Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology

This area focuses on the determinants of health and disease in reproduction and childhood development.

Reproductive topics include pubertal development, gynecologic disorders, female reproductive cancers, sexually transmitted infections, menstruation, menopause, female and male fertility, and assisted reproductive technologies.

Perinatal topics focus on pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, as well as pregnancy outcomes such as labor and delivery, preterm birth and birth defects.

Pediatric topics center on disorders and diseases in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, including eating disorders, obesity, asthma, allergies, migraine, and depression.

Students can also investigate childhood and adolescent predictors of adult diseases, such as intrauterine exposures, fetal development, childhood growth patterns, pubertal timing, violence, diet, smoking, and tanning bed use.  Many faculty have expertise in global issues of maternal health and child development.

Methodological issues pertaining to the special issues arising in the analysis of reproductive and perinatal outcomes (involving the environment and genome of mother, father, and offspring), epigenetics, and methods for collecting information from and about children and across the lifespan are a strong emphasis.