Wendy Nicole Nembhard, MPH, PhD

Full Member

Research Program:

Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences

Faculty Rank:

Professor and Chair

Campus:

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Department:

Epidemiology

Cancer Research Interest

Disease Site Focus: Pediatric Oncology
Research Focus Area: Prevention
Research Keywords: pediatric
Type of Research: Population Sciences
Research Interest Statement: My cancer research projects have primarily focused on risk of cancer among children born with birth defects. One of the main risk factors for developing pediatric cancer is being born with a birth defect. Little is understood about this relationship thus we conducted one of the largest studies to examine this relationship. Four publications resulted from this multi-site collaboration. I am also interested in risk of cancer and other chronic conditions among women.

Contact Information

Email Address: wnnembhard@uams.edu
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Active Grants

NIH/Nat. Cancer Institute – 1U01CA260526
“DISCOVER:Disparities in Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in ARkansas”
Principal Investigator
09/30/20 – 08/31/22
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – 1 R01 OH011721-01-00
“Case-cohort study of Cancers in Excess in Poultry Workers”
Principal Investigator
09/01/19 – 08/31/22
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – 1 U01 DD001285-01-00
“Arkansas Proposal to participate in the Birth Defects Study to Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD-STEPS II)”
Principal Investigator
12/01/18 – 08/31/23
UAMS ACHRI Flow Through – ACRI # TBD
“Birth Defects Study to Evaluate Pregancy exposures (BDSTEPS II) ”
Principal Investigator
08/01/18 – 08/07/23

Publications

Patel JR, Amick BC, Vyas KS, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Racial disparities in symptomatology and outcomes of COVID-19 among adults of Arkansas. Preventive medicine reports. 2022 28:101840. PMID: 35634216. PMCID: PMC9128301.
Kancherla V, Tandaki L, Sundar M, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. A Multicountry Analysis of Prevalence and Mortality among Neonates and Children with Bladder Exstrophy. American journal of perinatology. 2022. PMID: 35644130.
Gili JA, López-Camelo JS, Nembhard WN, [et al.]. Analysis of early neonatal case fatality rate among newborns with congenital hydrocephalus, a 2000-2014 multi-country registry-based study. Birth defects research. 2022. PMID: 35633200.
Kennedy JL, Forrest JC, Young SG, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Temporal Variations in Seroprevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infections by Race and Ethnicity in Arkansas. Open forum infectious diseases. 2022 9(5):ofac154. PMID: 35493126. PMCID: PMC9045955.
Rashkin SR, Cleves M, Shaw GM, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. A genome-wide association study of obstructive heart defects among participants in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. American journal of medical genetics. Part A. 2022. PMID: 35451555.
Langlois PH, Marengo L, Lupo PJ, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Evaluating the proportion of isolated cases among a spectrum of birth defects in a population-based registry. Birth defects research. 2022. PMID: 35218607.
Hsu PC, Maity S, Patel J, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Metabolomics Signatures and Subsequent Maternal Health among Mothers with a Congenital Heart Defect-Affected Pregnancy. Metabolites. 2022 12(2). PMID: 35208175. PMCID: PMC8877777.
Cardenas VM, Kennedy JL, Williams M, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. State-wide random seroprevalence survey of SARS-CoV-2 past infection in a southern US State, 2020. PloS one. 2022 17(4):e0267322. PMID: 35476717. PMCID: PMC9045671.
Simmons W, Lin S, Luben TJ, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Modeling complex effects of exposure to particulate matter and extreme heat during pregnancy on congenital heart defects: A U.S. population-based case-control study in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. The Science of the total environment. 2021:152150. PMID: 34864029.
Whittington JR, Hughes DS, Rabie NZ, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Detection of Fetal Anomalies by Remotely Directed and Interpreted Ultrasound (Teleultrasound): A Randomized Noninferiority Trial. American journal of perinatology. 2021. PMID: 34808687.
Downing KF, Oster ME, Klewer SE, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Disability Among Young Adults With Congenital Heart Defects: Congenital Heart Survey to Recognize Outcomes, Needs, and Well-Being 2016-2019. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2021 10(21):e022440. PMID: 34666499.
Liberman RF, Heinke D, Petersen JM, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Interpregnancy interval and prevalence of selected birth defects: A multistate study. Birth defects research. 2021. PMID: 34676681.
Bolin EH, Gokun Y, Romitti PA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Maternal Smoking and Congenital Heart Defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011. The Journal of pediatrics. 2021. PMID: 34508749.
ElHassan NO, Sharma M, Akmyradov C, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Childhood Educational Outcomes of Children Born with Gastroschisis. The Journal of pediatrics. 2021. PMID: 34499945.
Bolin EH, Nembhard WN, Collins RT 2nd. Regionalization of Congenital Heart Surgery: Can We Make it Reality?. The Annals of thoracic surgery. 2021 112(2):685. PMID: 33422483.
Bell JC, Baynam G, Bergman JEH, [et al., including Nembhard W]. Survival of infants born with esophageal atresia among 24 international birth defects surveillance programs. Birth defects research. 2021 113(12):945-957. PMID: 33734618. PMCID: PMC8273078.
Ramseyer AM, Whittington JR, Magann EF, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Cesarean Delivery Management of Stillbirth: In-Depth Analysis of 75 Cases in a Rural State. Southern medical journal. 2021 114(7):384-387. PMID: 34215888. PMCID: PMC8579878.
Sanz JH, Anixt J, Bear L, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Characterisation of neurodevelopmental and psychological outcomes in CHD: a research agenda and recommendations from the cardiac neurodevelopmental outcome collaborative. Cardiology in the young. 2021 31(6):876-887. PMID: 34082845. PMCID: PMC8429101.
Benjamin RH, Salemi JL, Canfield MA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Causes of neonatal and postneonatal death among infants with birth defects in Texas. Birth defects research. 2021 113(9):665-675. PMID: 33586914.
Politis MD, Bermejo-Sánchez E, Canfield MA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Prevalence and mortality in children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: a multicountry study. Annals of epidemiology. 2021 56:61-69.e3. PMID: 33253899. PMCID: PMC8009766.
Patel J, Bircan E, Tang X, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Paternal genetic variants and risk of obstructive heart defects: A parent-of-origin approach. PLoS genetics. 2021 17(3):e1009413. PMID: 33684136. PMCID: PMC7971842.
Oster ME, Riser AP, Andrews JG, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Comorbidities Among Young Adults with Congenital Heart Defects: Results from the Congenital Heart Survey To Recognize Outcomes, Needs, and well-beinG - Arizona, Arkansas, and Metropolitan Atlanta, 2016-2019. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report. 2021 70(6):197-201. PMID: 33571179. PMCID: PMC7877580.
Heinke D, Isenburg JL, Stallings EB, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Prevalence of structural birth defects among infants with Down syndrome, 2013-2017: A US population-based study. Birth defects research. 2021 113(2):189-202. PMID: 33348463. PMCID: PMC7978493.
Zaganjor I, Luben TJ, Desrosiers TA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Maternal Exposure to Disinfection By-Products and Risk of Hypospadias in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (2000-2005). International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020 17(24). PMID: 33371304. PMCID: PMC7766973.
Ramseyer AM, Whittington JR, Magann EF, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Hospital Annual Delivery Volume and Presence of Graduate Medical Education Influence Mode of Delivery after Stillbirth. Southern medical journal. 2020 113(12):623-628. PMID: 33263130.
Cardenas VM, Ali MM, Fischbach LA, Nembhard WN. Dual use of cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems during pregnancy and the risk of small for gestational age neonates. Annals of epidemiology. 2020 52:86-92.e2. PMID: 32805398.
Nembhard WN, Bergman JEH, Politis MD, [et al.]. A multi-country study of prevalence and early childhood mortality among children with omphalocele. Birth defects research. 2020 112(20):1787-1801. PMID: 33067932. PMCID: PMC7722785.
ELHassan NO, Young SG, Gokun Y, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Trends in prevalence and spatiotemporal distribution of gastroschisis in Arkansas, 1998-2015. Birth defects research. 2020 112(18):1484-1494. PMID: 33179872.
Collins RT 2nd, Yang W, Carmichael SL, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Maternal dietary fat intake and the risk of congenital heart defects in offspring. Pediatric research. 2020 88(5):804-809. PMID: 32120376. PMCID: PMC7483164.
Patel J, Schraw JM, Lupo PJ, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Cancer Risk by Attained Age among Children with Birth Defects in Arkansas. Cancer epidemiology. 2020 68:101796. PMID: 32827802. PMCID: PMC8500542.
Marcotte EL, Schraw JM, Desrosiers TA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Male Sex and the Risk of Childhood Cancer: The Mediating Effect of Birth Defects. JNCI cancer spectrum. 2020 4(5):pkaa052. PMID: 33134832. PMCID: PMC7583156.
Schraw JM, Desrosiers TA, Nembhard WN, [et al.]. Cancer diagnostic profile in children with structural birth defects: An assessment in 15,000 childhood cancer cases. Cancer. 2020 126(15):3483-3492. PMID: 32469081. PMCID: PMC8485389.
Richard MA, Sok P, Canon S, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Altered mechanisms of genital development identified through integration of DNA methylation and genomic measures in hypospadias. Scientific reports. 2020 10(1):12715. PMID: 32728162. PMCID: PMC7391634.
Patel J, Nembhard WN, Politis MD, [et al.]. Maternal occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the risk of isolated congenital heart defects among offspring. Environmental research. 2020 186:109550. PMID: 32335433.
Farr SL, Klewer SE, Nembhard WN, [et al.]. Rationale and design of CH STRONG: Congenital Heart Survey To Recognize Outcomes, Needs, and well-beinG. American heart journal. 2020 221:106-113. PMID: 31986287.
Heinke D, Nestoridi E, Hernandez-Diaz S, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Risk of Stillbirth for Fetuses With Specific Birth Defects. Obstetrics and gynecology. 2020 135(1):133-140. PMID: 31809437. PMCID: PMC7033649.
Goel N, Morris JK, Tucker D, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Trisomy 13 and 18-Prevalence and mortality-A multi-registry population based analysis. American journal of medical genetics. Part A. 2019 179(12):2382-2392. PMID: 31566869. PMCID: PMC6848757.
Choi G, Stingone JA, Desrosiers TA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Maternal exposure to outdoor air pollution and congenital limb deficiencies in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Environmental research. 2019 179(Pt A):108716. PMID: 31546130. PMCID: PMC6842662.
Stingone JA, Luben TJ, Sheridan SC, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Associations between fine particulate matter, extreme heat events, and congenital heart defects. Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.). 2019 3(6):e071. PMID: 32091506. PMCID: PMC7004451.
Jenkins MM, Almli LM, Pangilinan F, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Exome sequencing of family trios from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study: Tapping into a rich resource of genetic and environmental data. Birth defects research. 2019 111(20):1618-1632. PMID: 31328417. PMCID: PMC6889076.
Kroska EB, Meller EW, Doyle R, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Drug screening during pregnancy: Urine dip cups measure up. Drug and alcohol dependence. 2019 204:107461. PMID: 31521952.
Rabie NZ, Sandlin AT, Ounpraseuth S, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Teleultrasound for pre-natal diagnosis: A validation study. Australasian journal of ultrasound in medicine. 2019 22(4):248-252. PMID: 34760566. PMCID: PMC8411791.
Alman BL, Stingone JA, Yazdy M, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Associations between PM2.5 and risk of preterm birth among liveborn infants. Annals of epidemiology. 2019 39:46-53.e2. PMID: 31678056. PMCID: PMC7315599.
Stallings EB, Isenburg JL, Short TD, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Population-based birth defects data in the United States, 2012-2016: A focus on abdominal wall defects. Birth defects research. 2019 111(18):1436-1447. PMID: 31642616. PMCID: PMC6886260.
Bakker MK, Kancherla V, Canfield MA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Analysis of Mortality among Neonates and Children with Spina Bifida: An International Registry-Based Study, 2001-2012. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology. 2019 33(6):436-448. PMID: 31637749. PMCID: PMC6899817.
Nembhard WN, Ayers BL, Collins RT, [et al.]. Adverse Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcomes Among Marshallese Women Living in the United States. Maternal and child health journal. 2019 23(11):1525-1535. PMID: 31228148. PMCID: PMC7239320.
Yu X, Nassar N, Mastroiacovo P, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Hypospadias Prevalence and Trends in International Birth Defect Surveillance Systems, 1980-2010. European urology. 2019 76(4):482-490. PMID: 31300237. PMCID: PMC7265200.
Nembhard WN, McElfish PA, Ayers B, [et al.]. Nuclear radiation and prevalence of structural birth defects among infants born to women from the Marshall Islands. Birth defects research. 2019 111(16):1192-1204. PMID: 31313527.
Richard MA, Sok P, Canon S, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. The role of genetic variation in DGKK on moderate and severe hypospadias. Birth defects research. 2019 111(13):932-937. PMID: 31102501. PMCID: PMC8084115.
Lupo PJ, Schraw JM, Desrosiers TA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Association Between Birth Defects and Cancer Risk Among Children and Adolescents in a Population-Based Assessment of 10 Million Live Births. JAMA oncology. 2019 5(8):1150-1158. PMID: 31219523. PMCID: PMC6587148.
Bakker MK, Bergman JEH, Krikov S, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Prenatal diagnosis and prevalence of critical congenital heart defects: an international retrospective cohort study. BMJ open. 2019 9(7):e028139. PMID: 31270117. PMCID: PMC6609145.
Oladele CR, Sharma S, Yang J, [et al., including Nembhard W]. Food and Nutrient Intakes of Jamaican Immigrants in Florida. Journal of immigrant and minority health. 2019 21(3):570-577. PMID: 29951775. PMCID: PMC6469680.
Lee HS, Dickinson JE, Tan JK, [et al., including Nembhard W]. Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: Impact of contemporary management strategies on perinatal outcomes. Prenatal diagnosis. 2018 38(13):1004-1012. PMID: 30346634.
Stallings EB, Isenburg JL, Mai CT, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Population-based birth defects data in the United States, 2011-2015: A focus on eye and ear defects. Birth defects research. 2018 110(19):1478-1486. PMID: 30444307. PMCID: PMC6705119.
Tang X, Eberhart JK, Cleves MA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. PDGFRA gene, maternal binge drinking and obstructive heart defects. Scientific reports. 2018 8(1):11083. PMID: 30038270. PMCID: PMC6056529.
Oladele CR, Pathak EB, Yang J, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Acculturation and dietary intake pattern among Jamaican immigrants in the US. Preventive medicine reports. 2018 9:80-85. PMID: 29348996. PMCID: PMC5767562.
Lopez KN, Nembhard WN, Wang Y, [et al.]. Birth defect survival for Hispanic subgroups. Birth defects research. 2018 110(4):352-363. PMID: 29195034. PMCID: PMC5831475.
Nembhard WN, Tang X, Li J, [et al.]. A parent-of-origin analysis of paternal genetic variants and increased risk of conotruncal heart defects. American journal of medical genetics. Part A. 2018 176(3):609-617. PMID: 29399948. PMCID: PMC5881110.
Lupo PJ, Isenburg JL, Salemi JL, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Population-based birth defects data in the United States, 2010-2014: A focus on gastrointestinal defects. Birth defects research. 2017 109(18):1504-1514. PMID: 29152924. PMCID: PMC5915361.
St Louis AM, Kim K, Browne ML, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Prevalence trends of selected major birth defects: A multi-state population-based retrospective study, United States, 1999 to 2007. Birth defects research. 2017 109(18):1442-1450. PMID: 28905502.
Rabie NZ, Sandlin AT, Barber KA, [et al., including Nembhard W]. Teleultrasound: How Accurate Are We?. Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2017 36(11):2329-2335. PMID: 28660654.
Srinivasjois R, Nembhard W, Wong K, [et al.]. Risk of Mortality into Adulthood According to Gestational Age at Birth. The Journal of pediatrics. 2017 190:185-191.e1. PMID: 29144243.
Stingone JA, Luben TJ, Carmichael SL, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Maternal Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide, Intake of Methyl Nutrients, and Congenital Heart Defects in Offspring. American journal of epidemiology. 2017 186(6):719-729. PMID: 28520847. PMCID: PMC5610640.
Bourke J, Nembhard WN, Wong K, Leonard H. Twenty-Five Year Survival of Children with Intellectual Disability in Western Australia. The Journal of pediatrics. 2017 188:232-239.e2. PMID: 28705655.
Nembhard WN, Tang X, Hu Z, [et al.]. Maternal and infant genetic variants, maternal periconceptional use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and risk of congenital heart defects in offspring: population based study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). 2017 356:j832. PMID: 28264803. PMCID: PMC6283388.
Lara DA, Ethen MK, Canfield MA, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. A population-based analysis of mortality in patients with Turner syndrome and hypoplastic left heart syndrome using the Texas Birth Defects Registry. Congenital heart disease. 2017 12(1):105-112. PMID: 27685952. PMCID: PMC7321826.
Nembhard WN, Bourke J, Leonard H, [et al.]. Twenty-five-year survival for aboriginal and caucasian children with congenital heart defects in Western Australia, 1980 to 2010. Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 2016 106(12):1016-1031. PMID: 27801971.
Nembhard WN, Bower C. Evaluation of the Western Australian Register of Developmental Anomalies: Thirty-five years of surveillance. Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 2016 106(11):894-904. PMID: 27891787.
Lara DA, Fixler DE, Ethen MK, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Prenatal diagnosis, hospital characteristics, and mortality in transposition of the great arteries. Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 2016 106(9):739-48. PMID: 27296724. PMCID: PMC8452182.
Gilboa SM, Devine OJ, Kucik JE, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Congenital Heart Defects in the United States: Estimating the Magnitude of the Affected Population in 2010. Circulation. 2016 134(2):101-9. PMID: 27382105. PMCID: PMC4942347.
Li M, Nembhard W, Li J, [et al.]. Testing Allele Transmission of an SNP Set Using a Family-Based Generalized Genetic Random Field Method. Genetic epidemiology. 2016 40(4):341-51. PMID: 27061818. PMCID: PMC5061344.
de la Cruz CZ, Thompson EL, O'Rourke K, Nembhard WN. Cesarean section and the risk of emergency peripartum hysterectomy in high-income countries: a systematic review. Archives of gynecology and obstetrics. 2015 292(6):1201-15. PMID: 26104125.
Tinker SC, Carmichael SL, Anderka M, [et al., including Nembhard WN]. Next steps for birth defects research and prevention: The birth defects study to evaluate pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS). Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 2015 103(8):733-40. PMID: 25846741. PMCID: PMC4537667.