n a future-focused world, many 
of the questions driving biomed­
ical research center on what 
comes next: the next break­
through, the next treatment, or the next 
technological advancement.
Those questions are essential. But 
researchers Katherine Kissler, C.N.M., 
Ph.D., and Matthew Olm, Ph.D., are asking 
something slightly different: How can we 
move medicine forward by looking more 
closely at the moments when life begins?
Kissler, a nurse-midwife and researcher at 
the University of Colorado Anschutz, and 
Olm, a microbiologist at the University 
of Colorado Boulder, both study the ear­
liest stages of human development. Their 
work focuses on different points in early 
life, but both are driven by the belief that 
what happens at the beginning may hold 
important clues for improving health 
throughout the lifespan.
That research is supported by the 
Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring 
Biomedical Research Awards, which invests 
in Colorado’s next generation of scientific 
leaders. As two of eight award recipients, 
Kissler and Olm will each receive $250,000 
over the next three years to advance 
innovative projects with the potential to 
improve human health.
Answering Questions from 
the Bedside with AI
Long before she became a researcher, 
Kissler was captivated by questions about 
health, disease, and human physiology.
“I was introduced to midwifery in a medical 
anthropology class, and it raised questions 
about disease, health, and wellness that 
broadened my perspective beyond health 
as simply the absence of disease,” she says.
Those questions influenced her clinical 
practice as a nurse-midwife, where she 
found herself drawn to the complexity of 
labor and birth.
“One of the reasons I love labor care is 
that it’s one of the few places where you 
watch physiology unfold right in front of 
you,” Kissler says. “You’re watching this 
very complex adaptation happen in real 
time while also caring for people during 
an incredibly meaningful life event.”
Those experiences eventually shaped the 
research she wanted to pursue.
“The questions started at the bedside 
rather than at the bench,” she says.
Today, Kissler’s research focuses on pre­
cision labor care and improving how clini­
cians identify infection and inflammation 
during labor. While maternal and fetal vital 
signs are continuously monitored, much 
of that information remains underutilized. 
The challenge isn’t a lack of information; 
instead, it’s knowing which signals matter. 
During labor, normal physiologic changes 
and potential warning signs often overlap, 
making it difficult to determine which pat­
terns warrant intervention.
“We struggle to differentiate inflammation 
from infection, and things like epidural use 
or the normal physiologic work of labor can 
muddy the water,” she says.
Rather than focusing solely on static mea­
surements, Kissler hopes to better under­
stand the subtle physiologic signals that 
occur throughout labor. Her research uses 
artificial intelligence to identify patterns in 
collected physiological data—both from the 
mother and baby—that may provide earlier 
warning signs of infection or inflamma­
tion. For example, a patient whose heart 
rate rises significantly from their normal 
baseline may be experiencing an important 
physiologic change even if they never cross 
the threshold that would trigger concern 
under current monitoring guidelines. 
Those subtle physiologic changes may 
provide clinicians with a more precise 
way to identify infection and inflammation 
before traditional diagnostic criteria would 
detect a problem.
“The strength of AI is that it can take con­
tinuously collected physiologic data and 
recognize patterns that the human eye 
simply can’t compute,” she says.
The goal is not simply better diagnostics, 
but better decision-making.
Her research explores whether those 
signals can be used earlier and more intel­
ligently to identify patients who truly need 
intervention while avoiding unnecessary 
treatment for those who do not. 
Earlier identification could allow clinicians 
to intervene before serious complications 
develop, potentially improving outcomes 
for both mothers and babies.
“We could fundamentally shift care from 
reacting to clinical deterioration to treating 
earlier and preventing those negative 
effects altogether,” Kissler says. “If we 
I
“
I hope AI can 
support some of 
the uncertainty in 
decision-making and 
leave me with more 
time to sit with my 
patients.  
K AT H E R I N E  K I S S L E R,  C.N. M . ,  P H . D.
CO L L E G E  O F  N U R S I N G
U N I V E R S I T Y  O F  CO LO R A D O 
A N S C H U T Z
2026-27 BIOSCIENCE COLORADO     43

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