Dr. Adgate is a professor in the Colorado School of Public Health Department of Environmental & Occupational Health and an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Health, Work & Environment at the school. Dr. Adgate is also an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Environmental & Radiological Health Science at Colorado State University and the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
He served as the chair of the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health from August 2009 until July 2021. His research on exposure science, risk analysis, and children’s environmental health has focused on improving exposure estimation in epidemiologic studies by documenting the magnitude and variability of human exposures to chemical and biological stressors. His current research focuses on the risks, health, and community impacts of oil and gas development; the impact of heat and air pollution on the development of chronic kidney disease in Guatemalan sugarcane workers; and exposure and health effects stemming from perfluoroalkyl chemical (PFAS) exposure. He is one of the principal investigators in the national multi-site PFAS exposure and health effects study funded by ATSDR/CDC.
Dr. Adgate has served on multiple science advisory panels for the U.S. EPA and the National Academies of Science committees exploring technical and policy issues related to PFAS exposure and remediation, residential exposure to pesticides and air pollutants, impacts of energy development on human health, lead-exposure interventions, and the impacts of climate change on indoor air quality. He received an MSPH in Environmental Science and Engineering from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a PhD in Environmental Health from Rutgers University.
Areas of Expertise
- Exposure science
- Air pollution
- Impacts of oil and gas development
- PFAS exposure and health effects
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Environmental Health, Rutgers University, 1996
- MSPH, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Public Health, 1987
- BS, Biology, Calvin College, 1981
Awards
- 2006-2007: Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Center for the Environment, Department of Industrial Engineering, Santiago Chile
- 2004: The Joan M. Daisey Outstanding Young Scientist Award, International Society for Exposure Analysis
- 2004: Elected to Delta Omega, Honorary Public Health Society, Pi Chapter
- 1986-7: U.S. Public Health Service Training Grant
Courses
- EHOH 6614 Introduction to Environmental and Occupational Health
- EHOH 6620 Risk Analysis
Research
- Co-PI, HEI RFA E20-2. Assessing the Effects of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development on Community Water Sources. MPI: Ryan (UC Boulder)/Adgate/McKenzie/ Rajaram. 10/1/21-9/30/22.
- Co-PI. Particulate Exposure and Kidney Health. NIEHS 1R01ES031585-01A1. MPI: Adgate/ Newman/Schaeffer, 3/1/2021-12/31/25.
- NSF, Collaborative research: oil and gas siting, housing choices, and environmental justice in Colorado. Role: Co-PI. 6/1/20-5/31/23.
- CDC/ATSDR, PFAS Exposure and Health Effects in El Paso, County, CO. Role: Co-PI, 9/30/2019 to 9/29/2024.
- USEPA, PFAS UNITEDD: Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances—U.S. National Investigation of Transport & Exposure from Drinking Water & Diet. Role: Subcontract PI, 5/1/2019-4/30/2022.
- NIEHS, Exposure and Health Effects from Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Colorado Water (PFAS-AWARE), Role: PI, 1/1/2018-12/31/2021.
Publications and Presentations
- McDonough, C, S Choyke, K Barton, S Mass, AP Starling, JL Adgate, CP Higgins. 2021. Unsaturated PFOS and other PFASs in human serum and drinking water from an AFFF-impacted community. ES&T Letters: Jun 15;55(12):8139-8148. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00522. Epub 2021 May 24. PMID: 34029073.
- Barton, KE, AP Starling, CP Higgins, C McDonough, AM Calafat, JL Adgate. 2019 Sociodemographic and behavioral predictors of serum concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in a community highly exposed to aqueous film-forming foam contaminants in drinking water. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2020 Jan;223(1):256-266. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.07.012. Epub 2019 Aug 20. PMID: 31444118.
- Frey HC, PJ Adams, JL Adgate, GA Allen, J Balmes, K Boyle, J Chow, DW Dockery, H Felton, T Gordon, JR Harkema, PL Kinney, MT Kleinman, R McConnell, RL Poirot, L Sheppard, J Sarnat, B Turpin, R Wyzga (The Independent Particulate Matter Review Panel). 2020. The Need for a Tighter Particulate-Matter Air-Quality Standard. N Engl J Med. Jun 10. Online ahead of print; doi: 10.1056/NEJMsb2011009. PMID: 3252113.
- Starling, AP, JL Adgate, RF Hamman, K Kechris, AM Calafat, D Dabelea. 2019. Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and infant growth and adiposity: The Healthy Start Study. Environ Int. Oct;131:104983. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.104983. Epub Jul 5. PMID: 31284113.
- Kropsch, AC, PT Maniloff, JL Adgate, LM McKenzie, KL Dickinson. 2019. Environmental justice in unconventional oil and natural gas extraction: A critical review and research agenda. Environ Sci Technol Jun 18;53(12):6601-6615. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b00209. Epub Jun 7. PMID: 31117531.
- McKenzie, LM, J Crooks, JL Peel, BD Blair, S Brindley, WB Allshouse, SA Malin, JL Adgate. 2018. Relationships between indicators of cardiovascular disease and intensity of oil and natural gas activity in Northeastern Colorado. Environ Res Mar 170:56-64. Epub: Dec 6, doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.12.004. PMID: 30557692.
- Adgate, JL, BD Goldstein, LM McKenzie. 2014. Critical review: Potential public health hazards, exposures and health effects from unconventional natural gas development. Environ Sci Technol, 48, 8307−8320, Online February 24, doi: 10.1021/es404621d. PMID: 24564405.
