Associate Research Scientist
Yale School of Medicine
Jennifer Culhane, MPH, PhD, Associate Reserach Scientist at Yale School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine.
Over the past three decades my research has focused on identifying factors contributing to risk of preterm birth and the racial/ethnic disparity in this major public health problem. In collaboration with investigators from multiple disciplines, I have explored the role of psychosocial stress, material hardship, neighborhood context, prepregnancy maternal health, health behaviors and other clinical variables in contributing to PTB and other adverse reproductive outcomes. In addition, I have explored the biological mediators of these exposures (“stress biology”), specifically examining endocrine and immune system dysregulations. As a result of these interests I have a wealth of experience studying preterm birth, mostly among low-income, urban, minority people. Study designs I have employed range from observational cross-sectional and prospective studies, randomized clinical trials and in-depth ethnographic work. Much of my work has relied upon following cohorts of pregnant people through gestation and into the child’s early life. Serial assessments both within a clinical setting and the participants’ homes have been employed.
Recently, I have focused my attention on ananlyzing electronic medical record data to answer important clinical questions. As the PI of the Yale Data Mining Medical Records to Identify Predictors of Adverse Outcomes of Pregnancy,I have extensive experience cleaning,validating and analyizing EMR variables from antenatal, labor and delivery, postpartum and neonatal tables.
