A history of the Teratology Society

The first 60 years: Honoring Teratology's past, a new perspective on the future

BACKGROUND

This paper updates the history of the Teratology Society, now known as the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (BDRP), for its first 60 years and describes the current strategy to position the Society to continue to advance its multidisciplinary science in the future. Common threads across our history include the positive impact of the Society's approach to sharing multidisciplinary, cutting-edge science and the collegial nature of the annual meetings.

AIM

In recent years, we have tackled challenging issues through periodic strategic planning sessions to improve the impact of the Society and its value to our members.

MATERIALS & METHODS

Archived and current resources were reviewed for this historical perspective.

RESULTS

In 2019, the Society took steps to rebrand itself to clarify our mission to the broader scientific and governmental communities.

DISCUSSION

Although our name has changed, the mission remains to understand and prevent birth defects and disorders of developmental and reproductive origin.

CONCLUSION

As BDRP, we continue to promote the exchange of research and ideas, provide educational opportunities, influence policy through advocacy, and evolve our communications to better serve our members and to have a greater impact on the health of future generations.

The joy and duty of a marginal teratologist

On the occasion of this anniversary of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, I accept the invitation to offer personal reflections on the earlier days of the Society and the importance of the discipline. My focus is on what few contributions I have offered, but more, on the value of having the teratologist's perspective on other aspects of my career in medical genetics and genetic epidemiology. Treating my professional life as a development biologist (of which teratologists are a breed), I recount the institutions I have been at, but more importantly, the people I have been influenced by, more often than not accomplished teratologists. The one big thought I wish to leave is the primacy and criticality of being mentored and mentoring at ALL stages of a career.

Teratology: from science to birth defects prevention

One of the goals of birth defects research is to better understand risk or preventive factors for birth defects so that strategies for prevention can be developed. In this article, we have selected four areas of birth defects research that have led to the development of prevention strategies. These areas include rubella virus as a cause of congenital rubella syndrome, folic acid as a preventive factor for neural tube defects, cytomegalovirus infection as a cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities, and alcohol as a cause of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. For each of these areas, we review key clinical and research findings that led to the identification of the risk or preventive factor, milestones in the development of prevention strategies, and the progress made thus far toward prevention.