Meyer, adjunct professor, awarded for lifetime efforts to prevent birth defects
| March 23, 2010 | |
Dr. Robert Meyer
Robert E. Meyer, PhD, adjunct professor of maternal and child health at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, recently received the National Birth Defects Prevention Network’s 2009 Godfrey P. Oakley Jr. Award. The annual award, which recognizes an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to the field of birth defects, is named to honor Dr. Godfrey P. Oakley Jr., former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Oakley has been called “the folic acid ambassador” for his work to prevent birth defects resulting from folic acid deficiencies, including spina bifida, a type of neural tube defect.
“This award is among the most prestigious national awards in birth defects research,” said Andy Olshan, PhD, professor and chair of the UNC epidemiology department. “Bob continues to be a valued collaborator and colleague for many of us in the School, and we are extremely happy that he has received this well-deserved recognition.”
Meyer, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist, has directed the N.C. Birth Defects Monitoring Program in the N.C. Division of Public Health’s State Center for Health Statistics for 13 years. The program is a statewide active surveillance system that tracks the occurrence of birth defects among all North Carolina infants, monitoring more than 130,000 births each year at about 100 hospitals and medical facilities statewide. Information generated by the program helps public health scientists understand the frequency, variety and risk factors of birth defects.
Each year, 1 in 33 newborns in the U.S. is diagnosed with a major birth defect.
Meyer earned a doctorate in epidemiology and biostatistics from the University of South Carolina School of Public Health and has more than 20 years’ experience in perinatal epidemiology and birth defects and surveillance at the state level. He has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals, addressing topics including pregnancy outcomes, preterm birth and racial disparities, low birth weight and infant mortality, newborn screening, health service use, and folic acid use and birth defects.
Meyer’s awards include the N.C. Perinatal Association’s 2000 “Baby Bootie” Award for his efforts to improve the lives of infants and children in the state, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Network’s N.C. State Leadership Award in 2001.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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