Environmental Health Sciences Research
Our department consists of faculty and scientists with a wide range of research backgrounds and expertise, conducting multidisciplinary, rigorous and impactful research that spans molecular mechanisms to global population health. Our work advances understanding of how environmental exposures influence and shape human health across key domains – including environmental and developmental toxicology, air and noise pollution, climate change, aging biology, and environmental infectious diseases - in both U.S. and global contexts. Our faculty research is organized around five interconnected focus areas:
Environmental Epidemiology and Exposure Science
Environmental epidemiology and exposure science focus on identifying, measuring, and understanding the health impacts of population exposures to air and noise pollution, heat, and other environmental hazards. Faculty in this area apply advanced air-quality monitoring, exposure assessment tools, and geospatial modeling to characterize patterns in population level distribution of exposures. They examine the effects of these exposures on respiratory, cardiovascular, reproductive, and maternal and child health using cohort studies, health impact assessments, and other epidemiologic approaches.
Learn more about our faculty members working in this area by visiting their profiles.
Environmental & Developmental Toxicology
Environmental and developmental toxicology examines how contaminants—such as forever chemicals (PFAS), phthalates, organohalogens, bisphenols and other industrial compounds disrupt biological pathways, and contribute to adverse developmental and aging-related outcomes. This work seeks to identify mechanisms of toxicity and critical windows of susceptibility that inform evidence-based risk assessment and regulatory decision-making.
Faculty in this area use state-of-the-art in silico, in vivo and in vitro models, including broad range of established and novel animal systems, to investigate how toxicants affect early development, organ function, and long-term health. These mechanistic studies provide insights that strengthen human health risk assessment and guide strategies to reduce harmful environmental exposures.
Learn more about our faculty members working in this area by visiting their profiles.
Environmental Infectious Diseases
Environmental infectious disease research examines the ecology, transmission, and health impacts of water-, food-, and vector-borne pathogens in human and animal populations. Faculty in this area integrate field studies, environmental sampling, geospatial analysis, and transmission modeling to understand how environmental conditions shape infection risks and disease dynamics.
This work focuses on a range of pathogens - including Schistosoma parasites, Campylobacter, and co-infections involving these and other agents—particularly those affecting young children in low-resource settings. A central emphasis is identifying environmental drivers of transmission and evaluating effective, evidence-based control strategies. Faculty collaborate closely with partners in low- and middle-income countries to assess and strengthen interventions—including improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems, vector control efforts, and targeted community-based approaches—to reduce disease burden in high-risk settings.
Learn more about our faculty members working in this area by visiting their profiles.
Food Safety and Risk Assessment
Environment is a solvent for food. Food safety and risk assessment research addresses chemical and microbial hazards in the food supply that pose risks to human health. Faculty in this area investigate food toxicology, develop innovative strategies to detect and remove contaminants from foods, and apply quantitative approaches to evaluate cancer and microbial risks.
Our work integrates laboratory experiments using biological models and analytical chemistry, exposure assessment, and computational modeling to characterize contamination pathways and estimate population health impacts. Faculty also engage in regulatory science and risk communication to support evidence-based standards and inform risk-management policies that enhance the safety and sustainability of the food system.
Learn more about our faculty members working in this area by visiting their profiles.
Global Environmental Health and Climate Change
Global environmental health and climate change research investigates how shifting climatic conditions, environmental degradation, and rapid development influence the global burden of disease. Faculty in this area examine key drivers such as extreme heat, air and noise pollution, water and food system disruptions, and impacts on reproductive and maternal and child health.
This work applies epidemiologic analysis, environmental monitoring, geospatial modeling, and health impact assessment to quantify risks and identify populations most affected by environmental change. Faculty collaborate extensively with partners in low- and middle-income countries to address health disparities and to develop evidence-based strategies for climate adaptation, sustainable development, and resilience planning.
Learn more about our faculty members working in this area by visiting their profiles.