1. MeHg and Infant Neurological Development (MIND) PI: Nalini Sathiakumar MD, DrPH (UAB) PI: Satish Rao MBBS (MU) Manipal University, Karnataka State, India Meena R. Kannan UASOM MSEP Summer 2008

2. India: Land of superlatives Located in Indian subcontinent 2 nd most populous 7 th largest country 12 th largest and 2 nd fastest growing economy Many of the largest cities in world

3. Specific Aims of the Study measure THg and MeHg hair levels among a cross-section of pregnant women resident in Udupi or Mangalore districts; develop, pilot test and administer a questionnaire to elicit information on fish and other seafood consumption, other potential sources of Hg exposure and prenatal risk factors that may contribute to neurodevelopmental problems in children; and compare self-reported fish consumption patterns and hair levels of THg and MeHg among these women.

4. Methodology Questionnaire Hair Sample Cord Blood Sample

5. Study sites

6. Data Collected June (15 days)July (23 days) Consents Fish-Eaters + Non-fish-eaters 6047 Completed Questionnaires Fish-Eaters, Non-fish-eaters 50, 1041, 6 Hair Samples Collected Fish-Eaters 6047 Cord Blood Samples Collected 4336

7. My Typical Day 7:00-9:00 Wake and breakfast at the mess hall 9:00-1:00 Travel to study sites to administer surveys and collect hair samples/cord blood samples 1:00-2:00 Lunch at mess hall and rest 2:00-4:00 Meeting with staff, data entry, storage of samples, preparation for next day

8. Food

9. Accommodations New Chandrasekhar Hostel, Manipal University

10. Strengths First hand experience with different methods of data collection Experience taking full gynecological, dietary, behavioral, exposure history Opportunity to travel to different types of health care centers Opportunity to see how physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, toxicologists and chemists can work together to improve the health outcomes at the community level Limitations Language barrier Poor record keeping in hospitals and clinics of the patients’ gynecological histories Monsoon rains and poor road conditions