Todd Foster

Background

About Todd Foster

I am trained in Biological Anthropology and Medical Science from Indiana University-Bloomington under the direction of Dr. Paul Jamison. My training at IU included specialization in Human Biological Growth & Development, Human Adaptation, and Human Variation. My dissertation, “A Nutritional and Anthropometric Assessment of Marshallese School Children,” explored the differences found in growth outcomes and dietary habits among private and public school children in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This work also surveyed children on the capital atoll, Majuro, to allow for the expansion of a population-specific growth chart from ages 5 to 14. In January 2011, I accepted the position of Clinical Research Scientist at Ascension St. Vincent Women’s Hospital working with the Center for Prenatal Diagnosis and the Ob/Gyn residency program. During this time, I worked on research studies exploring pre-term birth, cerclage, sex education, and cognitive development within higher order multiples. In 2014, I moved to the Office of Research & Regulatory Affairs within Ascension St. Vincent Health where I would begin assisting all St. Vincent associates including staff and resident physicians, nurses, genetic counselors, etc. Assistance runs the gamut from literature reviews and protocol development to data acquisition and storage to statistical analysis and poster/manuscript formation. In 2019, I continued this assistance for five more years in the Office of Graduate Medical Education. I am currently finalizing a technical report for the Republic of the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health as well as a manuscript examining the use of cervical length as a predictor of preterm birth. My research agenda for the 2024-2025 medical academic year includes an IRB approved project utilizing GIS mapping of Ob/Gyn clinic patients to explore potential environmental clustering of preterm birth and continuing a nutritional assessment study in northern rural Honduras. I also have plans to review literature for future research projects on the topics of “adequate prenatal birth”, “racial and ethnic classifications in electronic medical records”, and “Honduran Public Health”. Finally, I have personal goals to learn conversational Spanish and find a long-term academic home (employer) where I can teach and continue my research full-time. When I am not teaching or conducting my own research, I am trail running through the forest, gardening, and/or listening to sports radio or bluegrass music.