In the broadest sense I am a methodologist with an interest in developmental lifespan research on health and behavior.  A major interest in quantitative methods and research design issues, and an interest in interdisciplinary collaborations is found in all of my work.  My work and publication record also reflect my strong interest in what are often seen as marginalized populations, including individuals with disabilities, ethnic minority groups, immigrants, and "at-risk" youth. 

My primary research interests are in Developmental Epidemiology and Biobehavioral Informatics, specifically in the area of hearing loss in newborn children newborn, birth defects, and other developmental disabilities.  This work also encompasses my interest in biobehavioral informatics, specifically the development and evaluation of data linkage protocols and the design of public health information systems involving child data.  

Developmental Epidemiology.  My initial attraction to developmental epidemiology was its ability to separately model both risk to an individual and risk to a community. For example, a rare risk factor may have a large effect upon individuals, but, because few experience it, have a small effect upon rates of a disorder in a community. Alternatively, a common risk factor may have a small effect upon individuals, yet, because many people experience it, have a large effect upon rates of a disorder in a community. This pattern is seen in the impact of maternal education and very low birthweight upon mild mental retardation.  Children born very low birthweight are at a significantly elevated risk for mild mental retardation; however, because few children are born very low birthweight, the impact upon the overall rates of mild mental retardation in the population is relatively small.  In contrast, having a mother who did not complete high school is associated with a relatively smaller increase in risk, but because the number of women not completing high school is much greater than the number of infants born very low birthweight, the impact on overall rates of mild mental retardation in the population is larger.

To date, the focus of my particular work in developmental epidemiology has been on identifying children at-risk for developmental disabilities, however, I am also interested in epidemiological modeling of behavioral/conduct problems and in applying epidemiological measures of effect to developmental analytic techniques.  Given the focus on electronically linked population-level data sets, my research in developmental epidemiology is closely linked (no pun intended) to my work in biobehavioral informatics. 

In connection with this work, I currently serve as the President-Elect of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), for the 2008 calendar year, and will assume the office of President in 2009.  

Biobehavioral Informatics. Informatics is the study of the collection, integration, and application of information.  The field grew out of the medical profession, with an emphasis on integrating medical records data.  Biobehavioral informatics broadens this field to incorporate developmental and behavioral information.   My particular interest is in developing protocols for linking public health information systems in ways that increase the flexibility of the information contained with them, as well as strategies for doing so in a manner that maximizes security and privacy.

My informatics work also involves serving as an informatics consultant to the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC-EHDI).  CDC-EHDI is based in the National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.  Their website provide valuable information regarding newborn hearing loss and other developmental disabilities, as well as service and research activities being conducted by the CDC in these areas.  A focus of our work involves helping states and territories develop data systems.  By doing so, standardized reporting and information sharing across programs can be facilitated in order to improve public health surveillance, improve the timeliness of service delivery, and reduce loss-to-follow-up for infants identified as at-risk for hearing loss.  This is reflected in what is referred to as the National 1:3:6 Plan for newborn hearing screening, which includes the goals that...

My work in biobehavioral informatics involves a research team based at the University of Maine, including Shihfen Tu, PhD, Associate Professor of Education and Applied Quantitative Methods, Alan Cobo-Lewis, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Quansheng Song, and Cecilia Cobo-Lewis, all at the University of Maine.

A listing of representative publications in the area of developmental epidemiology and biobehavioral informatics can be obtained by selecting the corresponding button on the left.

Collaborations.  Furthermore, while my work in developmental epidemiology and biobehavioral informatics generally focus on early childhood, I am also involved with several research teams examining health and behavior in adolescents and the elderly.  Most of these collaborations also focus on ethnic minority populations.  Additional information regarding these projects can be found by selecting the corresponding button to the left.

Quantitative and Methodological Work.  Finally, as noted previously, I have a general interest in quantitative methods and methodological or quantitative issues.  More information can be found by selecting the corresponding button to the left.