Study Center
The New York State Department of Health operates the second largest statewide, population-based birth defects registry in the nation. The New York Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention has participated in CDC-funded research on birth defects since 1997. For BD-STEPS, the New York Center focuses on women and infants residing in 14 counties in Southern and Western NY.
The New York Center has expertise in studying medication use in pregnancy as well as examining exposures in the workplace and the environment that might lead to birth defects. We have established collaborations with the Wadsworth Center, the research-intensive public health laboratory of the New York State Department of Health to use newborn screening blood spots for research on genetic and environmental risk factors for birth defects.
We appreciate the participation of over 3,000 New York families in the NBDPS, the largest study of birth defects in the United States.
Principal Investigator:
 Marilyn Browne is a Research Scientist at the New York State Department of Health and an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health. Her focus is gaps in knowledge about the risks and benefits of different treatments for chronic maternal conditions. Read More
Past Study Center Principal Investigators:
Charlotte Druschel MD, MPH was the Medical Director of the New York State Congenital Malformations Registry and the Principal Investigator of the New York Center for the duration of the NBDPS. Erin Bell, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health, also served as a co-Principal Investigator during the NBDPS.
Local Activities and Research:
- Untreated hypertension, thyroid disease, and asthma could pose a risk to the mother and baby. Our studies of maternal illness and medication use can help women and physicians make informed decisions about medication use during pregnancy.
- We have studied the effects of caffeine on the risk of various birth defects
- Since we are based in the Department of Health’s Center for Environmental Health, a recipient of an Environmental Public Health Tracking award, we use these resources to conduct studies of air pollution, tap water use, and birth defects.
Partners:
University of Albany, School of Public Health
Division of Genetics, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo
Recent Publications
Zhang W, Spero TL, Nolte CG, Garcia VC, Lin Z, Romitti PA, Shaw GM, Sheridan SC, Feldkamp ML, Woomert A, Hwang SA, Fisher SC, Browne ML, Hao Y, Lin S and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Projected Changes in Maternal Heat Exposure During Early Pregnancy and the Associated Congenital Heart Defect Burden in the United States. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Feb 5;8(3):e010995. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.118.010995.
Fisher SC, Van Zutphen AR, Werler MM, Romitti PA, Cunniff C, Browne ML and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Maternal antihypertensive medication use and selected birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Birth Defects Res. 2018 Nov 15;110(19):1433-1442. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.1372.
Howley MM., Feldkamp ML, Papadopoulos EA, Fisher SC, Arnold KE, Browne Ml and the Nation al Birth Defects Prevention Study. Maternal genitourinary infections and risk of birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Birth Defects Res. 2018 Nov 15;110(19):1443-1454. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.1409.
Fisher SC, Van Zutphen AR, Werler MM, Lin AE, Romitti PA, Druschel CM, Browne ML and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Maternal antihypertensive medication use and congenital heart defects: Updated results from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Hypertension. 2017 May;69(5):798-805. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.08773. Epub 2017 Apr 3.
Howley MM, Carter TC, Browne ML, Romitti PA, Cunniff CM, Druschel CM; National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Fluconazole use and birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016 May;214(5):657.e1-9.
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