a prospective observational study, established foundational knowledge about endogenous hormone patterns and oxidative stress biomarkers across the menstrual cycle.

In parallel, Dr. Schisterman has made substantial methodological contributions to epidemiology. His work addresses fundamental challenges in exposure assessment using biomarkers, including measurement error, detection limits, and pooling strategies. He has advanced understanding of causal inference, particularly regarding collinearity, confounding, and over-adjustment in observational studies. His statistical innovations have provided tools for handling left-censored data, time-varying exposures, and complex longitudinal designs that are now widely applied across the field.

Before joining Penn in 2021, Dr. Schisterman spent almost two decades at the National Institutes of Health, where he served as Senior Investigator and Chief of the Epidemiology Branch in the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Dr. Schisterman currently serves as Principal Investigator on both the APPLE Trial and a PCORI-funded grant developing transportability methods for randomized trials, continuing his work at the intersection of clinical intervention research and methodological development. He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Epidemiology. He has received numerous honors including the Outstanding Contributions to Epidemiology Award for Methods Development from the American College of Epidemiology, the Excellence in Education Award from the Society of Epidemiologic Research, and the SPER Mentoring Award. He is an elected member of the American Epidemiological Society and has served as president of both the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research.