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2018 Award Nominations
Student Prize Paper Award – Nominations due Friday, March 5, 2018
SPER requests manuscript submissions for consideration for the annual Student Prize Paper Award. This competition is open to graduate and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents, research trainees, and clinical fellows interested in reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology. The winner of the award will present the selected paper at the SPER Annual Meeting. An award of $500 plus expenses for travel, two days lodging, and SPER Annual Meeting registration will be given to the author of the selected paper.
Click Here for information on eligibility, how to submit applications, and how the applications will be evaluated.
Heinz Berendes International Travel Award – Nominations due Wednesday, February 28 (DEADLINE EXTENDED)
SPER invites manuscript submissions for the Heinz Berendes International Travel Award. The winner will present the selected paper as a podium presentation at the SPER Annual Meeting. The winner will also receive an award of $250 plus expenses for travel, 2 days lodging, and SPER Annual Meeting registration.
Click Here for information on eligibility, how to submit applications, and how the applications will be evaluated.
Mentoring Award – Nominations due Friday, March 5, 2018
The SPER Mentoring Award recognizes the importance of dedicated and skilled mentors in the development of reproductive, pediatric, and perinatal epidemiologists at all levels. The nominees will be evaluated based on proficiency in mentoring skills, dedication to mentoring, and attention to advisee development technically, professionally, and personally in the field. Nominees should demonstrate effective people skills, motivate and inspire their mentees to excel, and should serve as a role model, teaching and demonstrating high standards of performance and integrity. A $500 prize is awarded.
Click Here for information on eligibility, how to submit applications, and how the applications will be evaluated.
Rising Star Award – Nominations due Friday, March 5, 2018
This award is to recognize early to mid-career investigators whose achievements and potential set them on a trajectory to become research leaders in the field of reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology. Overall research contributors thus far, including publications, presentations, and influence on the field will be considered. An additional important consideration is the candidate’s likely future role, as their career continues to evolve. SPER registration will be covered for the winner and a $500 prize is awarded.
Click Here for information on eligibility, how to submit applications, and how the applications will be evaluated.
Student/Trainee Poster Awards (2018 Annual Meeting)
We are pleased to announce that the 3nd Annual Student/Trainee Poster Awards will take place the 2018 Annual Meeting. Anyone who was a student or trainee when he or she completed the presented work is eligible (i.e., undergraduates, graduate or medical students; postdoctoral fellows; medical residents; research trainees; or clinical fellows). There will be 1 winner and 1 honorable mention per poster session.
President’s Corner
As I wish you all a good start to the new year, I am pleased to report that the organization of our Annual Meeting is well underway – now we need your contributions for the final touch. The meeting will take place on June 18-19 in Baltimore, MD, and we expect it to be very exciting.
The events will begin at 2:00 pm on Monday (6/18) with the pre-conference advanced methods workshops. This year, the workshops will feature sessions by Andres Cardenas (Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute) and Sonia Hernandez-Diaz (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Andres Cardenas will introduce general concepts and methods used in epigenetics for the investigation of fetal programming hypotheses, with a focus on high dimensional DNA methylation data analyses. Sonia Hernandez-Diaz will discuss how to reduce misreporting of results through the inappropriate use of p-values in our field. She will review basic concepts and common misinterpretations in order to improve interpretation and communication of results while acknowledging random variability.
- The conference will begin at 5 PM on Monday (6/18). The first session will be a panel discussing the role and impact of modern causal inference methods on our discipline. Three panelists, Dr. Penelope Howards (Emory), Dr. Robert Platt (McGill), and Dr. Jonathan Snowden (OHSU) will present their perspective on this topic, followed by a plenary discussion, which I expect will be lively.
- On Tuesday (6/19), our Keynote Speaker will be Merete Eggesbø (Norwegian Institute of Public Health), who will talk about the gut microbiota in relation to neonatal and child health.
- We will have one of the morning roundtables on career advice for trainees and early investigators.
- This year, the winner of the Heinz-Berendes award will give an oral presentation. This is part of our effort to increase our commitment to our colleagues outside North America.
- The meeting will end with our business meeting, from 5:30 to 6:30.
- As a now established tradition, we will present two awards for the best posters presented by trainees (see below).
The Executive Committee, together with Sue Bevan, is working to improve our web presence. The website will soon feature a new look and have a link for easy access to the online edition of Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology for members. We also plan to video record selected parts of the meeting and make them available online to SPER members.
We are about to poll our membership to gauge their interest in a new initiative that will strengthen SPER’s long-standing commitment to the next generation of researchers. We plan to launch a program of remote mentoring, which will pair mentors and mentees. Please respond to the poll by clicking here to let us know your opinion and whether you would be interested in participating in this program. We will also send a separate email with this information.
Finally, please let us know if you are interested in becoming more actively engaged in the work of the Society. We depend on you to continue to grow. Here are some of the ways in which you can contribute.
- Volunteer to help with the Annual Meeting. We need volunteers to help with judging abstracts and posters, and coordinating one of the morning Round Table discussions. These are all great opportunities to become more involved and get to know colleagues. Email me (olga.basso@mcgill.ca) if you are interested in becoming more involved.
- Nominate a colleague for one of our awards (see below). This is a great opportunity to recognize your colleagues!
- We are also looking to fill three important roles within the society: President-Elect (3-year term), Member-at-Large (4-year term), and Student Representative (1-year term)
I encourage each of you to consider nominating yourself or one of your colleagues for one of these roles. Engaging with SPER is a rewarding way of shaping the future of our Society and our discipline.
You can also help SPER by pointing out what you think we could do better. All your comments help, and I will reply to all of them (olga.basso@mcgill.ca).
Thank you for your involvement in SPER. I look forward to seeing you in Baltimore this June, as your contribution is crucial to the success of our meeting.
Olga
Membership Renewal Time!
It’s time to renew your SPER membership for 2018! Benefits include discounted registration rates for the annual meeting; access to the online jobs and fellowships board; participation in the electronic mailing list; subscription to Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology – and more! If you would like to join SPER (or know a colleague who does!), please complete the membership application on the SPER website link here .
2017 Award Recipients
Student Prize Paper Award: Melanie Jacobson
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
- Title: Thyroid hormones and menstrual function in a longitudinal cohort of premenopausal women
- Mentor: Michele Marcus
- Co-authors: Penelope Howards, Lydsey Darrow, Metrecia Terrell, Jessica Spencer, James Kesner, Juliana Meadows, Michele Marcus
Heinz-Berendes International Travel Award: Carina Bagge
- Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Title: Risk of dementia in adults with congenital heart disease: A population-based cohort study
Rising Star Award: Deshayne Fell
- School of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Ottawa
- Mentor: Robert Platt
Mentoring Award: Claudia Holzman
- Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Michigan State University
President’s Award: Michael Kramer
- Depts. of Pediatrics and of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McGill University
Trainee Poster Awards
Winners:
Daniel Kuhr, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Title: Vitamin D and bioavailability of androgens in women with proven fecundity
- Co-authors: Lindsey Sjaarda, Keewan Kim, Ukpebo Omosigho, Neil Perkins, Robert Silver, Enrique Schisterman, Tiffany Holland, Sunni Mumford
Helen Chin, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- Title: Urinary concentrations of phthalate metabolites and associations with the rise of human chorionic gonadotropin and rescue of the corpus luteum
- Co-authors: Anne Marie Jukic, Kelly Ferguson, Clarice Weinberg, Allen Wilcox, Donna Baird
Honorable Mentions:
Kristen Moore, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- Title: Chlamydia trachomatis seroprevalence and ultrasound diagnosed uterine fibroids in a large population of African-American women
Farah Qureshi, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Title: Psychological and behavioral assets in childhood and the maintenance of optimal cardiometabolic health to age 17
- Co-Authors: Laura Kubzansky, Karestan Koenen
Highlights from the Annual Meeting
June 19-20, 2017 – Seattle, Washington
Meeting archives available here
Meeting Quick Stats:
- Attendees at the Advanced Methods Workshop: 77
- Attendees at the Regular Meeting: 268
Day 1: Advanced Methods Workshop
The advanced methods workshop provided an informative and stimulating start to our annual meeting. Neil Perkins discussed sensitivity analyses for missing data, and Daniel Westreich & Elizabeth Rogawski provided guidance on how to pursue epidemiologic questions with policy relevance. The workshop was highly attended, with nearly 20 additional participants compared to last year! If you were unable to attend, slides from both presentations are available for SPER members; you must sign in to the SPER web site to access them (click here)
Many thanks to our presenters!
Day 1: Panel Discussion – Celebrating 30 Years of SPER
The 30th Annual Meeting opened with a panel of 6 former winners of the Student Prize Paper Award. They presented on the remarkable advancements in our field since SPER began and the challenges that lie ahead. Many thanks to Michael Bloom, Claudia Holzman, Pauline Mendola, Laura Schieve, Jennifer Hutcheon, and Candice Johnson for a great opening session!
Day 1: Plenary Session
Plenary Session 1 celebrated the 50th anniversary of NICHD by highlighting some of the cutting edge research from its scientists. Thank you to Germaine Buck-Lewis, Keewan Kim, Enrique Schisterman, Alaina Bever, and Yeyi Zhou.
Day 2: Roundtable Discussions
This year’s meeting featured three engaging roundtables. Tania Lombo (National Institutes of Health) discussed the NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Jonathan Snowden (Oregon Health and Sciences University) discussed physiologic perspectives on pregnancy and childbirth, and Michael Bloom (SUNY University at Albany) discussed the challenges associated with teaching reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology to the next generation of scholars. Thanks to our moderators and participants for the great start to Day 2!
Day 2: Plenary Sessions
The plenary sessions featured a broad range of topics with relevance to mothers, children, and families. Themes included maternal morbidities (e.g., mental health; metabolic disorders), perinatal outcomes (e.g., preterm delivery), fetal and pediatric growth (e.g., weight gain; obesity), and neurodevelopment (e.g., ADHD, ASD). Thanks to our presenters for an engaging series of talks!
Poster Sessions
There were 235 posters presented across two poster sessions, spanning diverse topics in perinatal and pediatric epidemiology. Prior to each of these sessions, five “speed posters” were highlighted in the plenary to provide the audience with a broad sample of research represented at the meeting.
Day 2: Keynote Address by Frederick Rivara
Dr. Frederick Rivara (University of Washington) gave a riveting keynote entitled “Guns, children, and the peril to science.” He reviewed the “state-of-the-evidence” regarding guns and pediatric health, including how politics affect research infrastructure and the translation of findings into evidence-based policy.
Thanks to Dr. Rivara for his engaging address!
President’s Corner
First, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of our 30th Annual Meeting last June. As always, presenters, moderators, reviewers, and participants made the meeting a lively forum of discussion and intellectual exchange. Many people worked behind the scenes to make this all work like a well-oiled machine: the members of the SPER Executive Committee- in particular, Carey Drews-Botsch, our outgoing president and the driving force behind the past meeting, Sue Bevan, and the many reviewers who helped with evaluating the entries for our awards. SPER is fortunate to have such dedicated members, and I am particularly grateful to our outgoing officers: Suzan Carmichael (past president), Danelle Lobdell (treasurer), Sarah Tinker (member-at-large) Jennifer Zeitlin (international member-at-large), and Sarah Pugh (Student Representative).
A special thank you goes to those of you who answered our annual SPER survey. Your comments are invaluable in helping the Executive Committee steer the Society in the right direction. We will continue to build on our strengths while addressing the areas that need improvement. I have read all your responses carefully, and we have started to work on implementing some of your suggestions. Among others, we are going to assess the members’ interest in a “distance mentoring” program, in which a trainee or early investigator would be paired with a more senior colleague as a go-to person for career or scientific advice. We are working on improving the SPER website and on making online access to Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology easy. We will do our best to ensure more diversity of topics, institutions, and countries at future SPER meetings. While we are working on these and other ideas, we are eager for suggestions for how we can continue to grow and improve SPER. If you would like to contribute, please write to me at olga.basso@mcgill.ca and write “Suggestion, SPER” in the subject, so I will know to give these messages my immediate attention. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
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Thank You for Reviewing Abstracts!
Thank you to everyone who reviewed abstracts for the 2017 SPER Annual Meeting. We appreciate the time and attention you took in conducting your reviews.
Melissa Adams
Margaret Adgent
Myriam Afeiche
Kaashif Ahmad
Katherine Ahrens
Vanessa Assibey-Mensah
Sylvia Badon
Gretchen Bandoli
Olga Basso
Marit Bovbjerg
Jessie Buckley
Suzan Carmichael
Carolyn Cesta
Ronna Chan
Izumi Chihara
Jacqueline Cohen
James Collins
Kyley Cox
Carolyn Cramoy
Lisa Currie
Valery Danilack
Tania Desrosiers
Laura Dodge
Carolyn Drews-Botsch
Samantha Ehrlich
Leslie Farland
Shane Fernando
Erika Fuchs
Audrey Gaskins
Tamala Gondwe
Sonia Grandi
Katherine Grantz
Catherine Haggerty
Quaker Harmon
Monique Hedderson
Penelope Howards
Marni Jacobs
Amanda Janitz
Candice Johnson
Anne Marie Jukic
Sarah Keim
Zeina Khdor
Keewan Kim
Mark Klebanoff
Jessica Knight
Michael Kramer
Stephanie Leonard
Yu Li
Danelle Lobdell
Tuija Mannisto
Claire Margerison-Zilko
Chantel Martin
Kimberly McKee
Jareen Meinzen-Derr
Lynne Messer
Kara Michels
Dawn Misra
Sunni Mumford
Collette Ncube
Carrie Nobles
Emily Oken
Olubunmi Orekoya
Maria Ospina
Kristin Palmsten
Robert Platt
Rema Ramakrishnann
Megan Romano
Danielle Schoenaker
Shawnita Sealy-Jefferson
Luc Smits
Kelly Strutz
Alexandra Sundermann
Sarah Tinker
Anjel Vahratian
Catherine Vladutiu
Elizabeth Wall-Wieler
Paige Wartko
Brian Whitcomb
Edwina Yeung
Jennifer Yourkavitch
Jennifer Zeitlin
Yeyi Zhu
Election Results – SPER Executive Committee
Thank you to all of the members who offered their service to SPER and ran for election. The newly elected officers are listed below.
President – Elect: Courtney D. Lynch, PhD MPH
Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Treasurer: Neil J Perkins, PhD, MS
Staff Scientist
Division of Intramural Population Health Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Member-at-Large: Nicole Talge, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Michigan State University
International Representative: Natasha Nassar, PhD, MPH, BEc
Associate Professor, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology
Menzies Centre for Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Australia
Student Representative: Carmen Messerlian, PhD
Research Fellow
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health