Erica P. Gunderson, PhD

Erica P. Gunderson, PhD, Research Scientist II at the Division of Research (DOR) Kaiser Permanente Northern California, since 1999, is an epidemiologist studying the determinants of obesity in women, and the long-term effects of pregnancy and lactation on women’s health. Dr. Gunderson was a Scholar in the joint UCSF-DOR Program, Building Interdisciplinary Careers in Women’s Health (BIRWCH) from 2001 to 2002. She received the Trudy Bush Fellowship for Cardiovascular Disease in Women’s Health from the American Heart Association in 2003. In 1998, she received her Doctorate degree in Epidemiology and the Warren Winkelstein Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies in Epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1981, she earned both Master’s of Public Health and Master’s of Science degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. Before joining DOR, Dr. Gunderson began her career in public health as Director of the nutrition program for a large, randomized, clinical intervention trial, the Prematurity Prevention Project, in Los Angeles County’s prenatal clinics. She has over 14 years of clinical nutrition experience working directly with pregnant populations, including diverse racial and ethnic groups, as well as high-risk pregnancies. She developed care standards for California’s statewide diabetes and pregnancy program (Sweet Success) in the years 1985-1992, and guidelines for nutrition during pregnancy and lactation at national, state, and local levels.

Dr. Gunderson’s research interests include: the epidemiology and determinants of obesity in women, gestational weight gain and health behaviors related to postpartum weight retention and development of obesity, the impact of pregnancy and lactation on long-term changes in cardiometabolic risk factors, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and type 2 diabetes in women. Her publications include: effects of oral contraceptives on iron stores in young women, management of gestational diabetes mellitus, body weight changes during and after pregnancy, lactation and changes in cardiometabolic risk factors from preconception to post-weaning, and the association of childbearing with incidence of type 2 diabetes controlling for preconception.

Current Positions:

Research Scientist II, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Primary Research Interests:

	Epidemiology of obesity in women of reproductive age
	The impact of pregnancy and lactation on the development of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in women
	Pregnancy complications and their impact on women’s future health
	Effects of pregnancy and lactation on body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors in women.
	Maternal obesity, gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention
	Maternal nutrition and perinatal outcomes

Current Research Projects:

	SWIFT: Study of Women, Infant Feeding and Type 2 Diabetes
	Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study; Long-term Effects of Pregnancy and Lactation on Women’s Health
	Effects of Pregnancy on the Development of CVD and Type 2 Diabetes in Women
	Epidemiology of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy
	Epidemoilogy of Midlife Obesity After GDM Pregnancy

Completed Research Projects (partial listing):

	Effects of Pregnancy on Adolescent Growth and Health, University of California, School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA
	University of California San Francisco Perinatal Cohort 1980-1990
	Use of Linked Data Bases to Assess Selected Quality Indicators for Maternal Health

Selected Publications:

	Frassinelli-Gunderson EP, Margen S, Brown J. Iron stores in users of oral contraceptive agents. Am J Clin Nutr 1985;41:703-12.
	Kitzmiller JL, Hoedt LA, Gunderson EP, Theiss TS, Ceresa CL, Kitzmiller AM. Macrosomia and Birth Trauma in Infants of Diet Treated Gestational Diabetic Women. In: Weiss PAM, Coustan DR, eds. Gestational Diabetes. Wien, New York: Springer –Verlag; 1988.
	Combs CA, Gunderson E, Kitzmiller JL, et al. Relationship of fetal macrosomia to maternal postprandial glucose control during pregnancy. Diabetes Care 1992;15:1251-7.
	Kitzmiller JL, Gavin LA, Gunderson E. Pre-conception counseling: rationale for evaluation and management of diabetes prior to pregnancy. In: Lee RV, ed. Current Obstetric Medicine. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book, 1991;1:1-16.
	Cousins L, Kitzmiller J, Schneider J, Pierce J, McCoy D, DeVor S, Yonekura L, Zlotnich C, Henry J, Darany J, Gunderson E, et al. The California Diabetes and Pregnancy Program: Implementation of a multicenter experience with diabetic pregnancies. J Perinatol 1992; XII:173-80.
	Gunderson EP. Intensive nutrition therapy in the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus: rationale and current issues. Diabetes Care 1997;20:221-6.
	Gunderson EP, Abrams B. The epidemiology of gestational weight gain and body weight change after pregnancy. Epidemiol Rev 1999;21:261-75.
	Gunderson EP, Abrams B, Selvin S. The relative importance of gestational gain and maternal characteristics associated with the risk of becoming overweight after pregnancy. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000;24:1660-8.
	Gunderson EP, Abrams B, Selvin S. Does the pattern of postpartum weight change differ according to pregravid body size? Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001;25:853-62.
	Gunderson EP. Nutrition during pregnancy for the physically active woman. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2003;46:390-402.
	Gunderson EP, Murtaugh M, Lewis CE, Quesenberry C, Smith West D, Sidney S. Excess gains in weight and waist circumference associated with childbearing: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA). Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004;28:525-35.
	Gunderson EP, Lewis CE, Murtaugh MA, Quesenberry CP, Smith West D, Sidney S. Long-term plasma lipid changes associated with a first birth: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study. Am J Epidemiol 2004;159:1028-39.
	Gunderson EP. Gestational diabetes and nutritional recommendations. Curr Diab Rep 2004;4:377-86.
	Mustillo S, Krieger N, Gunderson EP, Sidney S, McCreath H, Kiefe C. Self-reported experiences of racial discrimination and black-white differences in preterm and low-birthweight deliveries: The CARDIA Study. Am J Public Health 2004;94:2125-31.
	Gunderson EP, Quesenberry CP Jr, Lewis CE, Tsai AL, Sternfeld B, Smith West D, Sidney S. Development of overweight associated with childbearing depends on smoking habit: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Obes Res 2004;12:2041-53.
	Gunderson EP, Whitmer RA, Lewis CE, Quesenberry CP, West DS, Sidney S. Do long-term HDL-C declines associated with a first birth vary by apo E phenotype? The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2005;14:917-28.
	Reader D, Splett P, Gunderson EP; Diabetes Care and Education Dietetic Practice Group. Impact of gestational diabetes mellitus nutrition practice guidelines implemented by registered dietitians on pregnancy outcomes. J Am Diet Assoc 2006;106:1426-33.
	Gunderson EP, Lewis CE, Wei GS, Whitmer RA, Quesenberry CP, Sidney S. Lactation and changes in maternal metabolic risk factors. Obstet Gynecol 2007;109:729-38.
	Gunderson EP. Breastfeeding after gestational diabetes pregnancy: subsequent obesity and type 2 diabetes in women and their offspring. Diabetes Care 2007;30(suppl 2):S161-8.
	Gunderson EP, Lewis CE, Tsai AL, Chiang V, Carnethon M, Quesenberry CP Jr, Sidney S. A 20-year prospective study of childbearing and incidence of diabetes in young women, controlling for glycemia before conception: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Diabetes 2007;56(12):2990-6.
	Gunderson EP, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Rich-Edwards JW, Kleinman KP, Taveras EM, Gillman MW. Association of fewer hours of sleep at 6 months postpartum with substantial weight retention at 1 year postpartum. Am J Epidemiol 2008;167(2):178-87.
	Gunderson EP, Sternfeld B, Wellons MF, Whitmer RA, Lewis CE, Quesenberry CP Jr, Sidney S. Childbearing may increase visceral adipose tissue levels independent of overall increase in body fat: CARDIA. Obesity, March 2008 [Epub ahead of print].
	Gunderson EP. Breast-feeding and diabetes: long-term impact on mothers and their infants. Curr Diab Rep 2008, in press.