Dr. Chambers is Chief of the Division of Environmental Science & Health, a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and Family and Preventative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and co-Director of the Center for Better Beginnings. She is also Clinical Professor in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UCSD, Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the UCSD Department of Pediatrics, Director of the UCSD CTRI Center for Life Course Research, and Director of Clinical Research at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.
Dr. Chambers is a perinatal epidemiologist specializing in the area of environmental causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes, birth defects, and childhood disabilities, with a special focus on human teratogens (environmental agents that cause birth defects or other adverse prenatal outcomes). She is currently conducting research on the prevention of alcohol related birth defects, the safety in pregnancy of several new medications used for the treatment of maternal health conditions, and the safety of vaccines during pregnancy. Dr. Chambers serves as an advisor to national and international organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dr. Chambers co-directs the Center for Better Beginnings, which houses the Mommy’s Milk research program. In addition to her leadership role on Mommy’s Milk, she is the Program Director of MotherToBaby California, a service that provides evidence-based information about environmental exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding to the general public and healthcare providers in the State of California and several other U.S. states and territories.
She is the lead investigator for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies, a series of observational studies evaluating the effects of medications, vaccines, and maternal medical conditions on pregnancy and infant outcomes. Dr. Chambers is a founding principal investigator for the Vaccines and Medications in Pregnancy Surveillance System (VAMPSS), which is the first national system to evaluate medication and vaccine safety in human pregnancy, currently funded by the US DHHS, CDC, FDA and the National Vaccine Program Office. Finally, Dr. Chambers has conducted extensive research on improved diagnosis, prevention and treatment for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and is also co-lead investigator on the administrative coordinating center for the Healthy Brain and Child Development Study, a nationwide study examining infant and early childhood brain development from pregnancy to age 9.
Leadership