Gretchen Bandoli

Gretchen Bandoli is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with secondary appointments in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science within Health Science. As a perinatal epidemiologist and pharmacoepidemiologist, her research focuses on pregnancy and early childhood determinants of health. She examines maternal exposures across gestation, including substances such as alcohol and marijuana, medications, mental illness, and their associations with adverse offspring outcomes like neurodevelopmental delays, birth defects, and infant mortality. Bandoli advances exposure assessment methodologies using statistical approaches and biomarkers to better characterize complex gestational risks.

Bandoli earned a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2015, an MPH in Epidemiology from San Diego State University in 2014, and an MBA in Finance from Indiana University Indianapolis in 2005. Her career trajectory includes a postdoctoral fellowship in the UCSD Center for Better Beginnings funded by NIH award 1TL1TR001443 from 2016 to 2018. She received the PTBi postdoctoral scholarship from UCSF (2016-2018), Judith Blake memorial fellowship from UCLA (2014-2015), and Bixby doctoral fellowship from UCLA (2014-2015). Bandoli co-directs the Epidemiology Track of the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health, teaches graduate-level life course research courses, and contributes to the Human Milk Institute and Healthy Brain and Child Development National Consortium.

Her publications include "A review of systemic corticosteroid use in pregnancy and the risk of select pregnancy and birth outcomes" (Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America, 2017), "Psychological distress in pregnancy and postpartum" (Women and Birth, 2020), "Childhood adversity, adult stress, and the risk of major depression or generalized anxiety disorder in US soldiers" (Psychological Medicine, 2017), "Patterns of prenatal alcohol use that predict infant growth and development" (Pediatrics, 2019), "Substance use patterns among individuals who consume alcohol during pregnancy: Results from a US multi-site study" (Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2026), and "Critical Congenital Heart Disease and Infant Cancer" (Pediatrics, 2025).

Professional Email: gbandoli@health.ucsd.edu