The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health’s department of epidemiology has been awarded a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Building on findings of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), the new study, “Birth Defects Study to Evaluate Pregnancy Exposures (BD-STEPS),” will help identify maternal exposures in early pregnancy that may increase the risk of birth defects. The NBDPS has increased knowledge about the role of maternal medications during pregnancy, diet quality and nutrition, and other risk factors, including pre-pregnancy obesity.