Professor of Epidemiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology

David Savitz joined the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health and the PSTC at Brown in 2010. Savitz has served frequently as a panel and committee member for the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine on issues related to environmental and reproductive health.

Throughout his research career, Savitz has sought to address the public health consequences of a range of behaviors, social conditions, clinical interventions, and environmental influences on the health of pregnancy.  The range of health conditions of interests includes fertility, pregnancy loss, preterm birth and fetal growth, pregnancy complications, and infant and child health.  Behavioral and social factors of interest include tobacco and illicit drug use, physical activity, psychosocial stress, and ethnicity.  Environmental agents cover a broad range of potential influences, radiation, air pollution, pesticides, and drinking water disinfection by-products. Savitz is currently working on an NIH-supported project addressing the impact of labor induction on the health of the mother and infant. 

Selected Publications

“Maternal Ethnic Ancestry and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in New York City” (with C.R. Stein, T. Janevic, C.V. Ananth, J.S. Kaufman, et al.). American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 201(6): 584, 2009. 

Casey JA, Savitz DA, Rasmussen SG, Ogburn EL, Pollak J, Mercer DG, Schwartz BS.  Unconventional natural gas development and birth outcomes in Pennsylvania, USA. Epidemiology, 2016 Mar; 27(2): 163-72.

Savitz DA, Elston B, Bobb JF, Clougherty JE, Dominici F, Ito K, Johnson S, McAlexander T, Ross Z, Shmool JL, Matte TD, Wellenius GA.  Ambient fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in New York City.  Epidemiology, 2015 Sep; 26(5): 748-57. 

Savitz DA, Fell DB, Ortiz JR, Bhat N.  Does influenza vaccination improve pregnancy outcome? Methodological issues and research needs. Vaccine, 2015 Aug 28. 

Savitz DA, Wellenius GA.  Interpreting epidemiologic evidence:  connecting research to applications, Second Edition.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Scholarly Interests

Fertility, Health risks from environmental exposures, Pregnancy

Affiliated Departments

School of Public Health