Affiliates

Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba'are, Ph.D., M.A.

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Assistant Professor School of Nursing & Department of Public Health Sciences
Principal Investigator Behavioral, Sexual, and Global Health (BSGH) Lab
Chair and Principal Investigator Community Capital Alliance for Recovery Research (CCARR)
Affiliate Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University School of Public Health

Dr.  Abu-Ba’are is an expert in the role of place, behavioral factors, and intersectional stigma on HIV and sexual health outcomes. He develops and refines interventions to reduce intersectional stigma and optimize behavioral and sexual health outcomes among HIV high-risk populations in socially-vulnerable communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Europe, and the United States.

Nana Bennett, M.D., M.S.

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Professor Department of Medicine & Department of Public Health Sciences

Nancy M. Bennett, MD, MS, is a Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Bennett is the founder and Director of the Center for Community Health & Prevention and Co-Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Bennett chaired the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices from 2015-2018. She has directed numerous studies and community interventions funded by the NIH, CDC, NYSDOH, and national and regional foundations related to the prevention of communicable and chronic disease. Dr. Bennett served for 17 years as the Deputy Director of the Monroe County Department of Public Health, and founded the Center for Community Health & Prevention in 2006. Dr. Bennett is a graduate of New York University School of Medicine and did her residency and Chief Residency at Bellevue Hospital in NYC. During her fellowship in general medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, she earned a Master's Degree in Epidemiology. She is an author of more than 100 publications.

Karen Berger, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor of Instruction Earth and Environmental Sciences
Coordinator College Sustainability Studies

Dr. Berger’s teaching interests lie in the human use of and impacts on energy and water resources, community-engaged learning and metrics of sustainability.

Kara Bren, Ph.D.
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Professor and Chair Department of Chemistry

Professor Bren's research interests lie in the fields of bioinorganic and biophysical chemistry. The Bren group has developed new methods for engineering and characterizing metalloproteins in the cytochrome c family, contributing to our understanding of how protein structure dictates protein dynamics and function. In ongoing work, we are employing a range of spectroscopic techniques to understand how the three-dimensional structure of metalloproteins influences their electronic structure and reactivity.

Deborah Cory-Slechta, Ph.D.
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Cory-Slechta Lab

Professor Department of Environmental Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Department of Public Health Sciences, & Department of Pediatrics

Dr. Cory-Slechta’s laboratory focuses on understanding the contribution of environmental chemical exposures to human diseases and disorders of the central nervous system in order to evaluate human health risks, determine effective strategies for treatment, and inform regulatory agencies. These studies include both animal models and human populations with the goal of using human studies to further inform animal models and animal model findings to refine human or population study approaches. We continue to emphasize the significance of context in animal model studies, examining interactions of chemicals with other human environmentally relevant chemical or non-chemical stressors that share biological substrates. The goal of these efforts is to advance animal models towards more realistic simulations of the human environment.

Daniel Croft, M.D., M.P.H.
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Assistant Professor Department of Medicine & Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care
Patient Care Settings Hospital Medicine, Pulmonary

Dr. Croft’s research interest lies in the health effects of air pollution, with a current focus on the contribution of air pollution to individuals suffering from respiratory viral infections.

Randal Curren, Ph.D.
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Professor of Philosophy

I am an ethicist who works across the boundaries of moral, political, legal, environmental, and educational philosophy, often in ways grounded in my scholarship in ancient Greek philosophy and often collaboratively with colleagues in other disciplines, including law, history, sociology, psychology, psychometrics, and geology. Moral psychological constructs that are important to the fabric of society have long been at or near the center of my interests: well-being, responsibility, negligence (as a legal construct and basis of liability), virtues, rational self-determination, and forms of impaired agency such as weakness of will and states of denial. My 2000 book, Aristotle on the Necessity of Public Education, was a unitary interpretation of Aristotle’s Politics and Nicomachean Ethics, but substantively very much about responsibility and the relationships between education and law. My 2017 book, Living Well Now and in the Future: Why Sustainability Matters, advances a conception of human flourishing or living well that can ground a eudaimonic theory of justice and support a conceptualization of what it would mean to preserve opportunities to live well across generations.

Mike Daley, Ph.D.
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Research & Scholarly Activity

Associate Professor and Director Center for Professional Development and Education Reform

Michael Daley is an environmental scientist with a passion for science education. Over the past 20 years, he has conducted research and taught in a wide variety of settings. His research has taken him into the forests and fields of the Northeastern United States to study the impacts of global changes on ecosystems. Daley has taught students as an outdoor educator, a middle school science teacher, and a college professor. In addition to traditional science courses, he teaches multidisciplinary courses, courses on science education, and online teaching courses. His field research has been published in journals, including Tree Physiology, International Journal of Plant Sciences, Ecological Modeling, and Canadian Journal of Forest Research. Daley’s work on teaching and learning science in higher education has been presented at the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, the New England Educational Assessment Fall Forum, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Conference, and the National Science Teachers Association Conference.

Lisa A. DeLouise, Ph.D., M.P.D.
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DeLouise Lab

Associate Professor  Department of Dermatology, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Dr. Delouise’s research interests lie in understanding the toxicological and biochemical properties of nanomaterial interactions with skin and the immune system; developing in vivo models to investigate nanoparticle skin penetration mechanisms, and developing novel biosensors to improve transdermal drug delivery and tissue engineering approaches.

E. Ray Dorsey, M.D., M.B.A.
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Dorsey Lab                                                                                                          

Professor  Department of Neurology & Center for Health and Technology
Patient Care Setting Neurology

Dr. Dorsey is the David M. Levy Professor of Neurology at the University of Rochester. He is working to identify and eliminate the root causes of Parkinson's disease.

Kristin Doughty, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor Department of Anthropology

Dr. Doughty’s research considers environmental and political/legal anthropology. She conducts ethnographic work in Rwanda and the United States on questions including energy transitions, the impacts of mass incarceration, and justice.

Alison Elder, Ph.D.
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Elder Lab
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Co-Director Toxicology Training Program 
Associate Professor Department of Environmental Medicine 

Dr. Elder’s laboratory has focused for several years on the toxicology of inhaled ultrafine particles (UFPs), the most numerous size fraction of particulate air pollution. Interests include the impacts of age, gaseous co-pollutant exposure, and health status on the response(s) to inhaled UFPs. We are also interested in determining the basis for potential adverse effects of inhaled particles in the cardiovascular and central nervous systems.

Jacob N. Finkelstein, Ph.D.
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Professor Emeritus Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology

Dr. Finkelstein’s research interests lie in delineating the role of alveolar epithelium in modulating the pulmonary injury response to physiological and toxicological stimuli, including oxidant induced signaling in the pulmonary epithelium and macrophages, and epithelial production of mediators that regulate inflammatory functions of macrophages.

Dragony Fu, Ph.D.
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Biology Fu Lab

Associate Professor and Director Graduate Affairs & Admissions in Biology

Dr. Fu’s research interests lie in the modification of nucleic acid and repair mechanisms linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, mitochondrial diseases, and cancer.

Steve Georas, M.D.
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Georas Lab
Program for Advanced Immune Bioimaging

Walter & Carmina Mary Parkes Family Distinguished Professorship Department of Medicine, Pulmonary
Professor Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care, & Department of Environmental Medicine
Patient Care Setting Pulmonary

Dr. Georas’ research interests lie in defining molecular mechanisms for respiratory-virus induced epithelial barrier dysfunction; exploring the use of oscillometry in the diagnosis and management of airways disorders; and determining how race neutral PFT interpretation strategies impact the utility of spirometry.

Sue Groth, Ph.D., WHNP-BC, FAANP
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Professor School of Nursing

Sue Groth centers her research on the study of obesity and the behavioral, genetic, and environmental factors that contribute to this complex disease and the sequelae of this disease. Specifically, Groth is interested in weight gain among pregnant women and the long-term effects of that weight on both mothers and their children.

The overarching goal of Groth’s research has always been to improve the health of women, with a focus on obesity from both behavioral and biological perspectives. An important component of her research over the past few years is the interplay of behavioral and biological influencers on development of cardiometabolic risk after pregnancy. An expansion of this is a study of the impact of pregnancy and postpartum phthalate exposure on maternal cardiometabolic health.

Her research has been funded by national organizations such as the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Groth’s work is informed by her 25-year career as a women’s health care practitioner, primarily caring for low-income underserved women and adolescents.

Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H.
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Halterman Lab

Dr. Elizabeth R. McAnarney Professor in Pediatrics Funded by Roger & Carolyn Friedlander
Professor & Interim Chair  Department of Pediatrics 
Patient Care Setting Pediatrics

Dr. Halterman's primary research interest is to improve the delivery of preventive care for underserved children with asthma. Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood. While national guidelines recommend daily preventive medications for all children with persistent asthma, studies indicate that many children in the U.S. who should receive these medications are not receiving them. Although young urban children suffer the largest burden from asthma, they are the least likely group to receive adequate preventive care. Thus, there is a substantial amount of suffering that could be prevented with improvements in care. The goal of the Preventive Care Program for Urban Children with Asthma is to develop and test sustainable models for identifying and treating children and adolescents with this all-too-common disease.

Elaine Hill, Ph.D.
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Health and Environmental Economics Lab (HEEL)

Associate Professor Department of Public Health Sciences, Department of Economics & Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

As an applied microeconomist, Dr. Hill's primary research interests are in health economics and environmental economics. In particular, her research focuses on the intersection between health, health policy, the environment and human capital formation. The unifying theme within these broad areas is the use of quasi-experimental designs to identify modifiable factors that are policy relevant. Her research also primarily studies vulnerable populations (e.g., pregnant women, children, rural populations, and older adults).

Philip Hopke, Ph.D.
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Co-Editor-in-Chief, Science of the Total Environment
Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Clarkson University
Adjunct Professor Department of Public Health Sciences

Dr. Hopke’s research interest lie on multivariate statistical methods for data analysis; Chemical characterization of ambient aerosol samples; Emissions and properties of solid biomass combustion systems; Characterization of source/receptor relationships for ambient air pollutants; Experimental studies of homogeneous, heterogeneous, and ion-induced nucleation; Indoor air quality; Exposure and risk assessment.

Mohammed (Ehsan) Hoque, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor Department of Computer Science

Dr. Hoque’s research program aims to use techniques from artificial intelligence to amplify human ability. He models and captures the dynamics of human behavior and their relationships using machine learning, computer vision, and network sciences, and designs interactive systems to promote equality and access in health care and education.

Kirsi M. Järvinen-Seppo, M.D., Ph.D.
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Järvinen-Seppo Lab

Professor and Chief Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics
Professor Department of Medicine & Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Dr. Järvinen-Seppo’s research interests lie in early development of immune system and allergic diseases, farming lifestyle, and human milk composition.

Sandra Jee, M.D., M.P.H.
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Co-Director Finger Lakes Children’s Environmental Health Center
Part-Time Faculty Appointments Department of Pediatrics & Center for Community Health and Prevention
Patient Care Setting Pediatrics

Dr. Jee's primary areas of inquiry relate to health disparities for underserved children. Her work has focused on psychosocial issues for children, health needs for children in foster care, and the intersection between primary pediatrics and mental health care.

Todd A. Jusko, Ph.D.
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Visit the Rochester Environment and Child Health (REACH) Laboratory Website

Associate Professor Department of Public Health Sciences, Department of Pediatrics, & Department of Environmental Medicine

As an environmental epidemiologist, Dr. Jusko's research interests concern the environmental causes of human disease. Within this broad area, Dr. Jusko's research primarily focuses on how environmental chemicals contribute to adverse immunological development over the entire lifespan. He is interested in the immune system as both a disease outcome (e.g., asthma, lowered vaccine response, development of autoimmunity), and as a mechanism of susceptibility for other disease outcomes, such as neurobehavioral development.

Katrina Korfmacher, Ph.D.
Director of Engagement for the IHHE
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Director Community Engagement Core
Professor Department of Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences & Center for Community Health and Prevention

As a policy scientist, most of my research has addressed the role of science in the policy process. I focus on the role of community groups in the policy process, and particularly on how these groups generate, access, and use information.

My community engagement work helps translate environmental health research into systems change at the local, state, and federal levels. For example, childhood lead poisoning remains one of the most significant childhood environmental health risks in the Rochester area. I have been an active member of the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning since 2001, serving on its Governmental Relations Subcommittee and Executive Committee. Through the Rochester Healthy Homes Partnership, I help to develop and promote programs aimed at reducing home environmental hazards. Other environmental health outreach projects address risks from consuming Lake Ontario fish, concerns about air quality, the environmental contributors to obesity, and water quality..

B. Paige Lawrence, Ph.D.
Director of the IHHE
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Lawrence Lab
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Professor and Chair Department of Environmental Medicine
Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Dr. Lawrence’s research group studies the influence of environmental exposures on the development and function of the immune system. This research focuses on understanding how myriad environmental factors influence health by altering the immune system. The environment includes pollutants, natural products, and therapeutic agents to which we are exposed across our lifespan—singly and in combination. Her group’s investigative efforts seek to define, at the cellular and molecular level, precisely how specific environmental exposures modify the immune system, and leverage this information to reduce the burden of disease. To do this, they integrate many approaches, including genetic and immunological tools, pharmacological and biochemical modifiers of cellular processes, gene-specific and genome-wide analyses, and state-of-the-art multiple parametric flow cytometry.

Augusto A. Litonjua, M.D., M.P.H.
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Professor Department of Pediatrics, Pulmonology, & Department of Medicine
Patient Care Settings Hospital Medicine, Pediatrics

Dr. Litonjua’s research interest lies in investigating factors that both increase and decrease the risk of developing asthma, wheezing, and allergic disorders in childhood.

Tanzy Love, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor Biostatistics & Computational Biology

Dr. Loves’ research Interests lie in finding hidden groups and their meanings; latent variable modeling; methods and techniques for Bayesian solutions.

April Luehmann, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor Warner School of Education

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Ania K. Majewska, Ph.D.
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Majewska Lab

Dean's Professorship Department of Neuroscience
Professor Department of Neuroscience & Center for Visual Science A&S

Dr. Majewska’s research interests lie in glia-neuron interactions during synaptic plasticity in health and disease.

Thomas Mariani, Ph.D.
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Mariani Lab                                                                                                                                 

David H. Smith Professor in Pediatrics
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology, Department of Environmental Medicine, Department of Biomedical Genetics

Dr. Mariani’s research interests lie in understanding the genetic mechanisms of susceptibility to congenital and infectious lung diseases, focusing on developmental antecedents and the influence of environmental factors.

Dina G. Markowitz, Ph.D.
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Director Life Sciences Learning Center
Professor Department of Environmental Medicine & Center for Community Health and Prevention

As Director of the University of Rochester's Life Sciences Learning Center (LSLC), I am responsible for developing and coordinating a wide variety of science education and outreach programs for students (elementary through high school), teachers, and the general community. LSLC programs emphasize hands-on and minds-on learning to boost science literacy and increase enthusiasm towards learning science. These programs include school-based programs and educational materials, community-based programs, and science teacher workshops.

Research Interest: 
Developing and coordinating a wide variety of science education and outreach programs for students (elementary through high school), teachers, and the general community.

Camille A. Martina, Ph.D.
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Research Associate Professor (Part-Time) Department of Environmental Medicine & Department of Public Health Sciences

Dr. Martina’s research interests lie in Environmental Medicine and Medical Ecology; Public Health implications of endocrine disrupting compounds such as Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, social determinates of academic success, and program evaluation. 

Margot Mayer-Pröschel, Ph.D.
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Mayer-Pröschel Lab

Professor  Department of Biomedical Genetics & Department of Neuroscience 

Dr. Mayer-Pröschel’s research interest lies in the identification of different stem and precursor cell pools in the Central Nervous System that may be critical for cell replacement therapies or are targets of insults that lead to developmental pathologies.

Matthew McCall, Ph.D.
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McCall Lab

Associate Professor Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology & Department of Biomedical Genetics 

Dr. McCall is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Director of the Statistics PhD program, and Co-director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource. His lab takes a collaborative multidisciplinary approach to quantitative research in genomics, cellular imaging, and systems biology with a focus on applications in cancer and environmental health. They are currently developing methods to analyze microRNA sequencing data, to estimate gene regulatory networks from gene perturbation experiments, to preprocess and analyze cellular imaging data, and to examine the effect of cellular composition on tissue-level gene expression.

James L. McGrath, Ph.D.
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McGrath Lab

Professor Biomedical Engineering

Dr. McGrath’s research interests lie in the application of nanomembrane technologies to the detection of environmental pollutants and the assessment of their impact on human health.

Matthew McGraw, M.D.
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McGraw Lab

George Washington Goler Chair in Pediatrics
Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics
Patient Care Settings Hospital Medicine, Pediatrics

Dr. McGraw’s Research interest lies in epithelial injury and abnormal repair in pediatric and adult lung disease.

Scott McIntosh, Ph.D.
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Nicotine and Tobacco Research Core

Professor Department of Public Health Sciences , Center for Community Health and Prevention, Department of Dentistry, Department of Orthopaedics, & Cancer Center

Dr. McIntosh’s research interests lie in smoking cessation in special populations, technology/web assisted risk behavior intervention and dissemination of effective interventions to physician practices.

Molly McNulty, J.D.
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Assistant Professor Department of Public Health & Multidisciplinary Studies Center

Dr. McNulty is interested in the role of law and the policymaking process in health policy, focusing on health equity for the poor and underserved, with particular emphasis on maternal, child and adolescent health. She is also interested in innovative teaching methods, including community-engaged pedagogy.

Sarah Merritt, M.S.
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Rural Community Outreach Coordinator Wilmot Cancer Institute

Patrick J. Murphy, Ph.D.
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Patrick Murphy Lab

Assistant Professor  Department of Biomedical Genetics & Department of Biology

Dr. Murphy’s research interest lies in the genetics, genomics, and chromatin biochemistry of cell state transitions that occur during embryonic development and carcinogenesis.

Lee Murray, Ph.D.
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Visit the University of Rochester Atmospheric Chemistry & Climate Group

Associate Professor Earth and Environmental Health Sciences

Particular research focus to date has been to understand the factors that control the atmosphere’s ability to self-cleanse itself of the various air pollutants and reactive greenhouse gases injected into it by human activity and nature. Recent example topics include: (1) Exploring the potential for chemical feedbacks on major historical climate transitions such as Ice Age cycles; (2) Quantifying the impact of fugitive emissions from the recent rise in hydraulic fracturing on downwind air quality; and (3) Examining whether lightning will amplify or mitigate the impact of anthropogenic global warming in the coming century through its production of reactive nitrogen oxides and  their subsequent impacts on Earth’s radiative balance.

Nicholas Erick Nacca, M.D.
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Assistant Professor Department of Emergency Medicine & Department of Environmental Medicine
Patient Care Settings Emergency Medicine & Hospital Medicine

Dr. Nacca was born in Rochester, NY. He completed his undergraduate work at University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. He completed medical school, Emergency Medicine residency training, and Medical Toxicology fellowship at SUNY Upstate Medical University and the Upstate Poison Control Center. He currently works as an Emergency Physician and Medical Toxicologist at University of Rochester Medical Center where he serves as the Director of Medical Toxicology. The Medical Toxicology consult service at URMC provides 24/7 call coverage for Strong Memorial Hospital and affiliates, fielding both inpatient and outpatient consultations for management of both intentional and unintentional ingestions, overdoses, and environmental exposures. Dr. Nacca’s focus is on Medical Toxicology and Emergency Medicine education, with interest in novel psychoactive substances and adulterated drugs of abuse.

Patricia Noonan-Sullivan
Administrative Director for the IHHE

M. Kerry O'Banion, M.D., Ph.D.
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O'Banion-Olschowka Lab

Professor Department of Neuroscience
Director Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)

Twenty years ago, evidence from epidemiological studies and investigations of human brain pathology suggested the hypothesis that innate immune activation of the brain, a term now referred to as neuroinflammation, might contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. Based on our pioneering work in the area of cyclooxygenase-2 and inflammation, we initiated a research program that focuses on understanding the role of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Studies conducted in the laboratory with human brain tissue, neuronal cell culture models and mouse models of acute injury and neurodegeneration have pointed to a prominent role for specific proinflammatory cytokines and bioactive prostaglandins in promoting neuroinflammation.

Thomas G. O'Connor, Ph.D.
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Wynne Center for Family Research

Wynne Distinguished Professor Department of Psychiatry
Professor Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience & Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology 

Dr. O’Connor’s research interests lie in the mechanisms by which early stress exposures, including prenatal maternal anxiety and caregiving stress, may persistently shape children's behavioral and biological health.

Michael A. O'Reilly, Ph.D.
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O'Reilly Lab

Professor Department of Pediatrics & Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. O’Reilly’s expertise is in the disciplines of lung development and oxidative stress. The primary focus of his research is to understand how premature birth and subsequent oxygen therapy reshapes postnatal lung development, thus influencing how the lung responds to viral infections and develops hypertension later in life.

Günter Oberdörster, D.V.M., Ph.D.
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Professor Emeritus Environmental Medicine

Dr. Oberdörster’s research interests lie in biokinetics, effects and mechanisms of inhaled micro- and nano-particles: dosimetry, risk extrapolation and risk assessment.

Deborah J. Ossip, Ph.D.
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Professor Department of Public Health Sciences & Center for Community Health and Prevention 

Dr. Ossip’s research interests lie in behavioral medicine and outcomes management including tobacco use and smoking interventions, obesity prevention and exercise.

Hae-Ryung Park, Ph.D.
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Park Lab

Assistant Professor Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. Park’s research interests lie in identifying new targets susceptible to environmental perturbation in relevance with neurodevelopment or neurodegenerative diseases by utilizing functional genetics/genomics (RNAi and CRISPR screens and Next-Generation sequencing), and molecular benchwork, discovering the link between genetic polymorphism of the targets and neurological diseases, exploring novel roles of extracellular vesicles (EV) in receptor signaling and cell communication, identify EV-encapsulated biomolecules released by the placenta in response to environmental perturbation, and exploring the roles of placenta-derived EVs on neurodevelopment or neurodegeneration.

Vasilii Petrenko, Ph.D.
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Ice Core and Atmospheric Chemistry Lab

Associate Professor & Graduate Studies Director Earth and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Petrenko’s research interest lies in understanding natural and anthropogenic climate and environmental change, particularly from the perspective of atmospheric composition and chemistry.

Gloria S. Pryhuber, M.D.
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Pryhuber Lab

Professor Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology & Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. Pryhuber’s research interest lies in delineating multifactorial causes of respiratory morbidity in infants and young children, including environmental exposures on lung development, microbial infection and dysbiosis, and pulmonary immune responses; levering unique human lung and immune cell repositories that support the in vitro study of mechanisms of toxicity of environmental agents.

Irfan Rahman, Ph.D.
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Irfan Rahman Lab
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Dean's Professorship Department of Environmental Medicine
Professor Department of Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, & Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care

Dr. Irfan Rahman is a leader in the field of environmental and tobacco-related lung diseases. His lab studies the cellular senescence process involved in lung aging with emphasis on lung mapping in the pathogenesis of COPD and ILDs (IPF) by environmental agents. Another focus is on e-cigarette toxicology and human health in regulatory science. Currently, there is a lack of understanding on climate change, lifestyle, and seasonal temperature gradient on lung health, which is another focus of environmental intervention research.

Matthew D. Rand, Ph.D. 
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Rand Lab

Associate Professor Department of Environmental Medicine
Co-Director Toxicology Training Program 

Dr. Rand’s research interests lie in studying the mechanisms of toxicity of the environmental contaminant and neurotoxicant methylmercury (MeHg), defining MeHg effects on early life development of neural and muscular systems at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels using invertebrate and mammalian models, and detailing characterization of MeHg metabolism and elimination kinetics in humans.

David Rich, Sc.D., M.P.H.
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Rich Lab

Professor Department of Public Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care, & Department of Environmental Medicine 

Dr. Rich’s research interests lie in Environmental, Cardiovascular, and Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology: Examining associations between air pollution and cardiopulmonary and pregnancy outcomes, examining mechanisms of such cardiopulmonary and pregnancy responses, and developing spatial-temporal models of air pollution to enable field studies of these biomarkers and clinical outcomes associated with residential air pollution exposure.

Jacques Robert, Ph.D.
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Robert Lab

Professor & Chair Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Professor Department of Environmental Medicine
Director Xenopus laevis Research Resource for Immunobiology
Director BS/MS IMV Graduate Program

Dr. Robert’s research interest lies in studying experimental platforms using the amphibian Xenopus for research in immunotoxicology, fundamental and medical immunology.

Lewis Rothberg, Ph.D.
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Rothberg Lab

Souvarish Sarkar, Ph.D.
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EnviGene Lab

Assistant Professor  Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. Sarkar’s expertise are in the disciplines of neuroscience and toxicology. Studying whether chemicals (e.g., occupational hazards, pesticides and metals) affect the way the brain functions in human health and disease is the primary area of his research.

Stanley Schaffer, M.D.
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Professor (Part-Time) Department of Pediatrics
Professor Center for Community Health and Prevention

Dr. Schaffer is a primary care pediatrician who enjoys following children as they grow from infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood. He has been privileged to have interacted with some families for many years, having been a part of their lives over multiple generations. Dr. Schaffer likes forging close relationships with his patients which endure as they grow and develop. Dr. Schaffer is also a nationally-known expert about lead poisoning, and he heads the Rochester office of the Western New York Lead Poisoning Resource Center, which coordinates treatment for children with significant lead poisoning and works closely with county health departments, clinicians, community groups and others in our area to help identify children with lead poisoning, educate the public about this preventable condition, aid clinicians in the medical management of children with elevated blood lead levels and assist families who are forced to deal with the adverse effects of lead poisoning.

Kristin Scheible, M.D.
Co-director of Research for the IHHE
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Scheible Lab

Associate Professor  Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology & Department of Microbiology and Immunology 
Patient Care Setting Pediatrics

Dr.Scheible’s lab is interested in understanding the specific ways in which premature birth disrupts normal T cell development, and the impact of abnormal T cell development on a premature infant's clinical outcomes. Our lab primarily uses high parameter flow cytometric and high-throughput sequencing approaches to interrogate T cell receptor, cytokine signaling and functional differences that are intrinsic to T cells in various stages of fetal development. We work closely with investigators in Neonatology, Obstetrics, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Immunology, Genetics, Biostatistics and Computational Biology to understand in vitro T cell behavior in the context of longitudinal, translational human studies, including the Prematurity and Respiratory Outcomes Program and Respiratory Pathogens Research Center.

Marissa E Sobolewski-Terry, Ph.D.
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Sobolewski Lab

Assistant Professor Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. Sobolewski's lab focuses on sex-differentiated mechanisms of neurotoxicity. The perinatal endocrine environment of a developing mammal differs depending on sex. These sex-specific hormone profiles may result in unique sensitivity to endocrine active chemicals (EACs). We test the hypothesis that environmental disruption of perinatal hormone profiles results in lasting sex-specific changes to brain development and behavior. The goal is to advance our understanding of differential toxicity risk based on sex. Ultimately, our lab seeks to translate our mechanistic research into a deep understanding of the role the environment plays in the etiology of neurobehavioral disorders with sex-biased prevalence rates, such as Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Martha Susiarjo, Ph.D.
Co-director of Research for the IHHE
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Susiarjo Lab
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Associate Professor Department of Environmental Medicine

Our research program focuses on mechanisms underlying gene environment interaction in pregnancy. We are interested in elucidating how environmental factors influence epigenetic regulation of developmental-relevant genes including imprinted genes, and how exposure modulates maternal-fetal health.

Juilee Thakar, Ph.D.
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Thakar Lab

Associate Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology  & Department of Biomedical Genetics

The Thakar lab uses systems biology approaches to identify immune signatures that can predict outcomes of an immune response to infections or vaccinations. We develop computational tools to model probable trajectories of the immune response which then allows us to identify parameters that can predict future outcomes of the disease. This has direct implications in early diagnosis. The models also reveal the mechanisms of pathogenesis. This work is based on multi-parameter datasets including gene expression, serum cytokine levels and known information about signaling and metabolic pathways.

Sally Thurston, Ph.D.
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Professor Department of Biostatistics & Department of Environmental Medicine

Much of my statistical research is motivated by problems arising in environmental and occupational health. Research interests include Bayesian inference, modeling multiple outcomes, correction for measurement error bias, informative prior specification, latent variable models, hierarchical models, and environmental health applications.

I collaborate with many investigators in the Department of Environmental Medicine and direct the Biostatistics Core of Rochester’s Environmental Health Sciences Center. One of my major collaborations is with the Seychelles Child Development Study, which examines the associations between prenatal and postnatal mercury exposure from maternal fish consumption and multiple outcomes in childhood and adolescence. Other major collaborations examine associations between air pollution and health outcomes in Beijing, China and Rochester, NY, and associations between endocrine disrupting chemicals and gender-specific outcomes in pregnant women and children. I am the Principal Investigator for our Department’s T32 grant Training in Environmental Health Biostatistics”. I am also the Department's Diversity and Inclusion officer. 

Edwin van Wijngaarden, Ph.D., M.S.
Director of Career Development and Education for the IHHE
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Seychelles Child Development Study Lab

Professor and Associate Chair Department of Public Health Sciences 
Professor Department of Environmental Medicine , Department of Dentistry, Department of Environmental Medicine, Center for Community Health and Prevention, & Department of Pediatrics

Dr. van Wijngaarden's research focuses on the influence of environmental exposures on cognitive outcomes in children and adults. He leads the Seychelles Child Development Study (SCDS) which for over 30 years has investigated the impact of pre- and postnatal methylmercury exposure on child development.

Paula Vertino, Ph.D.
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Associate Director for Basic and Translational Research Wilmot Cancer Institute
Senior Associate Dean, Basic Research Dean's Office M&D – Administration
Professor Department of Biomedical Genetics & Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Dr. Vertino's research interests are focused on the areas of cancer epigenetics and novel mechanisms of gene silencing in cancer.

Gene Watson, D.D.S., Ph.D.
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Eastman Institute for Oral Health

Professor Department of Dentistry, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, & Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. Watson, who has been with the Faculty Practice for more than 20 years, performs research in dry mouth, cavities, and the positive and negative effects of dental drugs. He has published and lectured nationally and internationally, and has served as a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs. In addition to dentistry, Dr. Watson is jointly appointed in the Department of Environmental Medicine and the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Karen M. Wilson, M.D., M.P.H.
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Professor Department of Pediatrics 
Patient Care Setting Pediatrics

Dr. Wilson has more than 20 years of experience researching the impact of secondhand tobacco smoke exposure on children, tobacco smoke exposure in multi-unit housing, and how to help parents quit smoking. More recently, she has developed a research program in secondhand marijuana smoke exposure, and has called attention to concerns over children’s exposure with increased legalization. Dr. Wilson has been funded by the National Cancer Institute to study an inpatient parent smoking cessation intervention, and to develop inpatient tobacco use screening and referral tools. She has worked closely with other pediatricians and policy makers to translate her research into public policy, especially in the area of tobacco smoke incursions in multi-unit housing. Dr. Wilson is also committed to supporting the next generation of researchers through mentorship and coaching.

Collynn Woeller, Ph.D.
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Woeller Lab
Flaum Eye Institute Ophthalmology

Assistant Professor  Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Environmental Medicine & Center for Visual Sciences A&S

Dr. Woeller's current research interest is understanding the key molecular and cellular pathways involved in eye disease, with a particular focus on Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). TED is a degenerative autoimmune response that results in the formation of unwanted tissue behind the eye. This extra tissue causes pain, cosmetic disfigurement, eyelid retraction, double vision, vision loss and, in severe cases, even blindness. Woeller and his collaborators have already discovered and patented promising new therapies that may arrest this process and could be used in treating diseases that manifest with excessive scar formation and/or excessive fat tissue, like TED. Woeller also has interests related to other vision disorders and the effect of environmental exposures (like airborne contaminants) on the eyes.

Jing Wu, Ph.D.
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Assistant Professor Department of Medicine , Nephrology & Department of Pharmacology and Physiology

I am interested in mechanisms regulating redox balance and inflammation in renal-cardiovascular health and disease. Specifically, research in my laboratory emphasizes adaptive immunity, vascular-immune interface, gene-environmental interactions, and hemodynamics in the pathogenesis of hypertension and chronic kidney disease. The long-term research objectives are to understand the nature of autoregulation in the kidney, the ability of the renal circulation to regulate electrolyte transport, and the vulnerability of these processes to genetic variations, inflammation, and environmental toxins.

Active projects addressing IHHE priorities: Role of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease.

Jeffrey Wyatt, D.V.M, M.P.H.
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Professor & Chair Department of Comparative Medicine
Professor  Department of Environmental Medicine

Dr. Wyatt’s research employs lake sturgeon as bioindicators and biomonitors of the Rochester Embayment EPA Area of Concern for persistent chemical contamination.  Given these forever chemicals (PCBs, dioxins/furans, mercury, cadmium & mirex) pose cancer, neurotoxic and endocrine disruption risks to local fish consumers, his environmental justice research identifies risk factors and culturally relevant outreach platforms for subsistence anglers from Rochester’s refugee community.