Research
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health
Hands-On Research That Drives Real-World Impact
One of the greatest strengths of our department is the opportunity for students to engage in a wide range of research to address real-world problems led by nationally recognized faculty. These projects directly inform policy and practice across improving the health of our communities and the environments we depend on.
Research areas include agricultural worker health and safety, the health impacts of climate change, air pollution, chronic beryllium disease, PFAS exposures and health effects, metals in vaping, worker mental health, environmental drivers of infectious disease and beyond.
Highlights
Studying the Effects of Heat Stress and Air Pollution on Kidney Health Among Guatemalan Sugarcane Workers
Agricultural workers, by the nature of their job, are susceptible to adverse health effects associated with heat stress and air pollution. Meanwhile, an epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu) is affecting agricultural communities around the world. Our ongoing field studies in Latin America are directed at increasing the fundamental understanding of the causes and prevention strategies of CKDu and other related health and safety impacts experienced by male and female agricultural workers. Our current funded research examines occupational and non-occupational exposures to heat and particulate matter (and its constituents -- i.e., silica and heavy metals), mechanisms of injury, and biomarkers of effect among sugarcane workers in Guatemala, with the goal of advancing our understanding of the key risk factors while developing interventions designed to reduce morbidity and mortality from CKDu and other climate-sensitive diseases.
More information: Global health: Kidney health research and practice
Faculty: Lee Newman, John Adgate, Lyndsay Krisher, Diana Jaramillo, Miranda Dally, Jaime Butler-Dawson, Kathy James, Yaqiang Li
Funding: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Mental health integrated emergency preparedness for the school workforce
Schools are required to prepare for emergencies, yet psychological preparedness—and the role of teachers and staff in these efforts—is often overlooked. This project aimed to fill that gap by co-creating a curriculum that helps school districts:
- raise awareness of emergency preparedness,
- gather feedback from educators and staff,
- build psychological preparedness and social support skills, and
- elevate the emergency preparedness leadership capability of teachers and staff.
We tested the curriculum with six schools and published our findings. Currently, we are partnering with the education community to scale its use. This includes hosting a Train-the-Trainer event with the University of Michigan’s National School Safety Center and developing a custom, hybrid-style curriculum for the Colorado Office of School Safety to support implementation statewide.
Faculty: Courtney Welton-Mitchell, Natalie Schwatka, and Miranda Dally
Funding: CDC/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Website: Mental Health Emergency Preparedness for the School Workforce
PFAS-AWARE: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance- assessment of water and resident exposure and CO SCOPE: Colorado Study on Community Outcomes from PFAS Exposure
From 2013 to 2016, PFAS concentrations above the EPA health advisory were detected in drinking water in El Paso County, Colorado. Two studies have been developed; the PFAS-AWARE study in 2018, and the CO SCOPE study in 2021. The CO SCOPE study is part of a national multi-site study. CO SCOPE builds upon the knowledge of PFAS AWARE. Both were developed to understand the relationship between exposure and body burden of various PFAS and to evaluate how PFAS exposure impacts health. Results of the PFAS AWARE study showed that in 2018, participants had median perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) serum concentrations approximately 12, 2, and 1.9 times as high as the U.S. population median, respectively. Data analyses for change in serum PFAS concentrations, as well as associations with health effects, are ongoing.
Faculty: John Adgate, Anne Starling, Chris Higgins
Funding: PFAS AWARE - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); CO SCOPE - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Website: PFAS Exposure