Kristin Palmsten, ScD, is a Senior Research Investigator, Co-Director of the Pregnancy and Child Health Research Center, and Research and Scientific Mentor at HealthPartners Institute. Dr. Palmsten is a perinatal epidemiologist and pharmacoepidemiologist. She received her doctorate in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. She received an Abraham Lilienfeld Student Prize from the Society for Epidemiologic Research and an Early Career Professional Achievement Award from The National Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Awards.

Dr. Palmsten’s research has primarily focused on using big data to study perinatal health, including drug safety during pregnancy, and epidemiologic methods to reduce bias in studies of exposures during pregnancy. Currently, she is the principal investigator of two multi-site studies funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The MOM Study assesses the effects of antidepressants or psychotherapy initiation during pregnancy on infant outcomes and breastfeeding (R01HD100579). The CALM Study assesses the association between antenatal and postpartum COVID-19 vaccination and lactation and infant outcomes (R01HD107753). Dr. Palmsten welcomes the opportunity to build research collaborations within HealthPartners and with external partners.  

Joined the Institute: 2017

Education and training: ScD, Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health (now Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health); MS, Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health; BS, Boston College.

Overview/research interests: Perinatal epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, epidemiologic methods, medication use and safety during pregnancy and lactation.

Current research activities and funding: 

• Tdap Vaccination during Pregnancy or Postpartum and Lactation-Related Outcomes
• Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination and Lactation Outcomes (CALM study)
• Managing Our Mood (MOM) Study: Treatment Initiation for New Episodes of Depression in Pregnant Women
• Mental Health Research Network III-Digital Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Perinatal Depression
• Maternal Obesity, Milk Composition, and Infant Growth (MILK II)
• Maternal Health Care Utilization and Morbidity: The First 24 months
• Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) II
• Vaccine Safety Datalink
• Innovation in Medical Evidence and Development Surveillance (IMEDS)
• Distributed Research Network