Mining the perinatal data:
Dr. K.S. Joseph’s previous experience as a physician providing maternal and child health care in India laid the foundation for his current work as one of Canada’s leading perinatal epidemiologists. His findings are informing obstetric practice, perinatal care and public policy with regard to fetal and infant health.
An Associate Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Dr. Joseph joined Dalhousie from Health Canada in 1999. He continues to play an important national role with the Public Health Agency of Canada, as a member of its Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System (CPSS). “CPSS monitors and reports on key trends in perinatal health across the country,” Dr. Joseph explains. “For example, CPSS showed that rates of pre-term birth are rising in Canada despite the health system’s best efforts.”
As a member of Dalhousie’s Perinatal Epidemiology Research Unit, Dr. Joseph has shed light on issues around older maternal age, preterm birth and infant mortality. He has also resolved such perinatal paradoxes as the apparent survival advantage of low weight babies of smokers. His recent work focuses on bridging the gap between obstetric practice and theory. To this end, he has developed an epidemiologic framework for justifying medically indicated early delivery. He and colleague Dr. Linda Dodds have worked together on several projects, including studies on socioeconomic status and perinatal health, and cesarean delivery trends.
Dr. Joseph has received numerous awards including the 2007 Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation Award of Excellence for Research in Population Health, the 2004 IWK Health Centre Award, the 2002 Peter Lougheed/CIHR New Investigator Award and the 2005 Geoffrey Robinson Award of the Canadian Paediatric Society, ‘for outstanding contributions to child and youth health through population health research.’
- Dr. Yukiko Asada 2008 DMRF Award of Excellence in Population Health Research
« Back to DMRF Award of Excellence for Research in Health Law/Bioethics/Medical Informatics/Population Health/Medical Education/ or Medical Humanities