Pregnancy Risk Information Counselors
Pregnacy Risk Information Counselors at the CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information Line answer questions from the public and healthcare professionals about potential effects that environmental agents such as medications, diseases, alcohol or tobacco could have on pregnancy outcome.
Counselors receive specialized training under the supervision of our Medical Director, Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones. They are trained and receive ongoing instruction in the principles of teratology, embryology, pharmacology and physiology. Counselors are trained to evaluate and interpret published medical research studies. Additionally, they develop the ability to communicate complex information in a manner that is understandable and helpful to the pregnant or breastfeeding woman or her healthcare provider. Counselors use a variety of resources to gather information in response to questions about exposures, including library resources, on-line databases, medical consultants or other experts whenever necessary. Counseling is provided in English and Spanish.
Program Director, CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information
Christina D. Chambers, PhD, MPH
Dr. Chambers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Family and Preventative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She graduated from California State University, received a Masters in Public Health from San Diego State University, and a PhD in Public Health/Epidemiology from the University of California and San Diego State University.
Dr. Chambers has worked as an epidemiologist with the CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information Line for the last 8 years. Her interests are in the areas of birth defects epidemiology and perinatal epidemiology, with a special focus on human teratogens. She is currently funded to conduct research on the prevention of alcohol related birth defects and to study safety in pregnancy of several new medications used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Chambers serves as the Vice-President of the Teratology Society, and has been an active member of the Research Committee for the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists.
Medical Director, CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information
Kenneth Lyons Jones, MD
Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones is the Chief of the Division of Dysmorphology/Teratology at the Department of Pediatrics at UCSD and Medical Director of the CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information Line. In these activities he has been involved in research, teaching, clinical work and University and public service.
His research has focused on the clinical delineation of birth defects, mechanisms of normal and abnormal morphogenesis and the recognition of new human teratogens. The work on recognition of new human teratogens is primarily focused through CTIS Pregnancy Risk Information, a service which he established under a different name in 1979 and which is funded by the State of California.
Dr. Jones has authored over 400 publications in scientific journals as well as several books, and is the author of Smith’s Recognizable Patterns of Human Malformation. He is considered to be the father of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) as he was one of 2 doctors at the University of Washington who first identified FAS in the United States in 1973.
As Chief of UCSD Medical Center's Division of Dysmorphology/Teratology, Dr. Jones is in clinical service throughout the year, and trains fellows in dysmorphology. Teaching goes on virtually every day as he sees patients in clinics and serves as consultant on hospital inpatient services throughout San Diego County.
Dr. Jones is past president of the Western Society for Pediatric Research and president elect of the Teratology Society as well as the co-chair of the Scientific Working Group on Diagnostic Guidelines for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder, convened by the National Center of Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities. He is also a member of 2 committees established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); the Pregnancy Labeling Advisory Committee and the Subcommittee established in 2000 to evaluate the continued misuse of Accutane during pregnancy. Dr. Jones also serves on various other boards and committees.
On March 15, 2007, Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Genetics from the March of Dimes.