Study Center
In 1996, the Texas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention was established as a part of the Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch of the Texas Department of State Health Services in Austin. The mission of the Texas Center is to conduct research studies to understand the causes of specific birth defects, including [participation in] the National Birth Defects Prevention Study.
The Texas Center is in a unique position to contribute to our understanding of what causes birth defects, especially due to the 1,200-mile border shared with Mexico. Health disparities between Texans living along the border with Mexico and those in non-border communities have long been a concern for public health officials.
The national study area for Texas is currently the Lower Rio Grande Valley, which encompasses Gulf Coast industrial cities such as Corpus Christi, as well as Cameron and Webb Counties. These two counties on the border with Mexico have experienced some of the country's highest neural tube defect rates.
Principal Investigators:
Mark A. Canfield, PhD, is the Co-Principal Investigator for the Texas Center. Dr. Canfield is the Manager for the Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch at the Texas Department of State Health Services. In addition to being a National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) investigator, Dr. Canfield oversees most administrative (i.e. budgetary and contractual) aspects of the Texas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention...Read More
 Peter Langolis, PhD, is the Co-Principal Investigator for the Texas Center...Read More
Local Activities and Research:
In addition to participating in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, the Texas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention has previously funded local research projects, including studies that examine:
- The interaction of metabolic, genetic, and environmental risk factors for certain birth defects of the brain and spinal cord
- The link between neural tube defects and maternal risk factors, such as maternal diabetes, obesity, smoking, and dieting behaviors
- The link between birth defects and certain environmental factors, such as hazardous waste sites and air pollution
- Patterns and risk factors associated with oral clefts and clubfoot in Texas
Partners:
The Texas Center is comprised of State Health Department employees and researchers from various Texas universities with expertise in demographic, maternal, and environmental risk factors for birth defects, survey research, and molecular genetics. Our center has a specific interest in the epidemiology of neural tube defects (major birth defects of the brain and spine).
- Baylor College of Medicine – Houston, TX
- Texas A&M University, Public Policy Research Institute – College Station
- Texas A&M Health Science Center, Institute of Biosciences and Technology – Houston
- Texas A&M Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health – College Station
- Texas State University – San Marcos
- The University of Texas School of Public Health – Houston
- The University of Texas Medical School – Houston
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical School – Dallas
Recent Publications
Brender JD, Kelley KE, Werler MM, Langlois PH, Suarez L, Canfield MA; National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Prevalence and patterns of nitrosatable drug use among U.S. women during early pregnancy. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2011 Apr;91(4):258-64.
Suarez L, Ramadhani T, Felkner M, Canfield MA, Brender JD, Romitti PA, Sun L. Maternal smoking, passive tobacco smoke, and neural tube defects. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2011 Jan;91(1):29-33. Griesenbeck J, Brender J, Sharkey J, Steck M, Huber J, Rene A, McDonald T, Romitti P, Canfield M, Langlois P, Suarez L, and the National Birth Defect Prevention Study. Maternal characteristics associated with the dietary intake of nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines in U.S. women of child-bearing age: a cross-sectional study. Environmental Health. 2010. 9(1):10. Epub 2010 Feb 19.
Hashmi SS, Galloway MS, Waller DK, Langlois P, Hecht JT and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Maternal Fever during Early Pregnancy and the Risk of Oral Clefts. Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology. 2010. 88(3):186-194 Epub 2010 Jan 26.
Lupo PJ, Symanski E, Waller DK, Chan W, Canfield MA, Langlois PH, Mitchell LE, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Polytomous Logistic Regression as a Tool for Exploring Heterogeneity across Birth Defect Subtypes: An Example Using Anencephaly and Spina Bifida. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2010; 88(8):701-5.
Miller EA, Rasmussen SA, Siega-Riz AM, Frı´as JL, Honein MA, the NationalBirth Defects Prevention Study. Risk factors for non-syndromic holoprosencephaly in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Am J Med Genet Part C Semin Med Genet. 2010; 154C:62–72.
Waller DK, Lockwood GT, Gallaway MS, Canfield MA, Scheuerle A, Hernandez-Diaz S, Louik C, Correa A, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Use of Oral Contraceptives in Pregnancy and Major Structural Birth Defects in Offspring. Epidemiology.2010. 21(2):232-239. Epub 2010 Jan 21.
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