OVERALL ABSTRACT As part of our Phase I Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) we created a Center for Molecular Epidemiology at Dartmouth that supported the recruitment, career development, and research productivity of talented junior investigators carrying out innovative research in molecular epidemiology. These diverse faculty shared interests in our Center?s central themes of: (1) applying state-of-the-art scientific discoveries and technologies to address major health concerns, (2) identifying early indicators of disease pathogenesis and (3) exploring common pathways of disease etiology and progression. Our members span multiple departments in Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and the Dartmouth College of Arts and Sciences. To our knowledge, there are no other academic centers for molecular epidemiology in New England, or currently funded COBREs focused on molecular epidemiology nationally. As part of the proposed COBRE, we will supply the critical molecular epidemiology research infrastructure from which innovative methods can be applied and new discoveries can be translated. This will be achieved through four independent research projects with tightly interwoven themes along a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary Biorepository Core and strong Administrative, Career Development, and Research Integration Core. Building on the growing presence of molecular epidemiology in New Hampshire, we are poised to become an institutional, regional and national leader in molecular epidemiology research over the next five year with the goals of: 1) stimulating innovative research and fostering the career development of junior investigators and recruiting new faculty, 2) promoting translation of emerging technologies and basic research findings on common pathways of disease etiology and progression, and 3) informing strategies to prevent human disease throughout the lifespan. Thus, our Center for Molecular Epidemiology supplies the critical molecular epidemiology research infrastructure (e.g., research design methodology expertise, population risk factor and health outcome data, biologic specimens and assay results) to which innovative methods can be applied and new discoveries can be translated.
This project will extend our prior project to investigate whether environmental exposures during pregnancy are associated with maternal postpartum cardiometabolic disorders among vulnerable rural pregnant women. Findings from this study will assist in the identification of modifiable environmental risk factors for severe maternal morbidity and mortality and inform future prevention efforts.
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