Marlene Anderka, ScD, MPH

Dr. Anderka is an epidemiologist who has worked in the field of MCH for over 30 years. She was previously the Principal Investigator and Director of the Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention and the past president of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network.

She also served as the Director of the Office of Statistics and Evaluation for the Bureau of Family and Community Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and worked as a consultant with the Zika Virus-Related Birth Defects Surveillance Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2020, she received the Birth Defects Research Distinguished Scholar Award.

Her professional interests include epidemiologic methods, birth defects research and surveillance, nutrition in pregnancy and early childhood, medication use in pregnancy, and the interface of public health and technology. Dr. Anderka received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Boston College, her Masters of Public Health degree with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatics, and her doctoral degree in Epidemiology from the Boston University School of Public Health.