CERPE Research

Emerging Reproductive Perinatal Epidemiology

Around the world, more than 300,000 women die each year in childbirth and approximately three million infants die in their first month of life. Global Burden of Disease 2010 estimates show that more than 10% of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were from reproductive health issues: maternal disorders, neonatal disorders, congenital anomalies, and sexually transmitted infections. Epidemiologic research plays a central role in better understanding reproductive health issues at a population level.

Current Projects

Training Grants

Argentine Doctoral Training in Implementation Research Across the Lifespan (D43 TW009083)
Funder: Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD
The main objective of this program is to provide doctoral training in implementation research in Argentina, thereby building a sustainable, in-country doctoral program allowing Argentine researchers to become successful independent investigators.

Research Grants

Research projects with CERPE fellows as PIs include:

Congenital Transmission of Lineages I and II of Trypanosoma cruzi (R01 AI083563)
Funder: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD
The specific aims of this study are: 1) to determine the rate of congenital transmission of TcI compared to TcII; 2) to compare T. cruzi infected mothers' characteristics and exposures to vectors in regions where TcI is predominant and regions where TcII is predominant; and 3) to describe the birth outcomes of infected and uninfected infants born to TcI and TcII seropositive women.

Preventing Congenital Syphilis (OPP1116131)
Funder: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Principal Investigator: Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD
Nearly 1.5 million pregnant women are infected with syphilis each year, and it is estimated that half of them will have adverse birth outcomes. The goal of this project is to use implementation research methods to evaluate a multi-faceted intervention to increase the use of evidence-based clinical procedures to prevent congenital syphilis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.

Probiotics in Pediatric Diarrhea in Peru (R01 AT002733)
Funder: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Richard Oberhelman, MD
A Phase II clinical trial of several probiotic agents for the treatment of diarrhea among undernourished children with high rates of disease.

Former Projects

Training Grants

Training in Global Reproductive Epidemiology (TIGRE) (T32 HD057780)
Funder: National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD
The main objective of this program is to provide pre-doctoral training in the field of reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiologic research to address global health issues. Global health issues are defined as health issues relevant to the United States and the rest of the world. Epidemiologic research is defined as including both observational and experimental methods (i.e., including randomized controlled trials).
 
Research Grants

Birth Outcomes in Adolescents (R03 HD067240)
Funder: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Emily Harville, PhD
This project examines the individual, family, and community predictors of birth outcomes among adolescents, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset.

Coordinating Center for the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Coordinating Study (PHACS) (U01 HD052104)
Funder: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Russell VanDyke, MD
The goals of the project are to determine the safety to the child of preventive antiretroviral therapy when used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to determine the impact of perinatal HIV infection on adolescents and pre-adolescents.

Evidence-Based Global Health Interventions for Mothers and Children, Argentina (U01 HD404077)
Funder: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD
The goal of this project is to develop and implement common protocols of randomized controlled trials sponsored by the Global Network for Women's and Children's Health. The primary intervention will determine whether the use of antenatal corticosteroids can be increased within a network of hospitals in Argentina and Uruguay, thereby reducing neonatal mortality.  

Long-Term Burden of Maternal Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Birth Outcomes (R01 HD069587)
Funder: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Emily Harville, PhD
The goal of this project is to assess the relationship between life course, preconception cardiovascular risk factors and birth outcomes (birthweight and gestational age), and pregnancy complications (pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes).

Risk and Resilience in Environmental Health (U19 ES020677)
Funder: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Emily Harville, PhD
This project assesses the effect of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on mental health, pregnancy outcomes, fertility, and reproductive decisions in pregnant and reproductive-aged women in south Louisiana.

Telomere Lengths as a Biomarker of Allostatic Load in Children (R01 ES020447)
Funder: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Katherine Theall, PhD
This research evaluates the validity of telomere length as a biomarker of physiological dysregulation or allostatic load in African American children ages 4 to 14 years from inner-City neighborhoods in New Orleans.

Trichomonas vaginalis Repeat Infections Among HIV Negative Women (R01 AI097080)
Funder: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator: Patricia Kissinger, PhD
The main specific aims of this project are to examine the origins of repeat infections with T. vaginalis and to examine two different doses of metronidazole for the treatment of T. vaginalis.

Tulane Prevention Research Center - Adaptation of Effective Prenatal Tobacco Prevention Cessation Interventions for Women in Low- or Middle-Income Countries (U48 DP001948)
Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Principal Investigators: Pierre Buekens, MD, PhD & Fernando Althabe, MD, MSc
The project's main specific aim is to conduct a two-arm, parallel cluster randomized controlled trial of an implementation intervention in eight prenatal clinics in Argentina and Uruguay. The primary hypothesis is that the implementation of the intervention is feasible in prenatal clinics and will increase the frequency of women receiving tobacco use cessation counseling during pregnancy. The secondary hypothesis is that the intervention will decrease the frequency of women who smoke by the end of their pregnancies.

Additional Information
More information regarding these and other research projects can be found by visiting the National Institutes of Health's RePORTER website (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool).