EPID alumna Gilboa wins prize at George Washington University
June 10, 2014
Suzanne Meredith Gilboa, PhD, Gillings School alumna and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, received the 2013 Arthur S. Flemming Award from George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.
Gilboa received the award for her accomplishments as a researcher and outstanding leader who has worked to protect and promote the health of pregnant women and infants.
Gilboa’s commitment to maternal and child health was solidified during her two years as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in rural Nicaragua, where she worked closely with local health workers. Currently, she leads a group of researchers and public health practitioners to better understand the modifiable causes of birth defects and to develop and disseminate innovative strategies for primary and secondary prevention.
She has made significant contributions to the recognition of risk factors for birth defects—such as diabetes and obesity, selected prescription and over-the-counter medications, and exposure to occupational or environmental hazards during early pregnancy. Four of her first- or co-authored manuscripts have been recognized with CDC’s Charles C. Shepard Science Award nominations; one of her first-authored papers received a CDC’s Statistical Science Award Honorable Mention.
Gilboa received her doctorate in epidemiology in 2005 from what is now the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.