Margaret “Peggy” Honein, M.P.H. '92, Ph.D. '95

Margaret “Peggy” Honein, M.P.H. '92, Ph.D. '95, Director of Congenital and Developmental Disorders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is one of the finalists for a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal. Honein is being recognized for collecting and analyzing critical data to help protect women and babies from the mosquito-borne Zika virus that was spreading rapidly in the U.S. and its territories.

The award, which pays tribute to America's federal workforce, is given by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., that works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.

Honein received her bachelor's degree in biology from UC Riverside in 1986. At UCLA, after earning her master's degree in public health, she received her Ph.D. in epidemiology. Her research interests include understanding the role of smoking in birth defects; assessing the safety or risk of medication use and vaccine use during pregnancy; evaluating the impact of infections during pregnancy; and examining longer term outcomes and costs associated with congenital heart defects and other birth defects across the lifespan.