Our People

Our staff comes from all backgrounds and has a wide range of talents and interests. We are doctors, scientists, researchers, health educators, and operations professionals. We are mountain climbers and scuba divers. Community activists and pianists. Mothers and fathers. We are passionate about health and committed to making a difference.

Spotlights

Many of the people who work at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities are personally touched by the work that we do. Following are a few of their stories.

Krista Biernath
Division of Human Development and Disability

When I was 17 years old, I lost all of my hearing in one ear. I learned that I had a genetic syndrome that caused tumors to grow on my hearing nerves. And I learned that someday I would become completely deaf in the other ear. I was devastated and frightened. I grew up with full hearing and didn’t know anyone who was deaf. I couldn’t imagine the world without sound. A few years later, a friend told me about a remarkable new technology called an alpha pager, a pager that could receive a message sent via a live operator. I was excited to think that someday this technology could help me.

Read more about Krista »

Melissa Creary
Division of Blood Disorders

I was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at age 3. One day at the beach I got sick and remained sick, and nobody knew why. I was tested for every possible disease, including leukemia. Then another family member suggested that I should be tested for sickle cell. When the results came back positive, no one was more surprised than my parents. Neither of them knew they carried the trait.

Read more about Melissa »

Julie and Miguel Julie Hentz
Health Communication Science Office

When my son Miguel was 4 years old, teachers started counseling me that he might be affected by ADHD. They encouraged me to seek a medical opinion. Miguel was my first child. I had no point of comparison and fully believed his bubbly, nonstop energy to be happy, healthy, little-boy material. I was completely averse to any thought of giving drugs to such a little child.

Read more about Julie »