Donna Baird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Donna Baird
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| Alma mater | Macalester College (B.A.) University of Minnesota (Ph.D.) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (M.P.H.) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Women's reproductive health |
| Institutions | National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences |
Donna Day Baird is an American scientist who studies how diseases affect large groups of people (an epidemiologist). She also studies how living things change over time and how populations grow (an evolutionary-population biologist). She works as a senior researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). She is well-known for her important work on women's reproductive health.
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Early Life and Learning
Donna Baird finished her first college degree, a Bachelor of Arts in biology, at Macalester College in 1968. She was part of an honor society called Phi Beta Kappa because she was a top student.
After college, she worked in labs and as a research helper at the University of Minnesota (UMN). From 1972 to 1976, she was a research and teaching assistant in the ecology department at UMN. This is where she learned to be an evolutionary/population biologist.
She earned her Ph.D. (a very high degree) in evolutionary ecology from UMN in 1980. Her big research paper for this degree was about how a type of mouse called Microtus pennsylvanicus moves around.
Later, Donna Baird wanted to learn more about how diseases affect women's reproductive health. She went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1984, she earned another advanced degree, a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.), in epidemiology. Her research paper for this degree looked at how cholesterol levels change during menopause.
Her Work as a Scientist
In 1984, Donna Baird joined the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). This is a government research center that studies how the environment affects people's health.
At NIEHS, she started by studying fertility, which is the ability to have children. She also worked on new ways to study fertility. She has always been interested in how hormones affect fertility and what happens in the very early stages of pregnancy. This includes how a pregnancy starts and grows.
More recently, Donna Baird started a big research project on uterine fibroids. These are common, non-cancerous growths that can appear in a woman's uterus. She also helps and guides many younger scientists as they learn and grow in their careers.
Important Research
Donna Baird's research mainly focuses on women's reproductive health, especially conditions that haven't been studied much. One of her most important projects looks at uterine fibroids, especially in African American women.
Through her research, she and her team found that Vitamin D might be important for managing fibroids. They also learned that having an ultrasound for fibroids might show if a woman will need a medical procedure for them later. Besides studying specific health topics, she also likes to create new ways to collect and analyze scientific information.
Awards and Special Recognition
Donna Baird has received several awards for her important work.
- In 2008, she was given the Pearl Memorial Lecturer award from the Human Biology Association.
- In 2010, she was chosen to be a member of the American Epidemiological Society. This is a group of top scientists who study diseases.
