Sonia Hassan, M.D.
Position Title
Associate Vice President, Office of Women’s Health Professor, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Narrative Bio
Sonia S. Hassan, M.D. is associate vice-president at Wayne State University (WSU), a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the founder and director of the Office of Women’s Health at WSU. Dr. Hassan’s research has focused on treatments and programs to reduce preterm birth, the leading cause of infant mortality. Dr. Hassan is the lead investigator of the SOS MATERNITY Network (The Synergy of Scholars in Maternal and Infant Health Equity), a research alliance of Maternal-Fetal Medicine physicians across the State of Michigan. Dr. Hassan is also co-chair of Michigan’s Maternal Infant Health and Equity Collaborative. Dr. Hassan has authored or co-authored over 400 publications and was the lead author of a landmark international trial which demonstrated an intervention that decreases preterm birth by 45%. Dr. Hassan was an NIH funded researcher for 17 years and previously served as the project site manager for the Perinatology Research Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health on behalf of WSU. Dr. Hassan was named the Crain’s 13th Annual Health Care Heroes Awardee and a Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News. She received the March of Dimes Michigan Prematurity Prevention Hero Award and was the honoree of the Michigan March of Dimes for 2018. In 2019 she was the recipient of the Rogerio A. Lobo Award from the Society for Reproductive Investigation. In 2022 she received the Service Award & Samaritas Ambassador Award for her work as the First Lady of the City of Detroit, and co-founder of the Detroit Refugee Network in partnership with Samaritas. She obtained her medical degree at Wayne State University School of Medicine and her MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Dr. Hassan is a Fellow of the third class of the Aspen Institute's Health Innovators Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
HONORS AND AWARDS
2022 Service Award & Samaritas Ambassador Award
2019 Rogerio A. Lobo Award, January, 2019 Society for Reproductive Investigation
2018 Heroes for Babies Award, November, 2018 n March of Dimes – Michigan Chapter
2017- present Fellow, Aspen Global Leadership Network
2017- present Fellow, Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship
2015 Top Docs, Ambassador Magazine, May issue
2015 Professors Who Do!, September, 2015
2015 Healthcare Professional of the Year, November, 2015 National Arab American Medical Association - Michigan Chapter
2014 Distinguished Alumni Award Wayne State University School of Medicine Alumni Association
2014 Michiganian of the Year, The Detroit News
2014 Winner for Advancements in Health Care Crain’s Detroit Business 13th Annual Health Care Heroes Awards
2013 Prematurity Prevention Hero Award, March of Dimes - Michigan Chapter
2012 Stuart Campbell Lecture, Honor for the Most-cited Publication in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology for 2011–2012; presented at the 2012 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology World Congress Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 Excellence in Teaching Award, Perinatology Research Branch Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, DHHS
2010 Research Excellence Award, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Wayne State University School of Medicine
2010 John M. Malone Jr. Award for Academic Excellence Wayne State University School of Medicine
Research
- The uterine cervix transcriptome
- Intra-uterine infection and its association with a sonographic short cervix
- The uterine cervix and cervical biology in premature labor, cervical insufficiency, and labor at term
- The use of progesterone in the prevention of preterm birth
- Longitudinal studies of biomarkers to predict adverse pregnancy outcome
- Implementation science for the prevention of adverse pregnancy outcomes
Publications
For a complete list of publications, please visit Hassan PubMed