2016 Elections

SPER’s Executive Committee is comprised of eight officers and includes a President, a President-Elect, an Immediate Past- President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and four Members-at-Large, a Student Representative, and an International Representative. The 2016 Elections will include voting for the following positions:

President-Elect
Secretary
Member-at-Large
Student Representative

2016 Members of SPER are entitled to one vote per category. Learn more about the candidates below.
Voting will conclude on April 25th.

Click Here to Vote

President-Elect Candidates

Olga Basso, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Heath
McGill University

I have been a reproductive epidemiologist for over twenty years, with a particular interest in the role of complex determinants, such as preterm birth and infertility, on child health. After obtaining my PhD in Italy, I have worked in Denmark and in the United States, and I am currently Associate Professor of epidemiology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Read more

Having started my career in Europe, I first experienced SPER only in 2005 –but I immediately felt as if I had come home. Here was a group of researchers with a common interest coming together to discuss their work in a friendly and informal setting –so much so that I could hardly believe that the authors that I had revered for years were so approachable. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much space trainees and young investigators were given at the meeting, and impressed by their caliber. Since then, SPER has become my favorite meeting, never failing to rejuvenate me, and reminding me year after year of why I love this area of research and how much I enjoy interacting with old colleagues and meeting new ones. Another aspect of SPER that I have always appreciated is its ‘effortlessness’. As a participant, I don’t have to study the program, as I know it will all be interesting, nor do I have to make choices, as everything is in plenary. Going to SPER is as easy as flicking a switch, and the light always comes on…. But the light only comes on because a group of dedicated people have spent months working together to ensure that everything runs smoothly; thus, having grown as a researcher partly as a result of the efforts of all these individuals, I was honored to be asked to run for president and have the opportunity to contribute to the continuing success of SPER.

As president, I would direct my efforts on the advancement of the field and on the preparation of the next generation of researchers. Epidemiology has seen many changes in recent years, particularly in the area of methods; SPER would be an excellent forum for an in-depth discussion of how these innovations apply to perinatal epidemiology, a field that is unique in many ways. The increasing challenges of the research environment affect everyone, but particularly new investigators. Promoting initiatives to help the next generation of researchers be as prepared as possible for the challenges ahead would make my contribution particularly meaningful. I hope that SPER members will entrust me with the privilege of taking on this responsibility.

Dawn P. Misra, MHS, PhD
Professor and Associate Chair for Research
Department of Family Medicine & Population Health Sciences
Wayne State University School of Medicine

Each year I look forward to the SPER meeting as the one place where I know I will find colleagues committed to the study of pediatric and perinatal epidemiology and who are open to new questions, new ideas, and new methods. I began attending in the 1990s just after my PhD and only a broken bone or serious illness can keep me away! I agree with our past presidents that this is a welcoming and stimulating society and sharing this experience with trainees is a priority for me. This is a society that truly values ideas over your position so that graduate students are treated with the same respect as a senior scientist. I was Secretary 2005-2007 and have participated in student prize paper reviews, abstract reviews, and as a moderator of oral presentations. Read more

I am a professor and the Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. I received my BA and MHS (Maternal and Child Health) from the Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Epidemiology from Columbia University. I was profoundly influenced by studying with Mervyn Susser and I find his mix of perinatal and social epidemiology continues to guide my work. Following completion of my doctorate, I was a visiting assistant professor at the City College of New York after which I joined the faculty of the Maternal and Child Health Department at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to my appointment at Wayne State, I was a faculty member as well as the Director of the Reproductive and Women’s Health Interdepartmental Concentration at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

I have three broad areas of interest: studying perinatal health in the context of my life course multiple determinants perinatal framework; studying the role of the placenta in perinatal and pediatric outcomes; and developing and applying new approaches to the study of fetal origins of disease. My primary aim is to understand the causes of adverse outcomes, but with an eye towards implementing changes in the world that will reduce infant mortality and its racial and social disparities.

I value the traditions of SPER and wish to continue them. I also have ideas about how we can do more to support our student and junior faculty members. I developed a mentoring program in my department a few years ago and learned that many professional research societies have created mentoring programs. Many of our students and junior faculty SPER members are at institutions where the kind of expertise of senior SPER members is in short supply. As President, I would open a discussion with our membership about the goals and activities of our society in the coming years. Knowing our members, there are certain to be many ideas!

Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza, PhD, MPH
Senior Scientist
Division of Reproductive Health
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC

I would be honored to be elected as President for SPER. I have been working in the maternal and child health field for 28 years first as a nurse and then as a pediatric and perinatal epidemiologist. My education and experience give me a broad perspective of the field that would serve SPER and its members well. Read more

I received my Ph.D. in Epidemiology and MPH from the University of Texas Health Science Center and my B.S. in Professional Nursing from the University of Vermont. I began my public health career in 1988 as a pediatric oncology and AIDS nurse at the National Institutes of Health. I then worked as a pediatric nurse and health educator in the US Air Force and Peace Corps assigned to the Philippines, Greece, and Paraguay. After developing my skills as a Spanish speaker, I coordinated a neural tube defect study in Texas and Mexico. Currently, I am the Senior Scientist in the Maternal and Infant Health Branch in CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health. I have been at CDC since 2003. Much of my research specifically focuses on SIDS, other sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), and preterm birth. My colleagues who know me understand that I am passionate about my work and that I value being around equally passionate and motivated persons. I am all about playing nice in the sandbox, especially as this relates to building and maintaining collaborative relationships. In planning for the future, I focus on identifying opportunities for professional growth and building collaborative relationships collaborations for myself and other colleagues with the ultimate aim of making the world a better place for mothers and their families.

The SPER annual meeting has been an important part of my professional career since 2002. I have actively served as a conference abstract reviewer since 2007 and also review manuscripts submitted for publication in our society’s Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology Journal. I am currently serving on the Program Committee (Submitted Abstract Sessions subcommittee) for the 2016 Epidemiology Congress of the Americas. If elected as President, I would bring enthusiasm and dedication to my responsibilities on the SPER Executive Committee, especially in planning and eventually designing the program for the Annual Meeting. I also look forward to chairing the various awards committees to honor our members outstanding service and contributions to pediatric and perinatal epidemiologic research.

Secretary Candidates

Una Grewal, PhD, MPH
Deputy Director
Division of Intramural Population Health Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

I am honored to be nominated for re-election as Secretary of SPER, having held this position since 2013. My desire to continue in a second term is keen, driven by several motivations. Most basic, I have a deep, abiding appreciation of the opportunity to serve, which has enabled me to make contributions of value to SPER members, in ways that are also personally rewarding, exciting and enjoyable. SPER has been one of my primary professional homes. Throughout my decade as a member, I have participated regularly in the annual meeting. These experiences were formative to my career and supplied the inspiration to seek a leadership role in organization. Read more

Candice Johnson, PhD
Epidemiologist
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

After almost a decade of attending SPER meetings, I am excited about the possibility of serving as Secretary. I enjoyed my time as SPER Student Representative in 2011-2012 and have been looking forward to becoming more involved in SPER again. As Secretary, my primary objective will be to continue to provide the excellent behind-the-scenes logistical support that translates to members’ positive experiences at the annual meeting and throughout the year. Secondary objectives will include finding new volunteer opportunities for students at the annual meeting, and identifying small, simple changes in operations that might result in improved member experience. Read more

Member-at-Large Candidates

Jenifer E. Allsworth, PhD
Research Associate Professor
Departments of Biomedical and Health Informatics and Obstetrics & Gynecology
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri

I would welcome the opportunity to serve SPER as a member-at-large. I discovered my passion for social and reproductive epidemiology in graduate school where I sought to understand the impact of lived experiences, including sexual violence and discrimination, on women’s reproductive health outcomes. I completed my bachelor’s degree at Brown University where I studied human biology with a minor in race and gender studies. I continued this line of inquiry through my graduate studies where I received a doctorate in epidemiology with a minor in medical sociology also from Brown University. Read more

My research concentrates on understanding how social experiences influence women’s reproductive outcomes. After completing my Ph.D. in 2001, I worked at the coordinating center for the NIH-funded Study of Women’s Health across the Nation before returning to Brown University to continue my research career in the Departments of Community Health and Obstetrics and Gynecology. I then moved to St. Louis where I was a reproductive epidemiologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for 7 years. As an epidemiologist in multiple departments of obstetrics and gynecology I have been engaged in many studies of pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, including: predictors of preterm delivery, low birth weight, and uterine rupture among women with prior cesarean delivery; the role of female genital cutting in the development of obstetric fistulas; and outcomes among women undergoing in vitro fertilization as well as fetal and neonatal outcomes (fetal size, fetal lung maturity, birthweight and neonatal outcomes). My research also includes predictors of unintended pregnancy and interventions to reduce it. I was an epidemiologist on the Contraceptive CHOICE Project – a prospective cohort study of over 9,000 women that sought to reduce unintended pregnancy through promotion of long-acting reversible contraception.

I joined the faculty at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine in 2013 and there I am faculty in the Departments of Biomedical and Health Informatics and Obstetrics of Gynecology studying issues of women’s reproductive health and health disparities. My active research projects focus on applying ‘big data’ resources and techniques to the study of maternal and neonatal health and include examination of prenatal care usage and pregnancy outcomes among an emergency Medicaid population, demographic and geographic predictors of congenital heart defects and racial disparities in fetal monitoring, cesarean delivery and adverse neonatal outcomes.

I would be honored to give back to SPER and the perinatal and pediatric research community through serving as Member-At-Large.

Daniel A. Enquobahrie, MD, MPH, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to join the SPER executive committee as a member-at-large. I received medical training at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and MPH and PhD degrees in Epidemiology at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, WA, before completing a post-doctoral training in the departments of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA. I have been faculty in the Department of Epidemiology at the UW since 2009. I teach the “Epidemiology of Maternal and Child Health Problems” course and a Discovery Seminar on “Fetal Origins of Adult Diseases – A Public Health Perspective”. Read more

I am core faculty in the UW Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health and Co-Director of the UW Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology Training Program (a T-32). I have collaborated with several local, domestic, and international investigators on research that spanned reproductive/perinatal, genetic, and, epigenetic epidemiology. My research involves three themes: risk factors and mechanisms of pregnancy complications, the intrauterine environment, and early life origins of cardiometabolic risk. Over the past decade, we have conducted several investigations on (1) dietary, lifestyle, environmental exposure, and socio-economic risk factors of pregnancy complications and outcomes, (2) placental transcription and transcription regulation, and (3) perinatal risk factors of life course (adult) cardiometabolic outcomes, and, involved mechanisms.

SPER provides several wonderful opportunities. The annual SPER meeting is by far the best venue to learn of latest developments in pediatric and perinatal epidemiologic research, meet researchers working in the field, and initiate or continue collaborative work. The breadth of topic areas, the origin of researchers (both domestic and international), and the mix of different levels of expertise (students, faculty, or world-class experts) are all very attractive. As a perennial contributor of abstracts, I have immensely benefited from the platform. As a member-at-large, I will work with other Executive Committee members to continue this excellent tradition of presenting valuable opportunities to students, faculty, and researchers through expansion of the reach of SPER (by increasing membership and meeting attendance), broadening of the scope of presented materials (in areas involving genetics, epigenetics, and –omics work and findings), and promotion of multi-disciplinary (epidemiology, basic science and clinical) and translational research. In sum, I look forward to contribute to the continued success of SPER.

Abigail Fraser, PhD, MPH, MA
Senior Research Fellow
MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol
School of Social and Community Medicine
University of Bristol

I am very excited to be considered for the role of Member-At-Large for SPER. I am an epidemiologist at the University of Bristol, UK. I completed an MPH at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel where I grew up. I moved to Bristol in 2006 as a PhD student and have been here ever since. My post-doctoral research has focused on maternal health in pregnancy and its long term implications for both mothers and their children, and on the life course epidemiology of women’s reproductive health and its relation to chronic disease risk, mainly cardiovascular disease. I am also interested in improving causal inference by using a variety of relatively novel analytical methods in my work. Read more

Michael Kramer, PhD
Assistant Professor
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University

I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as member at large on the SPER executive committee. I have been a member of SPER since 2008, and have enjoyed attending, presenting, and learning from the warm and collegial environment fostered at annual meetings ever since. I first attended SPER as a T32 trainee in pediatric and perinatal epidemiology, and now as an assistant professor at Emory University, I particularly enjoy sharing the meeting with trainees and students. Read more

Karen C. Schliep, PhD, MSPH
Assistant Professor
University of Utah Health Sciences Center
Department of Family & Preventive Medicine
Division of Public Health

It is with great enthusiasm that I present my candidacy for SPER’s Executive Committee as a Member-at-Large. I discovered SPER eight years ago, one year into my doctoral degree program, at the 2008 conference in Chicago. The connections I made during the Advanced Methods Workshop, Poster and Plenary Sessions, and Breakfast Round Table Discussions not only cemented my passion for the field of reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology but truly set me up for success in my doctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral work. It was at this conference that I learned of the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Program that led me to DC for two summers to carry out my dissertation work and for three years to pursue my postdoctoral training. Read more

I have not missed a conference since 2008, having the fortunate opportunity to be the lead or contributing presenter for numerous poster and oral presentations. The rigorous critiques and innovative suggestions that I have received from SPER attendees have undoubtedly improved the quality of my research and resulted in better and more impactful manuscript publications. It is thus of great excitement to have the opportunity to be responsible for coordinating abstract reviews for the SPER Annual Meeting if elected the Member-at-Large, knowing from personal experience that what makes SPER so great is the quality reviews we provide for one another. My past experience as a SPER abstract reviewer in addition to my current role as Ad Hoc Reviewer for over 15 journals and Associate Editor of Human Reproduction make me well suited to serve in this capacity.

My past and current research, I believe, also make me a good candidate to meet the needs of the entire SPER community. Specifically, the focus of my research has been to evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of diet, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors on couple’s reproductive health and the health of their offspring. From a methodological perspective, I am interested in making sure that the tools used to investigate risk factors and diseases are both valid and reliable and that the windows of assessment are accurate. The effects of caffeine, alcohol, and perceived stress on women’s premenopausal health, and the proper identification of reproductive disorders, such as menstrual cycle dysfunction and endometriosis, are areas that I have focused on for my doctoral and postdoctoral work. One year into my assistant professorship at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, I continue to build on my preliminary findings and have moved to additionally assess the impact of various modifiable exposures, such as psychosocial stress, on pregnancy outcomes and child health.

As a new investigator, I have had the opportunity to begin mentoring aspiring epidemiologists interested in reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric health. I was thrilled to witness my primary advisee and research assistant submit her first abstracts for the 2016 SPER meeting and doubly excited to have successfully secured funding for her conference attendance, particularly given her status as an international student from South Korea. In my role as Member-at-Large, I can guarantee you that I will devote the needed time and energy to make certain that our membership, both at the student and mentor level, continues to grow nationally and internationally and that we receive record-number quality abstracts, properly matched with diligent and knowledgeable SPER reviewers, in the years ahead.

Edwina Yeung, PhD
Investigator
Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institutes of Health

It would be a great privilege to serve as Member-at-Large for SPER, an organization that has not only been instrumental in my development as a perinatal/pediatric epidemiologist but also is home to treasured friends and colleagues in the field. I started attending SPER first year of my postdoc at NICHD and have attended the meeting every year since, presenting papers and connecting with people. I also had the wonderful honor of receiving the Rising Star Award in 2015. The key word is “relevant” here, everything from the methods workshops to the debates and symposia are relevant to what I do every day. Read more

And what do I do every day? I am a tenure track-investigator in the Epidemiology Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH. I previously received my PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. My research seeks to understand the developmental origins of health and disease; particularly with infertility treatment and metabolic conditions such as obesity. I currently lead the Upstate KIDS Study, a longitudinal birth cohort of families from upstate New York, working with a multi-disciplinary team of clinical scientists, biostatisticians, social epidemiologists and laboratory experts. Our team uses Facebook© and newsletters to engage participants. (By the way, if you want to see the layman’s version of what I do, I’m apparently popular on YouTube!)

Besides reviewing abstracts annually for SPER, I have also served most recently in reviewing award applications and also with the 2016 Congress of Epidemiology (coordinating the Meet the Editors session and assisting with the awards committee). I also have experience on the Early Career Investigator Committee for The Obesity Society in which I helped to organize a “buddy program” matching junior with senior attendees to enhance their conference experience. These involvements have taught me a lot about service, in particular how important these roles are to the growth of the organization and how to support each other in promoting new ideas.

Apart from the important role of coordinating abstract/award reviews and other governing matters as Member-at-Large, I also envision using the opportunity to implement new outreach activities. One idea includes cross-connecting relevant organizations with each other via social media or newsletters. Also taking the opportunity to use more interesting images on multimedia. SPER is an under-stated gem that should be shared with others more broadly especially as reproductive, perinatal and pediatric research continues to make headlines and impact lives!

Student Representative Candidates

Carolyn Cesta, MSc
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Karolinksa Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

My interest the perinatal and reproductive research field began on a high school biology class field trip to the local hospital affiliated research institute to learn about the role of the placenta in pregnancy. Since then I have completed an undergraduate degree, including four 4-month long co-op placements in different reproductive biology/perinatal research groups within Canada, a Master’s degree in Medical Sciences within the reproductive biology research department at McMaster University, focusing on prenatal exposure to nicotine and its effect on offspring fertility, and now I am a third year doctoral student in epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, undertaking studies to examine the association between psychological health and fertility. Read more

Florence Kanu
PhD Candidate
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Georgia, College of Public Health

I welcome the opportunity to serve as the SPER student representative. I am currently a second year PhD student in Epidemiology at the University of Georgia in Athens. Additionally, I am the PRAMS/SSDI Epidemiologist at the Georgia Department of Public Health. My primary area of interest and expertise is maternal and child health epidemiology with a focus on maternal behaviors and experiences before, during, and immediately following pregnancy. I enjoy working in maternal and child health because it is one of the public health realms that involves and fosters collaborative efforts between all silos of public health. Read more

Yu Li (Seashore), MD, MPH
PhD Candidate
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Michigan State University

I am presently in my third year of the PhD Epidemiology program at Michigan State University, working with Dr.Margerison-Zilko, and also get involved in POUCH (Pregnancy Outcomes and Community Health) group, working with Dr.Holzman. I was raised by my grandparents. My grandma was a physician and my grandpa was an epidemiologist in China, so my indoctrination into epidemiology commenced since I started to read epidemiology textbooks as my “word introducing book” at age 3. Then I went to medical school in China, during my residency in Department of OBGYN, I found myself very interested in maternal and perinatal health. Read more

Sarah Pugh, PhD, MPH
Postdoctoral Fellow
Epidemiology Branch
NICHD

I am currently a first-year postdoctoral fellow in the Epidemiology Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development where I am continuing my training after completing my MPH and PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. My primary research interests include identifying modifiable risk factors for improved fetal growth and pediatric and perinatal health with a particular emphasis on maternal obesity and gestational weight gain. My dissertation focused on maternal obesity, gestational weight gain, and child cognitive development. Read more