What We Do
We strive to continuously increase reproductive health research and public awareness to inform preventive medicine strategies and public policy action to benefit community health.
Education & Outreach
The SEED Program maintains an environment that fosters the advancement of reproductive health research, while also mentoring a new generation of epidemiologists. Through critical discussions, we invite students to see beyond a “publication mindset”. Instead, we encourage them to identify knowledge gaps in the fields they are passionate about, to consider the impact of their unique research questions, and to recognize their opportunity to contribute to public health. As they navigate public health research in an ever-changing global environment, our students and staff will grow as scientists, communicators, advocates, and individuals.
Our dissemination of scientific evidence and promotion of policy action allows us to connect with individuals and communities outside of our program. Through our collaborations and affiliations, we provide physicians with clinically relevant information to improve their care. The SEED Program aims to expand its outreach to community-based institutions and the general public, allowing individuals we hope to serve and protect to provide input and express potential concerns.
The SEED Program involves community-based institutions and develops educational materials to inform the general public.
Impacting Policy
Some members of the SEED Program have used their research to inform policy decisions and motivate community action. Our director, Dr. Carmen Messerlian, has appointments and established relationships with many government advisory committees such as the EPA, SACC, and ANSES (France). Leveraging her position, Dr. Messerlian has the opportunity to draw attention to our research findings and influence future policy regarding environmental exposures (e.g., endocrine-disrupting chemicals) that negatively impact reproductive health. Through our dissemination of research to multiple platforms, the SEED Program aims to create more informed governments and communities.
The SEED Program conveys their research findings to inform policy decisions and safeguard community health, especially reproductive health.
Ongoing Research
The SEED Program continues to explore challenging areas of research and develop novel study designs. While many of our projects study underlying causes of infertility, we are also expanding science to other domains. For example, our team is evaluating future prevention and early intervention strategies for Cerebral Palsy as we continue to recognize associations between chemical exposures and windows of vulnerability pre- and post-natal. Given that current evidence suggests that exposure to disinfection by products (DBPs) is linked to adverse health effects that increase mortality risk (ie., liver injury, respiratory impairment, and diabetes), we are also studying the potential association between DBPs and total mortality.
The SEED Program recognizes the challenge of untangling variables of interest from uncontrollable or unforeseen factors. In our research, it is either impossible or unethical to randomize individuals, couples, or pregnancies. In response, the SEED Program continues to develop novel methodologies, utilize large and diverse cohorts, and employ advanced statistical modeling that reduces confounding variables to create representative data.