Member Spotlight: Miatta Buxton
Miatta Buxton, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Research Scientist in Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, focusing on the interplay of factors that affect maternal and child health. Her research has also focused on understanding patterns of inflammation in “normal” pregnancy. Additionally, she is interested in utilizing novel approaches, including precision health methodology, to understand the determinants of preterm birth and the measures that are important for identifying persons at risk of preterm birth. She became a Precision Health member in 2019.
What are your research interests, broadly?
I am interested in environmental and other factors that influence maternal and child health. Specifically, I am interested in the mechanisms between major risk factors such as environmental pollution, lower reproductive tract infection, and nutrition and adverse pregnancy outcomes. My goal is to understand the mechanistic pathways by which associations occur and, ultimately, identify who is at increased risks, and how the risks may be modified to improve maternal and child health.
Please talk a little about your most recent projects and/or publications.
My current projects include investigating associations between i) and among inflammatory potential of dietary intake, exposure to air pollution, and placental inflammation using mRNA data; ii) air pollution and blood pressure changes during pregnancy; iii) preconception exposure to air pollution and gestational hypertension.
How do a precision health approach and methods enrich your work?
A precision health approach will allow me to use multiple sources of data to understand relationships between and among risk factors for adverse maternal and child health outcomes and help identify persons who are at increased risks of adverse outcomes.
What future direction will your research take?
The future direction of my research will include a focus on understanding disparities in maternal and child health outcomes.
What do you like to do when you aren’t doing research?
Spend quality time with my family doing a range of activities.
