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March 2022
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Welcome to the monthly newsletter for the Perinatal Origins of Disparities (POD) Center! Please forward this along to colleagues and community partners whose work aligns with the POD Center.

Announcements

Congratulations to Dr. Candice Price!

Dr. Candice Price, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, has been an affiliate faculty member of the POD Center for several years. She studies the mechanisms for developing cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes in Black women, and has recently expanded her research portfolio to include projects related to maternal health and breastfeeding disparities among Black women.

Dr. Price recently accepted a new position as Program Director in the Epidemiology Branch at NHBLI, starting April 11th. She’ll be managing the Women’s Health Initiative Study and training grants and serving as a project scientist for the Nurses’ Health Study II and III. She will also serve on the NHLBI Women’s Health Interest Steering Committee.
 
We’re fortunate that Dr. Price will continue to stay connected to the POD Center as an External Faculty member. We’re thrilled for this next step in her career and look forward to continuing to work together to advance maternal health.

Wishing you the best of luck ahead, Candice!
Black Maternal Health Week: April 11-17, 2022
Black Maternal Health Week, established and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), is a week of awareness, activism, and community building that takes place every year from April 11-17.

The campaign and activities for Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) serve to amplify the voices of Black mamas and center the values and traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements. Activities during BMHW are rooted in human rights, reproductive justice, and birth justice frameworks. 

Find related events and resources here:


Upcoming Events
Mon, Apr 11, 2022, 12:00-1:00 PM
Eichorn Family House (In-Person) & Virtual

Please join us for a discussion of:
 
Thu, May 12, 2022, 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Woodland Community Center
The theme of the 2022 Resilient Yolo Summit is: “Resilience through Healing | Healing through Resilience.” There will be a full day of panels, workshops, and presenters with a focus on health equity, resilience from trauma, and improved community outcomes. Registration is free and includes a complementary breakfast and lunch. 

New Funding Opportunities
New Opportunities from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI):

  • Targeted PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) will open Tue, May 3, 2022
  • This Targeted PFA seeks to fund large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and/or well-designed observational studies comparing multicomponent strategies to improve early detection of and timely care for complications up to six weeks postpartum for groups more often underserved or experiencing the greatest disparities in health outcomes, including Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), Hispanic, rural, and low socioeconomic status (SES) populations.
  • LOI Deadline: Jun 1; Application Deadline: Aug 31
  • Funds available: $5 million (small studies) - $15 million (large studies)
  • Max project period: 5 years

  • Targeted PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) will open Tue, May 3, 2022
  • This Targeted PFA seeks to fund large randomized controlled trials comparing health system strategies to improve hypertension control and health outcomes for populations experiencing disparities in outcomes (e.g., Black, Hispanic, rural, and/or uninsured individuals). This preannouncement is provided to allow potential applicants additional time to identify collaborators; obtain stakeholder input on potential studies; and create responsive, high-quality proposals.
  • LOI Deadline: Jun 1; Application Deadline: Aug 31
  • Funds available: Up to $15 million
  • Max project period: 5 years
The Interdisciplinary Research Support (IRS) unit of the Office of Research coordinates the preparation of major grant proposals for large-scale, interdisciplinary research programs.

The Funding Opportunities Program assists researchers in identifying funding opportunities.

If you need assistance finding funding for your research or support from the IRS team, contact Dr. Meg Sparling at msparling@ucdavis.edu.

You can also search for POD-related funding opportunities here.

Recent POD Faculty Publications
This study found that pregnant people in California were highly aware of COVID-19 vaccines but that a majority were hesitant to receive the vaccine because of low levels of knowledge, in particular about the impacts of vaccination on pregnancy, fetal development, and later child wellbeing. POD Center/HEAL Lab-affiliated researchers included Leigh Ann Simmons, Mackenzie Whipps, Jennifer Phipps, and Nikita Satish.
 
In this study researchers looked at the association between prenatal diet and ASD traits in children; consumption of high pesticide residue foods during pregnancy did not suggest a relationship to ASD traits in children, however diets high in fruit and vegetable intake were positively associated with lower ASD traits. POD Center-affiliated researchers included Irva Hertz-Picciotto and Rebecca Schmidt.
 
For this study researchers investigated the effects of prenatal exposure to PCBs on mouse placenta and fetal brains, finding overlap in biomarkers that may enable the early identification of environmental exposures and early intervention for associated neurodevelopmental delays. POD-affiliated researchers included Kari Neier, Rebecca Schmidt, and Janine LaSalle.
Trainee Spotlight
Julia Mouat, PhD Candidate, LaSalle Lab
NIEHS T32 Fellow
 
Julia’s research focuses on the epigenetics of neurodevelopmental disorders. During her PhD, she is using human tissues to analyze patterns of DNA methylation that may reflect environmental and multigenerational risk for autism spectrum disorders. She is broadly interested in Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)-related topics and improving precision medicine through integrated genetic and environmental data.
 
Recent publications include:
 
Mordaunt CE, Mouat JS, Schmidt RJ, LaSalle JM. Comethyl: a network-based methylome approach to investigate the multivariate nature of health and disease. Brief Bioinform. 2022;23(2):bbab554. doi:10.1093/bib/bbab554. [PMID: 35037016]
 
Mouat JS, LaSalle JM. The Promise of DNA Methylation in Understanding Multigenerational Factors in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Front Genet. 2022;13:831221. Published 2022 Feb 15. doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.831221 [PMID: 35242170]
 
Some additional fun facts about Julia:
 
  • Where did you grow up? Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • What drew you to this field? I felt drawn to my field of study, the POD Center, and UC Davis in general because I wanted to work at the intersection of genetics, epidemiology, and environmental health. These three fields were all tackling questions I felt interested in, so bringing them together felt like a great opportunity to make progress.
  • Where are you happiest at work? At lab meeting, eating a dessert made by our project scientist, Dag.
  • Where are you happiest outside of work? Being outside, skiing/biking/kayaking. Not anywhere up high though because I’m scared of heights.
  • Is your work area messy or clean? It started out very clean…but is slowly accumulating sticky notes.
Partner Events, Articles & Resources
Articles

Pre- and Postnatal Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Childhood Cognitive and Adaptive Function (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)
A new CDC study explored the link between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and neurodevelopmental outcomes among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), other developmental disabilities or delays (DD), and from a population control group (POP). PM2.5 is in smoke from fires, as well as emissions from power plants, industrial facilities, and cars and trucks. This study found that PM2.5 exposure was associated with poorer scores in several areas of adaptive behavior, including daily living skills and socialization, and lower scores in cognitive functioning for ASD, DD, and POP groups. These data suggest that early life exposure to PM2.5 is associated with specific aspects of cognitive and adaptive functioning in children with and without ASD. Read more.
 
Unvaccinated pregnant people infected with the coronavirus were much more likely to have a blood clot, sepsis, or other severe medical conditions than uninfected women, a Kaiser Permanente study found. Experts say COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is essential. 
 
Medi-Cal enrollees are now supposed to be allowed to hire a doula to guide them through pregnancy and advocate for them in the hospital. But the new benefit has been delayed as the state and doulas haggle over payment rates.
 
This paper reviews available indicators of child well-being from the prenatal period to three years of age. Most of the indicators identified were in the physical health domain; relatively fewer indicators were found in the early cognition and language or social-emotional-behavioral domains. These results highlight the need to develop a broader range of indicators of infant and toddler well-being and improve measurement sources to better inform policies and programs advancing population health.
 
Exposure to phthalates has been associated with adverse maternal and child health outcomes, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth. This study evaluated 13 maternal sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, enrollment year, and conception season as determinants of exposure biomarkers of phthalates and their replacements in 482 pregnant women from the Illinois Kids Development Study.
Maternity care practices have been linked with higher chances of meeting breastfeeding intentions. This report examines this association with data from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2.
Resources
 
The ultimate goal of the Measuring Up project is to help policymakers, researchers, and other individuals and organizations with an interest in early childhood development assess key policies, programs, and practices that affect the well-being of children from the prenatal period through age 3—both in terms of their strengths and the areas in which they need to improve. Access the Measuring Up executive summary here.
 
This webinar, made possible by the California Health Care Foundation, explored challenges and opportunities to expanding the maternity care workforce and highlight California and New Jersey’s experiences in implementing the doula benefit. National and state experts shared key considerations for developing a doula workforce.