Allen A. Mitchell, MD, a professor of epidemiology and pediatrics at the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), received the prestigious Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr., Award from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network.

Mitchell was honored for his research work in the field of birth defects.

His interest in pediatrics began during his undergraduate studies and continued during his other academic programs.

In 1967 he worked on drug epidemiology, which is now known as pharmacoepidemiology, at Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program and analysed the records on birth defects and drugs during pregnancy. This data was part of a Collaborative Perinatal Project

Mitchell introduced the SEC Birth Defects Study, which has collected data on prenatal exposure of more than 40,000 malformed infants from surrounding hospitals such as Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, San Diego and Nashville.

He developed and administered varied epidemiologic efforts to assess pregnancy prevention efforts for drugs known to cause birth defects, including isotretinoin( Accutane) and thalidomide(Thalomid).

Mitchell completed his undergraduate degree from Washington University in 1966; medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, 1970 and pediatric residency training at the Boston Floating Hospital for Infants and Children.

BUSPH comprises of more than 4,200 alumni, 150 full-time faculty, and students from over 30 countries.