Edwina Ho Yee Yeung, Ph.D.

Developmental Origins of Cardio-Metabolic Risk

Our primary research interests are in the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) as related in particularly to cardio-metabolic conditions. Exposures of interest include pregnancy conditions (such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, obesity) and use of infertility treatment. We are using data from large epidemiologic studies to understand how these early exposures lead to long-term health outcomes among children and adults. In particular, the Upstate KIDS study, a large exposure matched cohort from New York State, was formed to determine whether children conceived by infertility treatment differ from their peers in growth and development from birth to age 3 years. Longer follow-up is now underway to see how they may differ through early childhood (~8 years). We are also exploring the possible mechanisms underlying DOHaD associations, including epigenetics.

Edwina Yeung, Ph.D., first joined the Epidemiology Branch in 2008 as a postdoctoral fellow and became a tenure-track investigator in 2011. Dr. Yeung earned her Master of Science and Doctoral degree in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently serves as the project officer for the Upstate New York Infant Development Screening Program (Upstate KIDS).