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Rebecca J. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences and the MIND Institute
Locations and Contact
Clinical Interests
Dr. Schmidt is not a clinician. Dr. Schmidt is a molecular epidemiologist that aims to advance understanding of how early life environmental exposures interact with genetic susceptibility and molecular mechanisms to influence neurodevelopmental outcomes of children, with a primary interest in autism spectrum disorders.
Research/Academic Interests
Dr. Schmidt is a tenured professor and molecular epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience in epidemiology, biologically relevant gene-environment interactions, epigenetics, maternal and child health, and a primary emphasis on neurodevelopment and autism. Her pioneering research focuses on how early life environmental and nutritional exposures interact with genetics, epigenetics, gene expression, metabolism, molecular mechanisms, and developmental programming, to influence the neurodevelopmental outcomes of children. She leads a large biorepository and several child development cohort studies, including the MARBLES autism pregnancy cohort, the B-SAFE wildfire pregnancy cohort, and the PEACH cohort site for the national ECHO Program.
Division
Epidemiology
Environmental and Occupational Health
Center/Program Affiliation
UC Davis MIND Institute
Perinatal Origins of Disparities Center
Undergraduate School
B.S., Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City IA 1998
Other School
M.S., Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City IA 2000
Other School
Ph.D., Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City IA 2007
Internship
Epidemiology Preceptorship, Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology, Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa City IA 1999
Fellowship
MIND Institute/Autism, UC Davis, Sacramento CA 2000-2010
Fulbright U.S. Scholar for Spain, 2025 - 2026,
Top 50 Ranking, NIH Funding to US Medical Schools, Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, 2019, 2024,
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Keystone Science Lecturer, 2019,
Paper selected as Top Ten Science Autism Research Achievements by Autism Speaks, 2011,
Paper of the Year by the NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), 2011,
Access Dr. Schmidt's bibliography here.
Mordaunt CE, Mouat JS, Schmidt RJ, LaSalle JM. Comethyl: a network-based methylome approach to investigate the multivariate nature of health and disease. Brief Bioinform. 2022 Mar 10;23(2):bbab554. doi:10.1093/bib/bbab554. PMID:35037016.
Laufer BI, Neier K, Valenzuela AE, Yasui DH, Schmidt RJ, Lein PJ, LaSalle JM. Placenta and fetal brain share a neurodevelopmental disorder DNA methylation profile in a mouse model of prenatal PCB exposure. Cell Rep. 2022 Mar 1;38(9):110442. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110442. PMID:35235788.
Zhu Y, Gomez JA, Laufer BI, Mordaunt CE, Mouat JS, Soto DC, Dennis MY, Benke KS, Bakulski KM, Dou J, Marathe R, Jianu JM, Williams LA, Gutierrez Fugón OJ, Walker CK, Ozonoff S, Daniels J, Grosvenor LP, Volk HE, Feinberg JI, Fallin MD, Hertz-Picciotto I, Schmidt RJ, Yasui DH, LaSalle JM. Placental methylome reveals a 22q13.33 brain regulatory gene locus associated with autism. Genome Biol. 2022 Feb 16;23(1):46. doi:10.1186/s13059-022-02613-1. PMID:35168652.
Harris SM, Colacino J, Buxton M, Croxton L, Nguyen V, Loch-Caruso R, Bakulski KM. A Data Mining Approach Reveals Chemicals Detected at Higher Levels in Non-Hispanic Black Women Target Preterm Birth Genes and Pathways. Reprod Sci. 2022 Feb 2. doi:10.1007/s43032-022-00870-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID:35107823.
Shin HM, Oh J, Kim K, Busgang SA, Barr DB, Panuwet P, Schmidt RJ, Hertz-Picciotto I, Bennett DH. Variability of Urinary Concentrations of Phenols, Parabens, and Triclocarban during Pregnancy in First Morning Voids and Pooled Samples. Environ Sci Technol. 2021 Dec 7;55(23):16001-16010. doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c04140. Epub 2021 Nov 24. PMID:34817155.
Sethi S, Keil Stietz KP, Valenzuela AE, Klocke CR, Silverman JL, Puschner B, Pessah IN, Lein PJ. Developmental Exposure to a Human-Relevant Polychlorinated Biphenyl Mixture Causes Behavioral Phenotypes That Vary by Sex and Genotype in Juvenile Mice Expressing Human Mutations That Modulate Neuronal Calcium. Front Neurosci. 2021 Dec 6;15:766826. doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.766826. PMID:34938155.
Keil Stietz KP, Sethi S, Klocke CR, de Ruyter TE, Wilson MD, Pessah IN, Lein PJ. Sex and Genotype Modulate the Dendritic Effects of Developmental Exposure to a Human-Relevant Polychlorinated Biphenyls Mixture in the Juvenile Mouse. Front Neurosci. 2021 Dec 3;15:766802. doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.766802. PMID:34924936.
Sauder KA, Harte RN, Ringham BM, Guenther PM, Bailey RL, Alshawabkeh A, Cordero JF, Dunlop AL, Ferranti EP, Elliott AJ, Mitchell DC, Hedderson MM, Avalos LA, Zhu Y, Breton CV, Chatzi L, Ran J, Hertz-Picciotto I, Karagas MR, Sayarath V, Hoover J, MacKenzie D, Lyall K, Schmidt RJ, O'Connor TG, Barrett ES, Switkowski KM, Comstock SS, Kerver JM, Trasande L, Tylavsky FA, Wright RJ, Kannan S, Mueller NT, Catellier DJ, Glueck DH, Dabelea D; Program Collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). Disparities in Risks of Inadequate and Excessive Intake of Micronutrients during Pregnancy. J Nutr. 2021 Nov 2;151(11):3555-3569. doi:10.1093/jn/nxab273. PMID:34494118.