Neonatal and childhood diseases can be debilitating and even deadly outcomes of insults induced during the reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric (RPP) periods. The best hope for combating these diseases is to enhance the cadre of researchers invested in better understanding the pattern, risk factors, and interventions that might improve RPP health. The overall objective of this RPP Epidemiology Training Program is to train five pre-doctoral students per year over a grant period of five years. We will identify highly qualified applicants, with a focus on minority trainees, and provide them with rigorous and practical training in the basic foundations and methodologic tools requisite to become emerging leaders in RPP epidemiology. The University of Pittsburgh has many strengths that ensure our success in realizing this goal. First, the RPP Program will draw faculty from our pre-existing strong and flexible collaborations among the departments of Epidemiology; Environmental Health; Human Genetics; Behavioral and Community Health Sciences; Obsetrics and Gynecology; Pediatrics; Psychiatry; Immunology; Cell Biology and Physiology; School of Nursing, and School of Dental Medicine. Second, the many, federally funded studies led by our faculty provide a wealth of existing vehicles for dissertation research in areas including: preterm birth; preeclampsia, infertility and sexually transmitted diseases, spontaneous abortion, lifespan approach, mood disorders, substance abuse, injury, nutrition and obesity, environmental health, adolescent health, and pediatrics. Third, strong methodologic Cores are available to ground students in disciplinary learning. These include statistics; demography; basic biology; genetics; mood/behavior/substance abuse; health disparities; clinical; and scientific writing. Fourth, maximizing quality education in the Department of Epidemiology has been a major focus of the chairmanship of Dr. Ness, the Principal investigator of this RPP Program. We describe the many, ongoing initiatives that have made Pittsburgh a strong training environment. Fifth, our faculty's extensive experience in leading NIH-funded training programs will inform the RPP Program. Sixth, we will leverage an outstanding infrastructure for recruiting and retaining under-represented minority students. Finally, a pressing need for future researchers in RPP epidemiology and an outstanding aspect of the environment at the University of Pittsburgh involves integrating knowledge across disciplines in a rapidly evolving research environment. The next generation of RPP epidemiologic research will require a cadre of responsible, appropriately trained investigators who have both knowledge of critically linked basic science and clinical disciplines and fundamental skills in epidemiologic and biostatistical methods related to RPP epidemiology. At the University of Pittsburgh, the combination of outstanding potential students, didactic experiences, and mentorship will maximize the likelihood of producing future leaders in RPP epidemiology. ? ? ? ?
| Niemczyk, Nancy Anderson; Catov, Janet M; Desai, Mansi M et al. (2018) Brachial artery stiffening in healthy primigravidas is associated with weight gain and increased cardiac output. Hypertens Pregnancy 37:204-211 |
| Niemczyk, Nancy Anderson; Bertolet, Marianne; Catov, Janet M et al. (2018) Common carotid artery intima-media thickness increases throughout the pregnancy cycle: a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 18:195 |
| Sonon, Kristen; Richardson, Gale A; Cornelius, Jack et al. (2016) Developmental pathways from prenatal marijuana exposure to Cannabis Use Disorder in young adulthood. Neurotoxicol Teratol 58:46-52 |
| Sonon, Kristen E; Richardson, Gale A; Cornelius, Jack R et al. (2015) Prenatal marijuana exposure predicts marijuana use in young adulthood. Neurotoxicol Teratol 47:10-5 |
| Niemczyk, Nancy Anderson; Catov, Janet M; Barinas-Mitchell, Emma et al. (2015) Nulliparity is associated with less healthy markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease in young women with overweight and obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring) 23:1085-91 |
| Tomedi, Laura E; Simhan, Hyagriv N; Chang, Chung-Chou H et al. (2014) Gestational weight gain, early pregnancy maternal adiposity distribution, and maternal hyperglycemia. Matern Child Health J 18:1265-70 |
| Tomedi, L E; Simhan, H N; Bodnar, L M (2013) Early-pregnancy maternal vitamin D status and maternal hyperglycaemia. Diabet Med 30:1033-9 |
| Day, Nancy L; Helsel, Alexis; Sonon, Kristen et al. (2013) The association between prenatal alcohol exposure and behavior at 22 years of age. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 37:1171-8 |
| Tomedi, Laura E; Chang, Chung-Chou H; Newby, P K et al. (2013) Pre-pregnancy obesity and maternal nutritional biomarker status during pregnancy: a factor analysis. Public Health Nutr 16:1414-8 |
| Hughes, Timothy M; Althouse, Andrew D; Niemczyk, Nancy A et al. (2012) Effects of weight loss and insulin reduction on arterial stiffness in the SAVE trial. Cardiovasc Diabetol 11:114 |
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