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Laura E. Mitchell earned her Bachelor of Science in biology from State University of New York at Stony Brook, her Master of Science in genetic counseling from the University of Pittsburgh, and her doctorate in epidemiology from Yale University in 1991. From 1991 to 1994, she conducted research in the Department of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, first as a research associate and later as a research assistant professor. From 1994 to 1995, she was an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health, St. Louis University School of Public Health. Before joining the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in the summer of 2002, she spent six years at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in the Departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and of Pediatrics. At IBT she is a member of the Center for Environmental and Genetic Medicine. Within the Health Science Center she is an associate professor of Baylor College of Dentistry's Deparment of Biomedical Sciences and a joint associate professor of the School of Rural Public Health.
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Research interests of Laura E. Mitchell, Ph.D. – genetic epidemiology of common birth defects, maternal genetic effects, epidemiological methods
Dr. Mitchell’s research focuses on the role of genes in the etiology of common congenital malformations such as facial clefts, neural tube defects and congenital heart defects in humans. She employs epidemiological and genetic epidemiological approaches to study genes that may influence disease susceptibility, and to determine how the risk of a specific malformation is influenced by interactions between genes, and between genes and environmental agents. Although most studies of this nature focus on the role of the embryonic genotype, Dr. Mitchell is also interested in understanding the contribution of the maternal genotype to the risk of malformation in offspring.
Dr. Mitchell’s research also includes the development and evaluation of new methodological approaches for studying the genetic contribution to human disease.
Representative publications
Mitchell, L.E. Genetic epidemiology of birth defects. Epidemiol Rev 19:61-68, 1997.
Mitchel,l L.E. The relationship between case-control studies and the transmission/disequilibrium test. Genet Epidemiol 19:193-201, 2000.
Mitchell, L.E, Murray, J.C., O'Brien, S., Christensen, K. Evaluation of two putative susceptibility loci for oral clefts in the Danish population. Am J Epidemiol 153:1007-1015, 2001.
Doolin, M.-T., Barbaux, S., McDonnell, M., Hoess, K., Whitehead, A.S., Mitchell, L.E. Maternal genetic effects, exerted by genes involved in homocysteine remethylation, influence the risk of spina bifida. Am J Hum Genet 71:1222-1226.
Mitchell, L.E., Murray, J.C., O’Brien, S., Christensen, K. Retinoic acid receptor alpha gene variants, multivitamin use and liver intake as risk factors for oral clefts: a population-based case-control study in Denmark, 1991-1994. Am J Epidemiol, in press.
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