About the New York Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention
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, first through the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (nbdps.org) and now BD-STEPS. Over 4,500 families in New York have participated in this important research. For BDSTEPS, the New York Center focuses on pregnancies affected by birth defects or a stillbirth in 14 counties in Southern and Western NY.
The New York Center has expertise in studying medication use in pregnancy, maternal disease and infection, alcohol use, and wider social determinants of health and how these might affect risk of birth defects and stillbirth. We have long-running collaborations with the Newborn Screening Program at 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.
Team
Dr. Meredith Howley, PhD, MS
Principal Investigator
Meredith Howley is a Research Scientist at the New York State Department of Health and has worked with the New York Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention since 2014. In her role as PI, she oversees implementation of BD-STEPS in NY, sets the research agenda of the Center, and works to train future birth defects researchers. In addition, Dr. Howley is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University at Albany School of Public Health. Dr. Howley’s research focuses on maternal disease and medication use during pregnancy and their potential impacts on the risk of birth defects. Her recent work has focused on risk and benefits of different treatments in pregnancy for conditions like asthma, autoimmune diseases, and insomnia.
Pregnancy can be a stressful time for some women, especially for those with a chronic condition. I find it rewarding to know that BD-STEPS research will help provide women and their healthcare providers with important information they need to feel comfortable making decisions surrounding the treatment of chronic conditions during pregnancy.
Meredith Howley
Dr. Sarah Fisher, PhD, MPH
Co-Principal Investigator
Sarah Fisher is a Research Scientist in the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology at the New York State Department of Health. As co-Principal Investigator of the NY Center, Dr. Fisher co-directs the Center’s research agenda and implementation of BD-STEPS in New York. Dr. Fisher’s research interests include understanding the effect of alcohol use on the developing fetus and studying the relationships between chronic maternal conditions, such as hypertension, and the medications used during pregnancy to treat those conditions, and risk of birth defects.
Because we still know relatively little about what causes birth defects, it can be hard for women to feel confident that they are doing everything they can to have a healthy pregnancy. My hope for BD-STEPS is that women who participate feel empowered by playing such a critical role in helping researchers learn more about how to prevent birth defects
Sarah Fisher
Dr. Marilyn Browne, PhD
Former Principal Investigator
Dr. Browne has over 20 years of experience in birth defects surveillance and research and has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles. She served as the Principal Investigator of the New York Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention for over 10 for years, while also serving as the Director of Birth Defects Research at the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Browne is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University at Albany School of Public Health, where she continues to mentor and train birth defects researchers.
Women should always discuss changes in medication use with their physicians, preferably before pregnancy. Untreated disease during pregnancy may present risks to both mom and baby compared to well-controlled disease.
Dr. Marilyn Browne
Notable Research Findings
The following are selected examples of important research publications led by the NY Center.
Papadopoulos EA, Howley MM, Fisher SC, Van Zutphen AR, Werler MM, Romitti PA, Browne ML. Antifungal medication use during pregnancy and the risk of selected major birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2024 Jan; 33(1): e5741. doi: 10.1002/pds.5741.
Howley MM, Werler MM, Fisher SC, Tracy M, Van Zutphen AR, Papadopoulos EA, Hansen C, Ailes EC, Reefhuis J, Wood ME, Browne ML. Maternal exposure to zolpidem and risk of specific birth defects. J Sleep Res. 2024 Feb; 33(1):e13958. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13958.
Fisher SC, Romitti PA, Tracy M, Howley MM, Jabs EW, Browne ML. Associations between maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption and risk of omphalocele among offspring, National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011. Prev Med. 2024 Feb 9: 180:107891. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.107891.
Williford EM, Howley MM, Fisher SC, Conway KM, Romitti PA, Reeder MR, Olshan AF, Reefhuis J, Yazdy MM, Browne ML. Maternal Caffeine Consumption and Risk of Birth Defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011. Birth Defects Res. 2023 May 15; 115(9):921-932. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.2171.
Fisher SC, Howley MM, Tran EL, Ailes EC, Papadopoulos EA, Nembhard WN, Browne ML. Maternal Cyclobenzaprine Exposure and Risk of Birth Defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (1997-2011) and Birth Defects Study to Evaluate Pregnancy Exposures (2014-2018). Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2023 Aug; 32(8):855-862. doi: 10.1002/pds.5619.
Howley MM, Papadopoulos EA, Van Bennekom CM, Can Zutphen AR, Carmichael SL, Munsie JW, Herdt ML, Browne ML. Asthma Medication Use and Risk of Birth Defects: National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997–2011. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2020 Nov-Dec; 8(10): O3490-3499.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.07.033.
Contact
Principal Investigator:
Meredith Howley, PhD
Birth Defects Registry
New York State Department of Health
Phone: (888) 296-8192