Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Medicine
  • Assistant Dean and Co-Director of Pitt/CMU Medical Science Training Program (MD-PhD)
  • Co-Director, Optimizing Reproductive Outcomes Among People with Chronic Diseases (ORCHID)
  • Director, UPMC Women's and Reproductive Health Rheumatology Clinic
Academic Interests
  • Optimizing reproductive health management for women with rheumatic diseases
  • Health policy and reproductive health care of people with chronic medical illnesses
  • Evaluating safety and efficacy of contraception
  • Evaluating contraceptive care and family planning

    Education & Training

  • B.A, Kenyon College, 2002
  • PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, 2009
  • M.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2011
  • Residency, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2014
  • Fellowship, UPMC Rheumatology Division, 2016
Recent Publications

Sammaritano, L., Bermas, B., Chakrvarty, E., Chambers, C., Clowse, M., Lockshin, M., Marder, W., Guyatt, G., Branch, D.W., Buyon, J., Christopher-Stine, L., Crow-Hercher, R., Cush, J., Druzin, M., Kavanaugh, A., Laskin, C., Plane, L., Salmon, J., Simard, J., Somers, E. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Reproductive Health in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Arthritis and Rheumatology. 2020; 72(4): 529-556.

Hunt, N., Birru Talabi, M. Family planning and rheumatoid arthritis. Invited Review. Clinical Rheumatology Reports. 2019; 6;21(5): 16.

Birru Talabi, M., Clowse, M.E.B., Blalock, S., Hamm, M., Borrero, S. Perspectives of adult rheumatologists regarding family planning counseling and reproductive health care: A qualitative study. Arthritis Care Research. In press. 2019

Birru Talabi, M., Eudy, A.M., Jayasundara, M., Haroun, T., Nowell, W.B., Curtis, J.R., Crow-Hercher, R., White, W., Ginsberg, S., Clowse, M.E.B. Pregnancy, Periods, and "The Pill": Exploring the Reproductive Experiences of Women with Inflammatory Arthritis. American College of Rheumatology Open Rheumatology Journal. 2019; 1(2): 125-132.

Birru Talabi, M., Clowse, M. E. B., Schwarz, E. B., Callegari, L. S., Moreland, L., Borrero, S. Family Planning Counseling for Women With Rheumatic Diseases. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2018; 70(2): 169-174.

Birru Talabi, M., Mackey, R. H., Kuller, L. H., Dorman, J. S., Deane, K. D., Robinson, W. H., Walitt, B. T., Chang, Y., Holers, V. M., Liu, S., Moreland, L. W. Human Leukocyte Antigen Shared Epitope and Inflammation, Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and Mortality Among Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative Rheumatoid Arthritis Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2017; 186(2): 245-254.

Mackey RH, Kuller LH, Deane KD, Walitt BT, Chang YF, Holers VM, Robinson WH, Tracy RP, Hlatky MA, Eaton CB, Liu S, Freiberg MS, Talabi MB, Schelbert EB, Moreland LW. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Positivity, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in the Women's Health Initiative. Arthritis Rheumatology. 2015; 67(9): 2311-22.

Research Grants

R61 HD113515, Time-Sensitive Research to Assess the Effects of Reproductive Health Policy on the Health Outcomes of People with Chronic Diseases, 2023-2025. K23 AR075057, Investigating Pathways to Optimal Reproductive Outcomes Among Women with Rheumatic Diseases, 2020-2025