The objective of the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research (SPER) shall be to foster reproductive, perinatal and pediatric research. This research includes the study of any factors that influence maternal health and the health and development of children, from their conception through their adolescence. In order to foster this research it is the organizers'mandate to hold an annual meeting of the Society to include both a meeting of the Executive Committee and a scientific program open to members and non-members. This application is being requested to support the 25th Anniversary SPER meeting, entitled """"""""25 Years of SPER: A Lifetime of Research through the Life Course."""""""" It will be held in June 2012 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, immediately preceding the annual meeting of the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER). The annual SPER meeting provides a unique opportunity to present and learn about current research in reproductive, perinatal and pediatric health, and to interact with other investigators from a variety of disciplines that have a shared interest in this area of research. No other meeting with this particular focus brings together researchers from such a broad swath of disciplines and research interests. The 25th anniversary meeting represents an innovative expansion of the usual annual meeting, by delving into specific topics in greater detail, by focusing more time on identifying knowledge gaps, by fostering more discussion of future direction, and by attempting to broaden the meeting attendance. In particular, the organizers are enthusiastic about emphasizing environmental health topics in the agenda, given its critical role in each stage of the life course. The program s 2.5 days rather than the usual 1.5 days and will include a debate on an important clinical issue and a series of eight plenary sessions that will each include an invited keynote speaker and 3-4 presentations from selected investigators based on their submitted abstracts.
The objective of the Society is to foster reproductive, perinatal and pediatric research. This research includes the study of any factors that influence maternal health and the health and development of children, from their conception through their adolescence. In order to foster this research, it is our mandate to hold an annual meeting of the Society that includes both a meeting of the Executive Committee and a scientific program open to member and non-members.
