"Fertility and Diet" with Audrey Gaskins, PhD

Audrey Gaskins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Dr. Gaskins earned her doctoral degree in nutrition and epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2014. This training was preceded by a two-year fellowship in the Department of Epidemiology at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and a Bachelor’s of Science degree in engineering from Duke University in 2008. Dr. Gaskins’s research is aimed at elucidating how environmental, dietary, and lifestyle factors experienced throughout the life course influence a couple’s ability to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy to term. Over the past decade, she has published over 100 articles on how diet and lifestyle factors affect semen quality, menstrual cycle function, time to pregnancy, miscarriage, and outcomes of assisted reproduction using a variety of population based studies. Her research has been cited over 1,500 times and resulted in numerous awards including multiple NIEHS Top 10 Extramural Science Papers of the Year and the Best New Researcher Award from the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology. In April 2017, Dr. Gaskins received a prestigious 5-year career development award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to further her research on how exposure to environmental chemicals such as air pollution interact with dietary factors to influence a couple’s fertility. In addition to her research endeavors, Dr. Gaskins teaches courses ranging from research methods to nutrition and health and devotes a significant amount of time to mentoring students and fellows at Emory and Emory-affiliated hospitals. She is the current chair of the Nutrition Special Interest Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and on the editorial board for Fertility & Sterility, one of the leading academic journals of reproductive medicine. What does the research say about the recent rise in infertility? What are the dietary and environmental factors contributing to fertility and healthy pregnancy? Dr. Gaskins answers these and many other questions in this interview. Tune in to learn more! Dr. Gaskins profile: https://sph.emory.edu/faculty/profile/index.php?FID=10025 Recent papers by Dr. Gaskins: Gaskins AJ, Chavarro JE. Diet and fertility: a review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Apr;218(4):379-389 Gaskins AJ, Nassan FL, Chiu YH, Arvizu M, Williams PL, Keller MG, Souter I, Hauser R, Chavarro JE; EARTH Study Team. Dietary patterns and outcomes of assisted reproduction. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jun;220(6):567 Twitter: @audreyjane4