ASD Researchers at UNC

Professor of Epidemiology/UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Stephanie Engel, Ph.D., is an Associate Department Chair and Professor of Epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research considers the impact of environmental exposures and innate susceptibility factors on adverse pregnancy outcomes and neurodevelopmental impairment in children.

Engel has led multiple national and international studies of maternal and child epi/genetic variability in relation to prematurity, growth restriction, preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. A new study, in collaboration with investigators at UNC Charlotte, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute, will examine the relation of the vaginal microbiome with premature delivery.

Dr. Engel is also deeply engaged in children’s environmental health research and has conducted studies of prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals, including phthalates, phenols, PCBs and pesticides, in relation to neonatal, infant and child neurodevelopment and ADHD, as well as child growth and adiposity. She will lead a study team investigating the influence of environmental toxicant exposure on early brain development. The project will leverage an ongoing study of longitudinal brain development (Baby Connectome Project) and use state-of-the-art structural and functional imaging technologies and image analysis tools to examine the prenatal and early postnatal effect of toxic environmental exposures. Data from this study may provide key insights into the nature and trajectory of brain development following pre- and postnatal toxicant exposures, a dimension of environmental neurotoxicity that has not been examined. Documenting the effect of exposure to environmental toxicants on early brain development could be a critical factor in influencing future public health policies and regulations.