On this call Drs. Ross and Desai presented evidence that prenatal exposure to EDCs, specifically the plastic component Bisphenol A, can increase the relative risk of adult obesity and metabolic syndrome. They also discussed the significance of these findings for neonatal and childhood care, and the need for strategies for the prevention and therapy of obesity to address programming effects of the early life environment.
Featured speakers
Michael G. Ross, MD, MPH, is Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA School of Public Health. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS), Harvard Medical School (MD) and Harvard School of Public Health (MPH). Dr. Ross completed Ob/Gyn residency at the Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Maternal Fetal Medicine fellowship at Harbor-UCLA and Cedars Sinai Medical Centers. Dr. Ross served as Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from 1996-2011. He has 300 peer reviewed publications, 600 published abstracts and numerous book chapters. Dr. Ross is the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (Cambridge University Press) as well as a member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Medicine and Reproductive Sciences. He is a recognized expert in fetal physiology and clinical obstetrics. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, March of Dimes, and American Heart Association.
Mina Desai, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Director of Perinatal Research at Los Angeles Biomedical Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She graduated from M.S. University, India (BSc, MSc) and completed her PhD and post-doctoral fellowship at University of Cambridge, UK. Her doctoral thesis and fellowship was on early origins of metabolic syndrome with emphasis on obesity and diabetes. Dr. Desai serves as Director of Perinatal Research of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at LABioMed at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from 2006. She has over 90 peer reviewed publications, 300 published abstracts and numerous book chapters. Dr. Desai is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (Cambridge University Press) and a member of NIH Review Committee Study Section on Integrative Physiology of Obesity and Diabetes. She is a recognized expert in developmental programming of metabolic syndrome. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, March of Dimes, American Heart Association and American Diabetes.
This half-hour teleconference call is one in a monthly series sponsored by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s EDC Strategies Group.The CHE EDC Strategies Group is chaired by Carol Kwiatkowski (TEDX), Sharyle Patton (Commonweal), and Genon Jensen (HEAL). To see a full list of past calls in the series and listen to the MP3 recordings please visit the CHE Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals webpage.