Program Director
Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH
Dr. Chambers is a professor of pediatrics at the University of California (UC) San Diego, Chief of the Division of Environmental Science & Health in the Department of Pediatrics, and Director of Clinical Research for Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. She is a perinatal epidemiologist whose research is focused on environmental exposures and their impact on pregnancy, breastfeeding, and child health outcomes, including birth defects.
Dr. Chambers co-directs the Center for Better Beginnings, which houses the Mommy’s Milk research program. In addition to her leadership role on Mommy’s Milk, she is the Program Director of MotherToBaby California, a service that provides evidence-based information about environmental exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding to the general public and healthcare providers in the State of California and several other U.S. states and territories.
Dr. Chambers is also the lead investigator for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies, a series of observational studies evaluating the effects of medications, vaccines, and maternal medical conditions on pregnancy and infant outcomes. She is a founding principal investigator for the Vaccines and Medications in Pregnancy Surveillance System (VAMPSS), which is the first national system to evaluate medication and vaccine safety in human pregnancy. FinallyFinally, Dr. Chambers has conducted extensive research on improved diagnosis, prevention, and treatment for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and is also co-lead investigator on the administrative coordinating center for the Healthy Brain and Child Development Study, a nationwide study examining infant and early childhood brain development from pregnancy to age 9.
Research Manager
Kerri Bertrand, MPH
Kerri Bertrand oversees the day-to-day operations of Mommy’s Milk. She is responsible for the recruitment and enrollment of people who are breastfeeding, collection of biospecimens, preparation of human milk samples for storage, data entry, review of medical records, and the supervision of staff who conduct these activities. She also works with Dr. Chambers and Mommy’s Milk investigators on the preparation of grant proposals, statistical analyses and interpretation, and the dissemination of study results.
Finally, Kerri plays an integral role in working with external investigators who request access to Mommy’s Milk samples and data by helping them navigate the process of securing institutional and human subjects approvals for data access. Kerri graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2010 and received a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from San Diego State University in 2013.
Team Members
Norma Kelley
Data Manager
Norma Kelley is the Data Manager at Mommy’s Milk. In this role, she supports the Research Manager and Database Programmers through all phases of project data management, including development, design, implementation, evaluation, and improvement of the various data applications. She helps to develop, implement, and oversee quality assurance and control measures, ensuring the validity and integrity of both survey and biospecimen data collection processes. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University in 1989 and went on to complete her Master of Public Health (MPH) training at SDSU as well.
Kelli Faiai
Lab Assistant
Kelli serves as the Lab Assistant for Mommy’s Milk, where she oversees lab operations. Her responsibilities include processing the biospecimens that are collected from participating moms and infants, storing these valuable samples, and ensuring the accurate tracking of all corresponding data. Kelli graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Concordia University Irvine in 2018. She enjoys being a part of making human milk samples more accessible for future research and having the opportunity to deepen her understanding of the amazing ways human milk supports the health and development of children.
Amanda de Leon
Marketing Specialist
Amanda de Leon is a the Administrative Officer and Marketing Outreach Specialist at Mommy’s Milk. Her role consists of representing the program in community outreach events and coordinating digital and graphic design of marketing materials. She is also the point-person for our monthly newsletter. Amanda graduated from UC San Diego in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Physiology and Neuroscience. She is proud to be part of a team that is so passionate about supporting the community and contributing to research that helps future generations!
Jeffrey Vandorn
Web & Database Group Manager
Jeff Van Dorn is the Manager of the Web and Database group at the UC San Diego Center for Better Beginnings. In this role, he is responsible for managing a programming team to deliver highly technical projects. He has spent more than 25 years working in the technology sector and has served at UC San Diego’s Center for Better Beginnings for nearly a decade. Jeff received his Master’s degree in Atmospheric Science from The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He finds his work at Mommy’s Milk particularly rewarding as a father, since the projects he manages have the potential to improve the lives of other families.
Andrew Delarosa
Senior Applications Programmer
Andrew is a Senior Applications Programmer at Mommy’s Milk. He serves as a senior technical specialist, focusing on web development, user interfaces, data dashboards, data integration, and database programming for research projects. Andrew earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from UC San Diego in 2007 and brings over 15 years of experience working on a wide range of technical projects involving complex development and design.
Ashleigh blomfield Villarba
Marketing Director
Ashleigh leads marketing for Mommy’s Milk at UC San Diego. She works to raise awareness, build connections, and support parents through their breastfeeding journey. Ashleigh helps share information that educates and encourages families, health-care providers, and community partners. In her role, she also focuses on promoting breast milk research and showing how important it is for the health of both mothers and babies. Ashleigh earned degrees from UCLA and NYU and is passionate about making breastfeeding support easier to access. She believes good communication and advocacy can help families have healthier outcomes.
Developmental Follow-up Program
As part of our standard research protocol, Mommy’s Milk follows up with participants through our Neurodevelopment Follow-Up Program to learn more about a child’s cognitive and behavioral development. The goals of the program are to identify exposures that increase the chance of developmental and/or learning delays and its long-term effects. The questionnaires and face-to-face assessments that are completed by participating mothers and children assess language development as well as the development of gross and fine motor, problem-solving, and social-emotional skills.
Kelly Kao, BA
Program Manager
Kelly is the Program Manager of the Developmental Follow-Up Program at Mommy’s Milk, where she oversees the team of psychometrists that conducts developmental assessment. She has been with UC San Diego since 1993. Kelly obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology at UC San Diego, with minors in Biology and Spanish Literature. She became interested in prenatal environmental exposures that cause birth defects and long-term developmental effects when she took a Sociology of Law course that examined the death penalty case of a man who was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). She actively demonstrates her dedication to educating the community about prenatal environmental exposures through her outreach activities, lectures, and research projects.
Violet Webb, MS.Ed.
Pyschometrist
Violet is a Psychometrist and Research Associate at Mommy’s Milk. In this role, she conducts standardized assessments with both maternal and child participants for the Center’s research programs, including Mommy’s Milk. She also coordinates the collection of and scores maternal well-being and infant development questionnaires. She attended San Francisco State University, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. In 2017, she went on to receive a Master of Science and Advanced Certificate in Educational Psychology from CUNY Brooklyn. Violet is passionate about working with children and contributing to the research that will provide insight about child development. Her goal is to provide assessments that are both fun and comfortable for parent and child.
Haley Henry, BS
Pyschometrist
Haley is a psychometrist for the Developmental Follow-Up Program at Mommy’s Milk. In this role, she conducts standardized assessments with both maternal and child participants. She also coordinates the collection of and scores maternal well-being and infant development questionnaires. Previously, she served as a Clinical Research Specialist at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she also worked as a research assistant. Haley plans to continue contributing to research that seeks to improve the developmental outcomes of children.
Student Volunteers
Shanzeh Iqbal
Lauren Wightman
Mohammad Abou-Abbas
Monica Johnstone
