Martha Werler, DSc
Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Epidemiology

DSc, Boston University
MPH, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
BS, Boston College



Dr. Werler is Professor of Epidemiology. She is a perinatal epidemiologist whose NIH- and CDC- supported research focuses on the impact of pregnancy exposures on birth outcomes, including congenital malformations, fetal growth, and neurodevelopment. She has studied medication use in pregnancy, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic, anti-depressant, and anti-epileptic drugs. Her recent work explores prescription opioid use and treatments for opioid use disorder among pregnant women. She has published over 200 papers and book chapters, served as President of the Society for Epidemiology Research (2018-2021), been recognized for her mentorship of doctoral students by the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research, been honored for her research on congenital anomalies by the Teratology Society Fraser Award and the National Birth Defect Prevention Network Oakley Award; and served on numerous NIH advisory and review boards. Dr. Werler is an Assistant Editor for the Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology journal. Dr. Werler directed the BU Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology training program for pre-doctoral candidates in Epidemiology and teaches Design and Conduct of Case-Control Studies.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

On a personal level, my thinking about race/ethnicity in my research, teaching and service has evolved and continues to evolve. This includes thoughtful conceptualization of 'race' in epidemiologic analyses and more circumspect interpretation of findings within my own research and in my peer- and program-review roles. In my courses, I seek to provide a range of learning materials that include contemporary public health issues, recognize disparities, and highlight diverse authors and study populations. At the Department level, I am overseeing a variety of activities stemming from the Department’s Anti-Racism Working Group report of September 2020. This includes a dedicated monthly meeting for all faculty, staff, and students in the department on anti-racism-related topics. In 2022-23, the Department's Anti-Racism Committee is leading a speaker series 'Measurement in the Study of Racism and Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Health.' I and seven other department members have completed a year-long racial literacy program with an outside consultant and are moving forward with action plans for the Department. Fostering inclusivity and diversity in all Department activities is a priority of mine, which I am approaching through the efforts described above and through hiring.


Early Life Course of Children with Congenital Structural Heart Anomalies
09/30/2022 - 09/29/2026 (PI)
HHS/Center for Disease Control
5 NU50DD000111-03-00

Association of maternal, fetal and placental biomarkers with neonatal neuroimaging and development following in-utero opioid exposure
09/01/2023 - 08/31/2026 (Subcontract PI)
Boston Medical Center Corporation NIH NICHD
1R01HD113143-01

Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (BD STEPS) - Component A: BD-STEPS Core and Component B: BD-STEPS Stillbirth
10/27/2023 - 06/30/2025 (Subcontract PI)
Comm. of Mass./Department of Public Health HHS CDC


Patient-provider racial concordance at birth & severe maternal morbidity among patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
04/01/2023 - 03/31/2024 (Multi-PI)
PI: Martha Werler, DSc
Boston Medical Center Corporation American Heart Assoc


Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (BD STEPS) - Core
02/28/2019 - 08/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Comm. of Mass./Department of Public Health HHS CDC
5U01DD001224-03-00

Safety, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of extended-release naltrexone in pregnant women with opioid use disorder
10/01/2018 - 05/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Boston Medical Center Corporation NIH NICHD
5R01HD096798-05

Pregnancy in women with congenital physical disabilities: Risk factors, birth outcomes, and mediation
04/01/2019 - 03/31/2022 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
5R03HD098507-02

A Population-Based Study to Quantify the Risks of Opioid Analgesics in Pregnancy
09/01/2020 - 08/31/2021 (Subcontract PI)
Queen's University at Kingston NIH NICHD
5R03HD099617-02

A Population-Based Study to Quantify the Risks of Opioid Analgesics in Pregnancy
09/12/2019 - 08/31/2020 (Subcontract PI)
Queen's University at Kingston NIH NICHD
1R03HD099617-01

Exploring Modifiable Factors for Folic Acid Resistant Spina Bifida
09/01/2015 - 04/30/2019 (PI)
HHS/CDC/National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
6 U01DD001184-03-03

Showing 10 of 20 results. Show All Results


Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs
2024 Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention: Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD STEPS Core and Stillbirth) 5U01DD001300-02
2023 Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention: Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD STEPS Core and Stillbirth) 1U01DD001300-01
2020 Pregnancy in women with congenital physical disabilities: Risk factors, birth outcomes, and mediation 5R03HD098507-02
2019 Pregnancy in women with congenital physical disabilities: Risk factors, birth outcomes, and mediation 1R03HD098507-01
2018 BD-STEPS II (Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS) - Core 1U01DD001224-01 5
2018 BD-STEPS II (Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS) - Core 6U01DD001224-01M002 5
2018 EXPLORING MODIFIABLE FACTORS FOR FOLIC ACID RESISTANT SPINA BIFIDA 6U01DD001184-03M002 6
2018 EXPLORING MODIFIABLE FACTORS FOR FOLIC ACID RESISTANT SPINA BIFIDA 6U01DD001184-03M001 6
2018 Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research 5R13HD055094-12 2
2017 EXPLORING MODIFIABLE FACTORS FOR FOLIC ACID RESISTANT SPINA BIFIDA 5U01DD001184-03 6
Showing 10 of 56 results. Show All Results

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Huezo Garcia M, Parker SE, Ncube CN, Yarrington CD, Werler MM. A Latent Class Analysis of Pre-Pregnancy Multimorbidity Patterns in a Delivery Cohort at a Safety-Net Hospital. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2025 Feb 21.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39984175
     
  2. Smith-Webb RS, Langlois PH, Shaw GM, Moore CA, Canfield MA, Petersen JM, Werler MM. Why Has Gastroschisis Increased Over Time and Why Is It More Common in Infants of Young Mothers? Birth Defects Res. 2025 Feb; 117(2):e2436.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39950689
     
  3. Adrien N, MacLehose RF, Werler MM, Yazdy MM, Fox MP, Parker SE. Assessing the Impact of Exposure Misclassification in Case-Control Studies of Self-Reported Medication Use. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2024 Dec 16.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39679807
     
  4. Petersen JM, Gradus JL, Werler MM, Parker SE. An exploration of potential risk factors for gastroschisis using decision tree learning. Ann Epidemiol. 2025 Jan; 101:19-26.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39657869
     
  5. Ailes EC, Werler MM, Howley MM, Jenkins MM, Reefhuis J. Real-world data are not always big data: the case for primary data collection on medication use in pregnancy in the context of birth defects research. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Sep 03; 193(9):1211-1214. PMID: 38751306; PMCID: PMC11372710; DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwae060;
     
  6. Blue EE, Moore KJ, North KE, Desrosiers TA, Carmichael SL, White JJ, Chong JX, Bamshad MJ, Jenkins MM, Almli LM, Brody LC, Freedman SF, Reefhuis J, Romitti PA, Shaw GM, Werler M, Kay DM, Browne ML, Feldkamp ML, Finnell RH, Nembhard WN, Pangilinan F, Olshan AF. Exome sequencing identifies novel genes underlying primary congenital glaucoma in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Birth Defects Res. 2024 Jul; 116(7):e2384. PMID: 38990107; PMCID: PMC11245170; DOI: 10.1002/bdr2.2384;
     
  7. Mantri S, Cheng AC, Saia K, Shrestha H, Amgott R, Bressler J, Werler MM, Carter G, Jones HE, Wachman EM. Neurobehavioral outcomes of infants exposed to buprenorphine-naloxone compared with naltrexone during pregnancy. Early Hum Dev. 2024 Jul; 194:106051.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38815498
     
  8. Schrager NL, Parker SE, Werler MM. The timing, duration, and severity of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes among controls without birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Birth Defects Res. 2024 Apr; 116(4):e2334.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38578229
     
  9. Kaelin VC, Saluja S, Bosak DL, Anaby D, Werler M, Khetani MA. Caregiver strategies supporting community participation among children and youth with or at risk for disabilities: a mixed-methods study. Front Pediatr. 2024; 12:1345755.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38425659; PMCID: PMC10902462; DOI: 10.3389/fped.2024.1345755;
     
  10. Wachman EM, Saia K, Bressler J, Werler M, Carter G, Jones HE. Case Series of Individuals Treated With Naltrexone During Pregnancy for Opioid and/or Alcohol Use Disorder. J Addict Med. 2024 May-Jun 01; 18(3):288-292.View Related Profiles. PMID: 38354121; PMCID: PMC11150101; DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001293;
     
Showing 10 of 282 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 278 publications over 40 distinct years, with a maximum of 21 publications in 2023

YearPublications
19851
19862
19873
19881
19893
19903
19911
19923
19933
19942
19952
19963
19972
19994
20004
20013
20025
20036
20043
20055
20066
20077
20088
200913
20107
201118
201212
201316
201415
201512
201612
20177
20189
201912
20208
202112
202211
202321
202411
20252

2014 National Birth Defects Prevention Network: Godfrey P. Oakley Award
2012 Soc. Pediatric & Perinatal Epidemiology Research: Mentoring Award
2003 BU School of Public Health: Distinguished Alumni
2000 Teratology Society: Clark Fraser New Investigator Award
Contact for Mentoring:

715 Albany St Talbot Building
Boston MA 02118
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