Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD, MPH

Dr. Janet Rich-Edwards is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on determinants of women’s reproductive health and chronic disease across the lifecourse, as well as promoting best practices in sex and gender difference research. Dr. Rich-Edwards received her MPH from the University of North Carolina and her ScD in epidemiology from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.

 

Dr. Rich-Edwards has appointments with both the DWH and the Channing Laboratory at BWH. She is the Director of Research for the DWH and Director of Lifecourse Epidemiology for the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology. Over the years, she has served as a mentor to both fellows and faculty with an interest in the fields of epidemiology and global women’s health. At the Harvard Chan School, she has served as director and co-director for the reproductive epidemiology track and oversaw its development into the reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology track, in addition to teaching several courses and mentorship roles. In 2018, Dr. Rich Edwards received one of three faculty Mentoring Awards given by the Harvard Chan School, awarded to faculty who enrich the academic, professional and personal development through guidance, support, collegiality, and overall mentorship. From 2013-2018, she has served as co-director of the Science Program at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard and was a Radcliffe Fellow from 2018-2019.

 

Dr. Rich-Edwards’ research career has focused on the intersection of a woman’s reproductive health and risk of chronic disease across the life span. She has been an author on over 350 research publications and has had projects funded by the NIH, CDC, and PCORI. For over 30 years, Dr. Rich-Edwards has been in an investigator in the national Nurses’ Health Studies (NHS), with long-term research collaborations in Norway and Mongolia. Over the years her research has covered a number of issues related to women’s health, including associations of child abuse with reproductive health, mental health, and chronic disease risk; the links of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia and preterm delivery with future cardiometabolic risk; and occupational health hazards faced by American nurses. Recently, with a team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she is creating an educational program on the impact of anti-fat bias on patient care and experiences of healthcare.

Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Director of Research, Division of Women’s Health, Department of Medicine; Associate Epidemiologist, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine; Director of Lifecourse Epidemiology, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology

Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Medicine

Other Appointments
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Areas of Expertise

Current Research

Select Past Research

Select Publications

Janet W Rich-Edwards, Donna L Maney (2023) Science Forum: Best practices to promote rigor and reproducibility in the era of sex-inclusive research eLife 12:e90623    

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Kaiser UB, Chen GL, Manson JE, Goldstein JM. Sex and Gender Differences Research Design for Basic, Clinical, and Population Studies: Essentials for Investigators. Endocr Rev. 2018 Aug 1;39(4):424-439. Review. PMID:29668873

 

Nguyen KTNH, Stuart JJ, Shah AH, Becene IA, West MG, Berrill J, Gelaye B, Borba CPC, Rich-Edwards JW. Novel Methods for Leveraging Large Cohort Studies for Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Research. Am J Epidemiol. 2023 May 5;192(5):821-829. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwad030. PMID: 36790786; PMCID: PMC10160766.

 

Stuart JJ, Tanz LJ, Rimm EB, Spiegelman D, Missmer SA, Mukamal KJ, Rexrode KM, Rich-Edwards JW. Cardiovascular Risk Factors Mediate the Long-Term Maternal Risk Associated With Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022 May 17;79(19):1901-1913. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2022.03.335. PMID: 35550687; PMCID: PMC9176211.

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Rocheleau CM, Ding M., Hankins JA, Katuska LM, Kumph X, Steege AL, Boiano JM, Lawson CC. COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Factors Affecting Hesitancy Among U.S. Nurses, March-June 2021. Am J Public Health 2022, Nov;112(11):1620-1629. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2022.307050. PMID: 36223573; PMCID: PMC9558176.

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Ding M, Rocheleau CM. Boiano JM, Kang JH, Becene I, Nguyen LH, Chan AT, Hart JE, Chavarro JE, Lawson CC. American frontline healthcare personnel’s access to and use of personal protective equipment early in the COVID-19 pandemic. J Occup Environ Med. 2021 Jul 7. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002308. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34238908.

 

Tanz LJ, Stuart JJ, Williams PL, Rimm EB, Missmer SA, Mukamal KJ, Rexrode KM, Rich-Edwards JW. Contributions of Preterm Delivery to Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction in Women. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2021 Oct;30(10):1431-1439. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2021.0166. Epub 2021 Aug 12. PMID: 34388032; PMCID: PMC8590142.

 

Markovitz AR, Haug EB, Horn J, Fraser A, Tilling K, Rimm EB, Missmer SA, Williams PL, Romundstad PR, Åsvold BO, Rich-Edwards JW. Normotensive preterm delivery and maternal cardiovascular risk factor trajectories across the life course: The HUNT Study, Norway. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2020 Oct 6. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33022746

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Stuart JJ, Skurnik G, Roche AT, Tsigas E, Fitzmaurice GM, Wilkins-Haug LE, Levkoff SE, Seely EW. Randomized Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in Women with Recent Preeclampsia. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2019 Nov;28(11):1493-1504. Epub 2019 Jun 19. PMID:31215837

 

Enkhmaa D, Tanz L, Ganmaa D, Enkhtur S, Oyun-Erdene B, Stuart J, Chen G, Carr A, Seely EW, Fitzmaurice G, Buyandelger Y, Sarantsetseg B, Gantsetseg G, Rich-Edwards J. Randomized trial of three doses of vitamin D to reduce deficiency in pregnant Mongolian women. EBioMedicine. 2019 Jan;39:510-519. Epub 2018 Dec 11. PMID:30552064

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Davaasumbuu G, Kleinman K, Sumberzul N, Holick, MF, Lkhagvasuren T, Dulguun B, Burke A, Frazier AL. Randomized trial of fortified milk and supplements to raise 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in schoolchildren in Mongolia. Am J Clin Nutr 2011; 94: 578-84.

 

Stuart JJ, Tanz LJ, Cook NR, Spiegelman D, Missmer SA, Rimm EB, Rexrode KM, Mukamal KJ, Rich-Edwards JW. Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk Prediction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018 Sep 11;72(11):1252-1263. PMID:30190003

 

Stuart JJ, Tanz LJ, Missmer SA, Rimm EB, Spiegelman D, James-Todd TM, Rich-Edwards JW. Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Maternal Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Development: An Observational Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2018 Aug 21;169(4):224-232. Epub 2018 Jul 3. PMID:29971437

Tanz LJ, Stuart JJ, Williams PL, Rimm EB, Missmer SA, Rexrode KM, Mukamal KJ, Rich-Edwards JW. Preterm delivery and maternal cardiovascular disease in young and middle-aged adult women. Circulation. 2017 Feb 7;135(6):578-589. PMID: 28153993

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Klungsoyr K, Wilcox AJ, Skjaerven R. Duration of pregnancy, even at term, predicts long-term risk of coronary heart disease and stroke mortality in women: a population-based study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Oct;213(4):518.e1-8. PMID: 26070706.

 

Rich-Edwards JW, Mason S, Rexrode K, Spiegelman D, Hibert E, Kawachi I, Jun HJ, Wright RJ. Physical and sexual abuse in childhood as predictors of early onset cardiovascular events in women. Circulation 2012; 126: 920-7.

 

Mason S, Wright RJ, Hibert EN, Spiegelman D, Forman J, Rich-Edwards JW. Intimate partner violence and incidence of hypertension in women. Ann Epidemiol 2012;22:562-7.

 

Rich-Edwards JW, James-Todd T, Mohllajee A, Kleinman K, Burke A, Gillman MW, Wright RJ. Lifetime maternal experiences of abuse and risk of prenatal depression in two demographically distinct populations in Boston. Int J Epidemiol 2011;40:375-384

Rich-Edwards JW, Spiegelman D, Hibert ENL, Jun HJ, James Todd T, Kawachi I, Wright RJ. Abuse in childhood and adolescence as a predictor of type 2 diabetes in adult women. Am J Prev Med 2010; 39: 529-36.