Since 2009, the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study has been investigating how the impact of environmental contaminants might affect the health of pregnant women and their children.

Meet Our Team

Learning How the Environment Affects the Health of Your Child

The New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study is a research project that is investigating how various factors, such as contaminants in the environment, affect the health of pregnant women and their children. Beginning in 2009, with the help of medical providers in New Hampshire, the study staff at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, began enrolling pregnant women at clinics in the Concord and Lebanon regions of New Hampshire. Today, our study has over 1,500 women and 1,500 children from New Hampshire and Vermont participating in this important study.

Why Are We Doing This Research

Children's environmental health and disease prevention is a new and evolving field of research. It is especially important because pregnancy and childhood are critical times in the life cycle when the vulnerability to environmental contaminants may be enhanced. Likewise, the potential for short and long term health effects of exposure to environmental contaminants also may be heightened during these times of rapid development and growth.

How Our Research is Designed

Our research is what is known as a prospective longitudinal cohort study. This basically means that we are actively following our group of study participants over time as they grow and develop - from early pregnancy and into childhood. We designed our study this way so that we can collect information at time points that are considered to be especially critical to the development of children and when we may best assess the possible effects of various contributors to health such as environmental contaminants. By following the children prospectively, as opposed to retrospectively (i.e., looking back), we are likely to be able to more accurately learn about how different environmental contaminants may be affecting the health of children and pregnant women. As this is an epidemiologic study, we look for trends in the overall group of mothers and children we are following as opposed to specifics found in individuals. Our hope is that our research will help support the development of guidelines for public health organizations and medical providers interested in protecting the health of pregnant women and children from adverse health effects of environmental contaminants, as well as provide parents with information to improve life-long health.

Field & Data Team

  • Margaret Karagas, PhD

    Principle Investigator

  • Juliette Madan, MD

    Clinical Director & Manchester Site Director

  • Leyre Notario Barandiaran

    Preconception and Partners

  • Caitlin Howe, PhD

    Early Childhood

  • Margaret F. Guill, MD

    Middle Childhood

  • Megan Romano, PhD

    PEDP/Outreach

  • Janet Peacock, PhD

  • Camilo Khatchikian, PhD

  • Tracy Keirns, PhD

  • Courtney Baker

    Research Administration Manager

  • Jennifer Egner

    Associate Research Director | Field Team, Regulatory Oversight

  • Cristina Kehoe

    Recruitment Specialist | Visit scheduling, e-consents (all age bands)

  • Joan Robie-Dieter

    Assistant Research Director | Field Team, Mailings, Sample Pickups

  • Victoria Wood

    Research Project Manager | Field Team, Visits

  • Mohadeseh Kazemi, MS

    Data Scientist

  • Sergio Duncan, MS

    Research Scientist

  • Tom Palys, PhD

    Biorepository Director

  • MaryBeth Semosky

    Research Coordinator

  • Sharanya Subramaniam

    Research Coordinator

  • Kara O’Brien

    Research Coordinator

  • Lyrica Stelle

    Research Coordinator

  • Elizabeth Pflugradt

    Laboratory Technician

  • Donovan King, MS

    Laboratory Technician

  • Nicole Bray

    Laboratory Technician

  • Nevada Elkins

    Laboratory Technician

  • Jennifer Hilton-Hancock

    Research Respiratory Coordinator

  • Grace Cullinane

    Research Coordinator

  • Jeffrey Vonada

    Study Coordinator

  • Katie LaMare

    Respiratory Therapist

  • Jessica Skelton, RN

  • Caleb Nketiah

    Mobile Van Driver

Field & Data Team

  • Margaret Karagas, PhD

    Principle Investigator

  • Juliette Madan, MD

    Clinical Director & Manchester Site Director

  • Leyre Notario Barandiaran

    Preconception and Partners

  • Caitlin Howe, PhD

    Early Childhood

  • Margaret F. Guill, MD

    Middle Childhood

  • Megan Romano, PhD

    PEDP/Outreach

  • Janet Peacock, PhD

  • Camilo Khatchikian, PhD

  • Tracy Keirns, PhD

  • Courtney Baker

    Research Administration Manager

  • Jennifer Egner

    Associate Research Director | Field Team, Regulatory Oversight

  • Cristina Kehoe

    Recruitment Specialist | Visit scheduling, e-consents (all age bands)

  • Joan Robie-Dieter

    Assistant Research Director | Field Team, Mailings, Sample Pickups

  • Victoria Wood

    Research Project Manager | Field Team, Visits

  • Mohadeseh Kazemi, MS

    Data Scientist

  • Sergio Duncan, MS

    Research Scientist

  • Tom Palys, PhD

    Biorepository Director

  • MaryBeth Semosky

    Research Coordinator

  • Sharanya Subramaniam

    Research Coordinator

  • Kara O’Brien

    Research Coordinator

  • Lyrica Stelle

    Research Coordinator

  • Elizabeth Pflugradt

    Laboratory Technician

  • Donovan King, MS

    Laboratory Technician

  • Nicole Bray

    Laboratory Technician

  • Nevada Elkins

    Laboratory Technician

  • Jennifer Hilton-Hancock

    Research Respiratory Coordinator

  • Grace Cullinane

    Research Coordinator

  • Jeffrey Vonada

    Study Coordinator

  • Katie LaMare

    Respiratory Therapist

  • Jessica Skelton, RN

  • Caleb Nketiah

    Mobile Van Driver