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 President of the Society shall be the Chairperson of the Executive Committee. All officers of the Society must be members and are elected by majority vote of the members voting by mail or e-mail ballot.
Brian Whitcomb
President
Brian W. Whitcomb is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research is in the areas of reproductive and perinatal health and related women’s health outcomes, with a particular focus on molecular determinants, as well as epidemiologic methods.
- PhD, Epidemiology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 2006
- BA, Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, 1995”
*insert personal info here*
Lauren Wise
President Elect
Lauren A. Wise, MSc, ScD, is President-Elect of the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research (SPER). She has been an active member of SPER since 2008. A reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist by training, she received her doctorate in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2004. Since 2015, she has been Professor of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH). Her research involves the study of environmental and genetic determinants of benign gynecologic disorders, subfertility, and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Read more
- ScD, Harvard School of Public Health, 2004
- MSc, Harvard School of Public Health, 2000
- BA, Bowdoin College, 1996
Courtney Lynch
Past-President
Courtney Lynch is a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist whose research interests include: the identification of modifiable risk factors for fecundity impairment, including infertility and pregnancy loss, optimizing women’s healthcare delivery in the postpartum period and beyond, and pregnancy-related and infant mortality. She is also interested in the use of technology to speed innovation in population-based research. Over the last 10 years, much of her work has focused on the role of stress and mood disorders in subfecundity. Read more
- PhD, Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2003
- MPH, The Ohio State University College of Public Health, 2010
- BA, Wittenberg University, 1995
Courtney Lynch
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
395 W. 12th Avenue, Suite 580
Columbus, Ohio 43054
Ph: 614-366-3899
courtney.lynch@osumc.edu
Una Grewal
Secretary
Una Grewal is Deputy Director in the Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Her research focuses on fetal growth and development, particularly on the role of nutrition in pregnancy complications and outcomes.
- PhD, Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2005
- MPH, Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2000
- MA, Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1997
CONTACT
jgrewal@umich.edu
Neil Perkins
Treasurer
Neil Perkins, Ph.D., is a statistician whose research interests involve epidemiological methods including receiver operating characteristic curves, biomarker calibration and measurement error and cost saving designs, with a particular interest in methods related to the complex challenges of reproductive epidemiology.
- Ph.D. Statistics, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, American University, Washington D.C., 2007
- M.S. Mathematics, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, North Carolina, 2002
- Bachelors of Business Administration, Marketing Minor, Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina, 1999
CONTACT
perkinsn.sper@gmail.com
Anne Marie Jukic
Member at Large
Anne Marie Jukic is a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist whose research focuses on nutritional and environmental factors that influence fertility or early pregnancy health. Specific areas of interest include vitamin D, inflammation, phthalates, metals, and the biological and molecular pathways that underlie their effects. She is interested using social media and other apps to improve health research and you can find her on twitter @annemariejukic. Read more
- PhD, 2009, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC
- MSPH, 2004, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
- BS, 1999, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Epidemiology Branch
PO BOX 12233
MD A3-05
Durham, NC 27709
jukica@niehs.nih.gov
(919) 724-7766
Michael Kramer
Member at Large
Michael Kramer is a social epidemiologist with interest in maternal and child health populations, particularly with respect to perinatal and early childhood outcomes. His research integrates social theory, spatial analytic methods and traditional epidemiology to investigate life course processes which produce population health disparities. Read more
- PhD, Emory University, 2009
- MSc, Emory University, 1998
- BA, Earlham College, 1991
Department of Epidemiology
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
1518 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30322
Ph: 404 727-9818
mkram02@emory.edu
Claire Margerison
Member at Large
Claire Margerison, MPH, PhD is a social and perinatal epidemiologist whose work focuses on understanding the multi-level determinants of disparities in women’s health across the life course. Her research has investigated the contribution of economic downturns, neighborhood environments, and life course adversity to pregnancy health and birth outcomes.
- PhD, University of California, Berkeley, 2011
- MPH, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
- BA, Tufts University, 2001
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Michigan State University
909 Fee Rd., Rm 601B
East Lansing, MI 48823
cmargerison@epi.msu.edu
Nicole Talge
Member at Large
Nicole Talge, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Dept. of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Michigan State University. Drawing upon her doctoral training in developmental psychology and postdoctoral training in perinatal epidemiology, Read more
- Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2007
- B.A., Lake Forest College, 2001
Dept. of Epidemiology& Biostatistics
Michigan State University
909 Fee Road, Room B601
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 353-8623
ntalge@epi.msu.edu
Natasha Nassar
International Representative
Natasha Nassar is a perinatal and paediatric epidemiologist based at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research takes a lifecourse approach and utilises large record-linked administrative health and education data to explore the role of early life events in pregnancy and infancy and their impact on child health and development, burden of childhood conditions and health service utilisation. Read more
- PhD, University of Sydney, Australia, 2006
- MPH, University of New South Wales, Australia, 2001
- BEc, Macquarie University, Australia, 1994
Contact:
Natasha Nassar
Child Translational Health Research
Level 2, Charles Perkins Centre D17
University of Sydney NSW 2006
Australia
Ph: +61 2 9036-7006
natasha.nassar@sydney.edu.au
Krista Wollny
Student Representative
Krista Wollny is an PhD student in Community Health Sciences (epidemiology specialization) at the University of Calgary. As a pediatric intensive care nurse, she is interested in quality care outcomes and using big data to predict rare events. She is an instructor at the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary, teaching simulation and pediatric nursing theory and practice. She also collaborates on pediatric and perinatal projects, including systematic reviews and qualitative studies.
- PhD Student: University of Calgary (Sept 2018 – Present)
- MN, University of Toronto, 2015
- BNSc, Queen’s University, 2011
Community Health Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
TRW Building, 3rd Floor
3280 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6
email: krista.wollny@ucalgary.ca
phone: 587-575-3035