RESEARCH PROFILE:

Retired scientist Miles Novy, M.D.

After 38 years at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, Miles Novy, M.D., has retired. During his tenure at ONPRC, Dr. Novy led several outstanding research projects that have greatly improved human health. Those achievements include the development of many innovative techniques for the treatment of female infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss.

His most recent research has focused on the prevention of premature birth. Through the study of nonhuman primates, he has also helped reveal the causes of preterm birth. Work in the Novy lab was instrumental in discovering how hormones and the immune system interact in the onset of labor and that uterine infections are a treatable and potentially preventable cause of the earliest preterm births.

Prior to Dr. Novy’s arrival at ONPRC he took a leave of absence from his residency in obstetrics and gynecology to join the U.S. Public Health Service to pursue research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  In 1970 he received a joint appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at OHSU and the primate center which was then called the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center

In a career that spanned both research and clinical worlds, Dr. Novy exemplified the idea of “translational research” – bridging the gap between basic and clinical studies – in order to expedite research breakthroughs into clinical practice.

“My research was bi-directional,” explains Novy. “Many of the lessons learned from nonhuman primates were applied directly or indirectly to improvements in prenatal care while questions raised in clinical practice stimulated our research; together this gave me a unique perspective on the process of problem-solving in my field.”

During his long career, Dr. Novy has authored more than 200 scientific publications and chapters in textbooks. He served as President of the Society for Reproductive Surgeons, and was co-founder of the Campaign for Women’s Health and the annual OHSU Center for Women’s Health Conference.  Included among the honors he received during his career was the Merit Award, given by the National Institutes of Health for outstanding research.