# Comp A:  CALIFORNIA CENTER OF BD-STEPS III FINDING CAUSES AND PREVENTIVES OF BIRTH DEFECTS

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $600,000

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the US. Birth defects also have
enormous associated emotional and economic costs. The California Center's research efforts,
both independently and in collaboration with other Centers for Birth Defects Research and
Prevention contributing to the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and the Birth
Defects Study to Evaluate Pregnancy Exposures (BD-STEPS), have been at the forefront of
public health birth defects research. With this new funding opportunity, referred to here as “BD-
STEPS III” to distinguish from earlier BD-STEPS programs initiated in 2013 (BD-STEPS I) and
2018 (BD-STEPS II), our Center will further enhance scientific understanding of the potential
causes of specific birth defects, which will undoubtedly have important implications for risk
assessment and prevention of common, costly, and deadly birth defects. In this application we
propose the following aims:
Aim 1: Enhance the epidemiologic public health research capacity of the Centers for Birth
Defects and Research and Prevention by actively participating in BD-STEPS III in a region of
the US that is highly diverse in its race/ethnicity, socioeconomic characteristics, and
environmental exposures.
Aim 2: Utilize data from BD-STEPS I-III, as well as the earlier NBDPS (and likely other data
sources unique to California), to conduct rigorous collaborative and local studies that will identify
potential modifiable risk factors for selected birth defects (and where appropriate, in combination
with genetic susceptibility) to reduce the public health burden of birth defects in the US.
The California Center is well-equipped to contribute to BD-STEPS III – it is a world leader in
birth defects epidemiology and highly experienced in the development, data collection and
dissemination of information from population-based studies of birth defects, exemplified by its
outstanding performance within the CDC Centers for Birth Defects Research and its highly
innovative research portfolio. The application describes how the California Center will
accomplish Aims 1 and 2 and will thereby further the knowledge base about causes and
prevention for human birth defects. The California Center has extensive experience conducting
research related to the BD-STEPS III areas of focus, which include maternal chronic diseases
and their treatment, infectious disease in pregnancy, and medications. We have proposed
several analytic inquiries, complemented by the use of additional innovative datasets and
analytic approaches, which will enable us to collaboratively continue elucidating the contribution
of these and other modifiable risk factors to birth defects.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10764184
- **Project number:** 1U01DD001302-01
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** GARY M SHAW
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $600,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10764184

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10764184, Comp A:  CALIFORNIA CENTER OF BD-STEPS III FINDING CAUSES AND PREVENTIVES OF BIRTH DEFECTS (1U01DD001302-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10764184. Licensed CC0.

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