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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

Support the POD Center:
UC Davis Give Day, Apr 22-23

We’re raising funds to support summer student projects; please consider making a gift now to help us get started. Give here today!
Need Students?
Got Google Scholar?

We encourage all POD-affiliated faculty and trainees to create an account with Google Scholar. This will help us track and promote your publications, which span many disciplines and sources. 
Upcoming Events
Save-the-Date! Relaunch of POD Center Journal Club
Mon, Apr 11, 2022, 12:00-1:00 PM – More details coming soon

The POD Center Journal Club will meet every second Monday of the month from 12:00-1:00 pm, alternating in-person and virtual meetings. The journal club’s goals are to:
  • Support student acclimation to research literature and provide them with a common knowledge base and vocabulary.
  • Build the capacity of faculty and students to collaborate across disciplines through exposure to literature outside of their immediate field of study and review of multidisciplinary research projects.
2022 Resilient Yolo Summit
Thu, May 12, 2022 – 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
Contact: Donna Van Dolah, Program Officer, CTSC (530-867-7477)
  • Sponsor: UC Davis with funding from the NIH Office of Research in Women's Health (NIH/ORWH)
  • Award amount: Up to $100k salary, benefits, $25k travel/research funds
  • Eligibility: Junior faculty member with less than six years of postdoctoral experience
  • Deadline: 04-01-22 at 10:00 AM

  • Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Award amount: Up to $250 in direct costs
  • Eligibility: Limited to faculty who are PI on a single independent research grant; Parent award must be active and not going into a no-cost extension in 2022
  • Deadline: 04-07-22 at 5:00 PM

Contact: Traci Galbaugh, PhD, Senior Director, Foundation Engagement (530-754-2016)
  • Sponsor: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
  • Award amount: Up to $125,000 for team's specific research project; $25,000 stipend per fellow per year (for 3 years)
  • Eligibility: Team must include two mid-career researchers and a community leader, from diverse disciplinary backgrounds or scientific perspectives.
  • Deadline: 05-04-22
Recent Publications
This study found that smoking before or during pregnancy may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits and increased risk of receiving an ASD diagnosis later in childhood. POD-affiliated researchers included Irva Hertz-Picciotto (Director of the EHS Center), who was a co-lead of the study, and Rebecca Schmidt (Associate Professor, Public Health Sciences); both investigators are collaborators for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

For this study researchers investigated placenta DNA methylation patterns to identify a novel gene linked to fetal brain development and autism; their work shows that the gene is influenced by the mother’s early prenatal vitamin use and placental oxygen levels. POD Center and MIND Institute-affiliated researchers included Julia Mouat (NIEHS Fellow with the LaSalle Lab), Janine LaSalle (Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology), Cheryl Walker (Research Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology), Irva Hertz-Picciotto, and Rebecca Schmidt.

This study looked at children who were exposed to environmental toxins (phenols, phthalates, pesticides) between ages 2-5; the researchers found that different mixtures of these chemicals were likely related to increased risk of autism and developmental delay in the children. POD Center-affiliated researchers included Irva Hertz-Picciotto and Rebecca Schmidt.
 
This review discusses how DNA methylation can potentially be used to better understand risk factors for autism spectrum disorders that span generations. POD Center-affiliated researchers included Julia Mouat and Janine LaSalle.
 
This study found that the total cost for PAS management is higher in deliveries occurring at 34 completed weeks than for deliveries at 36+ weeks, mainly because of longer stays in the hospital for both the mothers and babies; the findings suggest a need for more individualized delivery timing than current guideline recommendations. POD Center-affiliated researchers included Jeffrey Hoch, Professor and Chief of the Division of Health Policy and Management.
Faculty Spotlight
David Segal, Professor
Genome Center, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and MIND Institute
Co-Chair, Integrative Genetics and Genomics graduate group 
 
Dr. Segal’s research focuses on the study of gene and epigenetic information in health and disease. He has 19 years of experience engineering gene and epigenetic editing systems as molecular tools and therapeutics, with over 90 publications in this field. His research interests include: Zinc finger, TALE, CRISPR/Cas genome engineering and targeted gene regulation for applications in research and therapeutics, especially neurologic disorders.
 
Dr. Segal and co-investigator Dr. Keith Bein recently received a R21 award from NIEHS for their project “The Epigenetics Crossroads of Environmental Exposures and Early-Life Adversity.” The major goal of the project is to investigate the phenotypic and epigenetic consequences of early childhood exposures to traffic-related air pollution and limited bedding and nesting in mice. They hypothesize that exposure to these two adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) will have additive or synergistic effects on molecular and behavioral outcomes and will also investigate the hypothesis that changes in epigenetic information are an important physical component of how chronic adverse childhood exposures manifests consequences later in life.

Some additional fun facts about Dave:
 
  • Where did you grow up? Rye Brook, NY
  • What drew you to this field? I thought it would be a way to get rich quick; turns out I was mistaken.
  • Where are you happiest at work? In the classroom, preparing the next generation.
  • Where are you happiest outside of work? Outside of work I am happiest at home with my family, doing whatever they want to do or doing nothing at all.
  • What is one thing your colleagues/students generally don’t know about you? I once jumped up on an amplifier and played a rock guitar solo behind my head.
Proposal and Grant Support
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.