Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at autism.org/emerging-research-on-autism-rates-and-covid
Learn about the Columbia University COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes Initiative (COMBO), which resulted in the first report demonstrating that birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, was associated with infant neurodevelopment.
Dr. Morgan Firestein is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Child Health Institute of NJ, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Firestein completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, during which time she investigated the relationship between extracellular vesicles of maternal, fetal, and placental origin and child neurobehavioral outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Firestein was also a key contributor to the Columbia University COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes Initiative (COMBO), which resulted in the first report demonstrating that birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, was associated with infant neurodevelopment. Dr. Firestein previously served as the Founding Director of the Columbia University Medical Center PeriNatal BioBank (PNBB). Dr. Firestein joined the faculty of the Child Health Institute of NJ in September 2025.
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at autism.org/emerging-research-on-autism-rates-and-covid
Learn about the Columbia University COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes Initiative (COMBO), which resulted in the first report demonstrating that birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, was associated with infant neurodevelopment.
Dr. Morgan Firestein is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Child Health Institute of NJ, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Firestein completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, during which time she investigated the relationship between extracellular vesicles of maternal, fetal, and placental origin and child neurobehavioral outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Firestein was also a key contributor to the Columbia University COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes Initiative (COMBO), which resulted in the first report demonstrating that birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, but not prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, was associated with infant neurodevelopment. Dr. Firestein previously served as the Founding Director of the Columbia University Medical Center PeriNatal BioBank (PNBB). Dr. Firestein joined the faculty of the Child Health Institute of NJ in September 2025.
