My two main goals are to improve the health of individual patients and improve the health of populations through research on air pollution and inhaled toxins.

In addition to treating patients with general pulmonary disease in my outpatient clinic at the Mary Parkes Center for Asthma, Allergy & Pulmonary Care, I have a special interest in occupational lung disease. Under expert mentorship from Dr. Mark Utell and colleagues, I have developed expertise in the diagnosis and management of disorders caused by inhaled toxins that injure people both at home and in the workplace. This includes my efforts to help patients quit smoking and other inhaled toxins.
My work in the medical intensive care unit (ICU) in the University of Rochester Medical Center involves caring for critically ill patients in the hospital.

My primary research focus is on the pulmonary health effects of air pollution. I am currently completing a NIH funded career development project focused on the contribution of air pollution to the susceptibility of individuals suffering from respiratory viral infections. I also am involved in translational research on indoor air pollution and on other inhaled toxins including electronic nicotine delivery systems (vaping).

Professional Background

I grew up in the Midwest, completing my undergraduate and medical school training at Indiana University. While in medical school I completed a Master's in Public Health in public health policy and management. After completing multiple public health policy projects in the U.S. and abroad, I started my internal medicine training at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. At Dartmouth, I started investigating improved health care delivery methods with health policy experts at The Dartmouth Institute. I then moved to Rochester in 2014 to begin my fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine. During my fellowship supported by a NIH T32 training grant, and subsequent transition to the faculty at URMC, I have continued my work as a clinician researcher studying the respiratory health effects of inhaled toxins.

Certified Specialties

Critical Care Medicine - American Board of Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine - American Board of Internal Medicine

Pulmonary Disease - American Board of Internal Medicine

Faculty Appointments

Assistant Professor - Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care (SMD)

Assistant Professor - Department of Environmental Medicine (SMD) - Joint

Connect with Daniel Croft, M.D., M.P.H.

EVALI (Vaping illness) NBC Today Show appearance

Smoking/Vaping cessation during COVID-19 Pandemic

Wildfires in NY

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center. 2014 - 2017

Residency, Internal Medicine, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. 2012 - 2014

Internship, Internal Medicine, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. 2011 - 2012

Education

MPH | Richard M Fairbanks School of Public Health. 2011

Awards

American Thoracic Society Fellow. 2023

David Bates Award for outstanding contribution to the field of Environmental, Occupational and Population Health. 2018

Abstract scholarship: Effect Modification by Differing Omega-6 and Omega-3 Ratios on Systemic Inflammation from Air Pollution. 2017

Abstract scholarship: Ambient Wood Smoke and Other Particulate Pollutants and Changes in Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation.... 2016

Fellow Teaching Award Finalist. 2015

Honors in Biology. 2006

Guidant Life Sciences Scholarship. 2006

Capstone Grant for Research. 2005

Research

My primary area of research is my K23 funded epidemiology work on the effect of air pollution on the transcriptomics of the immune response to respiratory viral infection in adults. In this broad study, we will apply multiple exposure methods including land use regression and source specific estimation to a population of patients hospitalized with viral, bacterial or combined infection.

Both the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division and the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have a long history of research in the areas of inhalation toxicology, environmental health, environmental epidemiology, and air pollution health effects. As a member of the Environmental Health Sciences Center (EHSC), I collaborate with colleagues on other projects involving the cardiopulmonary health effects of air pollution.

Within the broader inhalation toxicology world, I am also one of the investigators in the Western New York Center for Research on Flavored Tobacco Products (CRoFT), which includes research on e-cigarettes. I serve as the clinical oversight for Project 2 which, in part, focuses on the topography of E-cigarette use.

Publications

Journal Articles

Real-Life Assessment of BioFire FilmArray® Pneumonia Panel in Adults Hospitalized with Respiratory Illness.

Falsey AR, Branche AR, Croft DP, Formica MA, Peasley MR, Walsh EE

The Journal of infectious diseases.. 2023 June 27 Epub 06/27/2023.

The E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury Epidemic: Pathogenesis, Management, and Future Directions: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Rebuli ME, Rose JJ, Noël A, Croft DP, Benowitz NL, Cohen AH, Goniewicz ML, Larsen BT, Leigh N, McGraw MD, Melzer AC, Penn AL, Rahman I, Upson D, Crotty Alexander LE, Ewart G, Jaspers I, Jordt SE, Kligerman S, Loughlin CE, McConnell R, Neptune ER, Nguyen TB, Pinkerton KE, Witek TJ

Annals of the American Thoracic Society.. 2023 January 20 (1):1-17. Epub 1900 01 01.

Can Long-Term Residential Air Cleaning Reduce Cardiovascular Morbidity in COPD Patients?

Croft DP, Utell MJ, Rich DQ

American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.. 2022 December 5 Epub 12/05/2022.

Clearing Some of the Haze around E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI).

Rose JJ, Rebuli ME, Noël A, Croft DP

Annals of the American Thoracic Society.. 2022 November 19 (11):1805-1807. Epub 1900 01 01.

Reduced Plasma Phosphatidylethanolamines in E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI).

McGraw MD, Croft DP, Nacca NE, Rahman I

Pediatric pulmonology.. 2022 February 28 Epub 02/28/2022.

Gene Expression Risk Scores for COVID-19 Illness Severity.

Peterson DR, Baran AM, Bhattacharya S, Branche AR, Croft DP, Corbett AM, Walsh EE, Falsey AR, Mariani TJ

The Journal of infectious diseases.. 2021 November 30 Epub 11/30/2021.

The effect of air pollution on the transcriptomics of the immune response to respiratory infection.

Croft DP, Burton DS, Nagel DJ, Bhattacharya S, Falsey AR, Georas SN, Hopke PK, Johnston CJ, Kottmann RM, Litonjua AA, Mariani TJ, Rich DQ, Thevenet-Morrison K, Thurston SW, Utell MJ, McCall MN

Scientific reports.. 2021 September 3011 (1):19436. Epub 09/30/2021.

Weight loss in adolescents presenting with EVALI.

Nacca N, McGraw MD, Croft DP, Kalininskiy A

Pediatric pulmonology.. 2021 June 8 Epub 06/08/2021.

Acute Myocardial Infarction Associated with Unconventional Natural Gas Development:A Natural Experiment.

Denham A, Willis MD, Croft D, Liu L, Hill EL

Environmental research.. 2021 February 10 :110872. Epub 02/10/2021.

E-cigarette exposures, respiratory tract infections, and impaired innate immunity: a narrative review.

Kalininskiy A, Kittel J, Nacca NE, Misra RS, Croft DP, McGraw MD

Pediatric medicine.. 2021 February 4 Epub 02/28/2021.

Power Outage: An Ignored Risk Factor for COPD Exacerbations.

Zhang W, Sheridan SC, Birkhead GS, Croft DP, Brotzge JA, Justino JG, Stuart NA, Du Z, Romeiko XX, Ye B, Dong G, Hao Y, Lin S

Chest.. 2020 December 158 (6):2346-2357. Epub 06/02/2020.

The association between statewide vaping prevalence and COVID-19.

Li D, Croft DP, Ossip DJ, Xie Z

Preventive medicine reports.. 2020 December 20 :101254. Epub 11/25/2020.

Neurodegenerative hospital admissions and long-term exposure to ambient fine particle air pollution.

van Wijngaarden E, Rich DQ, Zhang W, Thurston SW, Lin S, Croft DP, Squizzato S, Masiol M, Hopke PK

Annals of epidemiology.. 2020 September 30 Epub 09/30/2020.

Are Vapers More Susceptible to COVID-19 Infection?

Li D, Croft DP, Ossip DJ, Xie Z

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences.. 2020 May 9 Epub 05/09/2020.

Associations between Source-Specific Particulate Matter and Respiratory Infections in New York State Adults.

Croft DP, Zhang W, Lin S, Thurston SW, Hopke PK, van Wijngaarden E, Squizzato S, Masiol M, Utell MJ, Rich DQ

Environmental science & technology.. 2020 January 2154 (2):975-984. Epub 12/18/2019.

Association of flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) use with self-reported chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Results from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, Wave 4.

Shi H, Tavárez ZQ, Xie Z, Schneller LM, Croft DP, Goniewicz ML, McIntosh S, O'Connor RJ, Ossip DJ, Rahman I, Li D

Tobacco induced diseases.. 2020 18 :82. Epub 10/01/2020.

The Interplay Between Respiratory Microbiota and Innate Immunity in Flavor E-Cigarette Vaping Induced Lung Dysfunction.

Quinones Tavarez Z, Li D, Croft DP, Gill SR, Ossip DJ, Rahman I

Frontiers in microbiology.. 2020 11 :589501. Epub 12/16/2020.

E-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI): case series and diagnostic approach.

Croft DP, McGraw MD, Navarette KA, Marraffa J, Ginsberg G, Nacca NE, Bach CT, Kalininskiy A

The Lancet. Respiratory medicine.. 2019 December 7 (12):1017-1026. Epub 11/08/2019.

Changes in the hospitalization and ED visit rates for respiratory diseases associated with source-specific PM in New York State from 2005 to 2016.

Hopke PK, Croft DP, Zhang W, Lin S, Masiol M, Squizzato S, Thurston SW, van Wijngaarden E, Utell MJ, Rich DQ

Environmental research.. 2019 November 11 :108912. Epub 11/11/2019.

Correction to: Term birth weight and ambient air pollutant concentrations during pregnancy, among women living in Monroe County, New York.

Li R, Hopke PK, Dozier A, Thurston SW, Thevenet-Morrison K, Croft D, Masiol M, Squizzato S, Chalupa D, Rich DQ

Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology.. 2019 September 10 Epub 09/10/2019.

Changes in triggering of ST-elevation myocardial infarction by particulate air pollution in Monroe County, New York over time: a case-crossover study.

Wang M, Hopke PK, Masiol M, Thurston SW, Cameron S, Ling F, van Wijngaarden, Croft D, Squizzato S, Thevenet-Morrison K, Chalupa D, Rich DQ

Environmental health : a global access science source.. 2019 September 618 (1):82. Epub 09/06/2019.

Triggering of cardiovascular hospital admissions by source specific fine particle concentrations in urban centers of New York State.

Rich DQ, Zhang W, Lin S, Squizzato S, Thurston SW, van Wijngaarden E, Croft D, Masiol M, Hopke PK

Environment international.. 2019 February 28126 :387-394. Epub 02/28/2019.

The clinical impact of pneumocystis and viral PCR testing on bronchoalveolar lavage in immunosuppressed patients.

Lachant DJ, Croft DP, McGrane Minton H, Hardy DJ, Prasad P, Kottmann RM

Respiratory medicine.. 2018 December 145 :35-40. Epub 10/22/2018.

The Association between Respiratory Infection and Air Pollution in the Setting of Air Quality Policy and Economic Change.

Croft DP, Zhang W, Lin S, Thurston SW, Hopke PK, Masiol M, Squizzato S, van Wijngaarden E, Utell MJ, Rich DQ

Annals of the American Thoracic Society.. 2018 November 6 Epub 11/06/2018.

Triggering of cardiovascular hospital admissions by fine particle concentrations in New York state: Before, during, and after implementation of multiple environmental policies and a recession.

Zhang W, Lin S, Hopke PK, Thurston SW, van Wijngaarden E, Croft D, Squizzato S, Masiol M, Rich DQ

Environmental pollution.. 2018 November 242 (Pt B):1404-1416. Epub 08/11/2018.

Daily land use regression estimated woodsmoke and traffic pollution concentrations and the triggering of ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a case-crossover study.

Rich DQ, Utell MJ, Croft DP, Thurston SW, Thevenet-Morrison K, Evans KA, Ling FS, Tian Y, Hopke PK

Air quality, atmosphere, & health.. 2018 11 (2):239-244. Epub 12/11/2017.

Do elevated blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids modify effects of particulate air pollutants on fibrinogen?

Croft D, Block R, Cameron SJ, Evans K, Lowenstein CJ, Ling F, Zareba W, Hopke PK, Utell MJ, Thurston SW, Thevenet-Morrison K, Rich DQ

Air quality, atmosphere, & health.. 2018 11 (7):791-799. Epub 06/03/2018.

Nasopharyngeal viral PCR in immunosuppressed patients and its association with virus detection in bronchoalveolar lavage by PCR.

Lachant DJ, Croft DP, McGrane Minton H, Prasad P, Kottmann RM

Respirology : official journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.. 2017 August 22 (6):1205-1211. Epub 04/05/2017.

Associations between ambient wood smoke and other particulate pollutants and biomarkers of systemic inflammation, coagulation and thrombosis in cardiac patients.

Croft DP, Cameron SJ, Morrell CN, Lowenstein CJ, Ling F, Zareba W, Hopke PK, Utell MJ, Thurston SW, Thevenet-Morrison K, Evans KA, Chalupa D, Rich DQ

Environmental research.. 2017 April 154 :352-361. Epub 02/04/2017.

Daily land use regression estimated wood smoke and traffic pollution concentrations and the triggering of ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a case-crossover study.

Rich DQ, Utell MJ, Croft DP, Thurston S, Thevenet-Morrison K, Evans KA, Ling FS, Tian Y, Hopke PK.

Air Quality Environment and Health. 2017; : 1-6.

A case of Lemierre's syndrome with septic shock and complicated parapneumonic effusions requiring intrapleural fibrinolysis.

Croft DP, Philippo SM, Prasad P

Respiratory medicine case reports.. 2015 16 :86-8. Epub 08/24/2015.

Perspective: is it time for advocacy training in medical education?

Croft D, Jay SJ, Meslin EM, Gaffney MM, Odell JD

Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.. 2012 September 87 (9):1165-70. Epub 1900 01 01.