Cristina Fernández
Cristina R. Fernández, MD MPH is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and a newborn hospitalist in the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. Dr. Fernández 's research program focuses on the effects of prenatal and early life adversity, food insecurity, and nutrition on child nutritional status, growth, and neurodevelopment, especially among historically marginalized and vulnerable populations.
Dr. Fernández graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. double-major in Biology and International Studies before receiving a Master of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health. She completed her medical training, pediatrics residency, and a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grant (T32) post-doctoral primary care research fellowship in community health at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. Dr. Fernández joined the faculty at Columbia in 2016. Her research has been funded through Columbia institutional awards, small grants programs, and the NIH NCATS-funded Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (Columbia University CTSA Award hub) KL2 Mentored Career Development Award.
Sameera Abuaish
Sameera Abuaish, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Basic Sciences at the College of Medicine in Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and currently a visiting scientist at the Perinatal Lab. She studies how different early-life environments, such as psychological and metabolic stressors, affect different aspects of neurobiology in individuals, including behavioral and physiological outcomes and the underlying molecular signature through gene expression and epigenetics in both human and animal models. Dr. Abuaish obtained her PhD degree in Cell and Systems Biology from the University of Toronto in Canada, where she studied the effects of maternal obesity and stress on offspring anxiety behavior, neuroendocrinology, and epigenetics in a rodent model. After graduating Cum Lauda from the University of Ottowa with a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Biology with a specialization in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology, she completed her MSc. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa, studying the genetics of Parkinson’s disease. She was a recipient of national scholarships from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia throughout her education in Canada.
Katie Smilow
Katie Smilow, B.A., is currently a medical student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). Katie graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a major in Human Evolutionary Biology. Her research focuses on the relationship between psychobiological factors and unpredictability in maternal sensory signals. She is generally interested in maternal mental health and its effect on childhood development.
Veronica Barcelona
Veronica Barcelona, PhD, MSN, RN, PHNA-BC, is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Nursing. Dr. Barcelona’s research interests include understanding risk factors and mechanisms underlying preterm birth through the study of epigenomics,and stressors such as racism and discrimination. She completed an NINR funded K01 study investigating DNA methylation, preterm birth and high blood pressure among African American children. Using a lifecourse approach and multi-omic methods, she hopes to reduce inequities in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes for women and families of color. Dr. Barcelona graduated with a BSN from the University of Michigan, Masters degrees in public health and community health nursing at Johns Hopkins University, and PhD in reproductive and perinatal epidemiology from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She completed postdoctoral studies at Yale University School of Nursing in epigenomics.