Roberto Romero, MD is the Chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development/National Institutes of Health in Bethesda,
Maryland. He received his undergraduate degree in 1967 from San Vincente de Paul in
Maracaibo Venezuela and his medical degree, magna cum laude, in 1974 from the
University del Zulia, also in Maracaibo. His has also completed fellowship training in
gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, and in research at Yale University School
of medicine.
Dr. Romero has been an outstanding researcher and has made substantial contributions to
the world literature in the area of prematurity and in infection as a cause of pre-term birth
and cerebral palsy. He is the recipient of numerous awards over the years, including ISUOG
Service Award presented by the International Society for Ultrasound Gynecologists from
1995 - 2000; the CAOG Young Investigator’s Award presented in 1999; the Best Paper Award
Oral Session E and I presented in 1999 by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and many
more. Widely published himself with his most recent book “Pre-term Labor” published in
1997, Dr. Romero participates as editor and a member of the editorial board for such
publications as “Prenatal and Neonatal Medicine,” “Journal of Perinatal Medicine,”
“Journal of Maternal Fetal Medicine” and “Journal of the Society for Gynecologic
Investigation” among others. He also participates on numerous national committees as well,
such as the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Future Sites Committee;
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network steering committee of the National Institutes of
Health; and International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology executive
committee.
Robert L. Goldenberg, MD is the Charles E. Flowers Professor of the Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as Senior Scientist at the
Clinical Nutrition Research Center and Co-Director of the Center for Research in Women’s
Health at the University of Alabama. He received his undergraduate degree in 1964 from
Columbia University in New York, and his medical degree in 1968 from Duke University School
of Medicine. He also completed a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in 1985 at the
University of Alabama.
Dr. Goldenberg is a member of the Institute of Medicine, for which he serves on the
Committee for Improving Birth Outcomes in Developing Countries, and is also the Chair of
the Obstetrics/Pediatrics Membership Committee. As Co-Director of the Center for
Research in Women’s Health, he has been responsible for several large population-based
research projects. He has been a Co-Principal-Investigator (PI) on the Maternal-Fetal
Medicine Units Network funded by the NICHD, where he served as Project Director of a 10center study on prediction of pre-term birth. His also is the Program Director for the Smoke
Free Families National Program Office, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. Dr. Goldenberg is currently working with members of INCLEN to establish an
international multi-center obstetric trials unit involving investigators from around the world.
Additionally, he is the PI of a randomized trial testing the use of conventional antibiotics
during pregnancy to reduce perinatal HIV transmission in several sub-Saharan African
countries.
Steven Offenbacher, DDS, PhD, MMSc is the Director of the Center for Oral and Systemic
Diseases in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Professor of Periodentology at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He attended Boston University and received his Bachelor's
degree in Chemistry in 1972. He then obtained his dental degree in 1976 and a PhD in
Biochemistry in December of 1977 from Virginia Commonwealth University. He returned to
Boston to attend Harvard University where he graduated with a Certificate in Periodontics
and a Masters Degree in Oral Biology in 1980.
Dr. Offenbacher has been active in numerous university, state and national committees,
especially in areas of research, periodontology and graduate education. He is Immediate
Past President of the American Association of Dental Research (AADR). He is currently the
Director of the Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases, and serves on the editorial board of
three dental journals. He is an active teacher, and serves as primary mentor for several
Masters students, PhD students, Post-doctoral students and visiting scientists. After years of
research in examining the role of inflammatory mediators in periodontal diseases his
research laboratory has gained international recognition and stature. He has over 115
publications, over 150 abstracts and 6 patents. Dr. Offenbacher is funded by the National
Institutes of Health and by the pharmaceutical and dental industries. The focus of his
research is in 1) the molecular pathogenesis of periodontal diseases, 2) the
pharmacological modification of the host response to treat periodontal diseases, 3) the
relationship of periodontal disease to low birth weight, atherosclerosis and heart disease and
4) the molecular mechanisms of bone regeneration.
Michael O'Shea, Jr., MD, MPH is Professor of Pediatrics at Wake Forest University School of
Medicine and Director of the High Risk Infant Follow-up Program. He received his
undergraduate, medical school, and graduate degree in epidemiology at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974, 1980 and 1990 respectively. He completed a
combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at the North Carolina Memorial
Hospital in Chapel Hill 1984 and a Neonatology fellowship at Duke University in 1986.
Dr. O’Shea has been a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at Wake Forest
University School of Medicine for the last 13 years. In addition to his other responsibilities, he
currently serves as Section Chief for Neonatology as well. Dr. O’Shea’s research interest is
the epidemiology of brain damage and developmental problems in premature infants and
many of his professional organization affiliations are aligned with research initiatives as well.
They include the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine; the
Society for Pediatric Research; the European Society for Pediatric Research; the Society for
Epdemiologic Research, the American Public Health Association and the American
Academy of Pediatrics. Over the years, he has presided over numerous grants, totaling
more than $2 million, dedicated to research focused on the factors adversely affecting the
neonate. Dr. O’Shea is the recipient of numerous awards, and he acts as a reviewer for
such publications as “Journal of Pediatrics”; “Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology”;
“Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine”; and “Pediatrics.”
Coleen A. Boyle, PhD, MS - Assistant Director to the Director, National Center on Birth
Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Atlanta, GA. She received her MS in biostatistics and PhD in epidemiology from the
University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health in 1978 an d 1981 respectively, and
completed postdoctoral training in 1983 at Yale University in epidemiologic methods .
Dr. Boyle joined the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, in 1988, first
as Section chief and later as Branch chief and Division Director for the Division of Birth
Defects, Child Development, Disability and Health. Her interest and expertise is in the
epidemiology and prevention of developmental disabilities, including mental
retardation, cerebral palsy, sensory impairments and autism. Dr. Boyle is currently the
Acting Associate Director for Science and Public Health, for the newly formed National
Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. She is the recipient of the CDC
Charles C. Shepard Award for scientific excellence and has authored or coauthored
more than 50 scientific publications.