Highlights

Joining Forces With Communities to Address Environmental Health Disparities

August 14, 2023

For as long as she can remember, Denae King, Ph.D., has been concerned about environmental health. Growing up in Houston, she had a front-row seat to industrial pollution and its effects on people’s well-being, such as a car-crushing facility across the street from her grandparents’ home and the petrochemical company where her grandfather worked before his death.

Pilot Projects Promote Health in Native American Communities

July 24, 2023

The Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research has begun its 2023-2024 pilot projects. The one-year awards support diverse early-career investigators who aim to address disproportionate exposures to toxic substances found in New Mexico’s Indigenous communities. Through this initiative, the center aims to develop strategies to reduce health disparities in Native American communities.

MADRES Center Documents Latina Mother’s Environmental Health Concerns

April 07, 2023

To advance public health, researchers and health practitioners must understand the lived experiences of the communities they serve, according to a study by the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities in partnership with Latina mothers in Los Angeles County, California.

Geospatial and Community-based Approach Investigates Potential Exposures from Fires at Waste Disposal Sites

February 27, 2023

Researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Center for Native Environmental Health Equity Research study how unregulated waste disposal and burning of waste diminishes Indigenous health. By combining remote sensing, geospatial modeling, and community-engaged participatory research practices, the team aims to understand the scope, extent, and intensity of community exposure to environmental chemicals from solid waste burning.

MADRES Pilot Projects Promote Environmental Health and Representation

February 23, 2023

The Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities is beginning their 2023 pilot projects. Through this initiative, the center hopes to advance environmental health disparities research while also increasing representation of members of affected groups in scientific and community-based research.

MIEHR Pilot Projects Support Young Investigators, Improve Health Disparity

December 16, 2022

The Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape (MIEHR) Research Center is beginning their 2022-2023 pilot projects. Early-career investigators will conduct research related to environmental health disparities among mothers and their children.

Johnnye Lewis, Ph.D. – Tribal Environmental Health Strengthened by Lewis and Team

November 15, 2022

For nearly three decades, Johnnye Lewis, Ph.D., has advanced Native American health by combining basic research, population-level studies, clear science communication, and robust partnerships with tribes. Lewis co-directs the Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research, along with Joseph Hoover, Ph.D., and Debra Mackenzie, Ph.D.

Rima Habre, Sc.D. — Creating More Precise Exposure Profiles

November 07, 2022

As an investigator with the University of Southern California (USC) Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities, Rima Habre, Sc.D., wants to learn exactly what pollutants are in the air, their quantities, and whether exposures to such contaminants can be linked to health effects.

Tracy Bastain Discusses Contribution of MADRES With California-Based Publication

October 20, 2022

Tracy Bastain, Ph.D., co-director of the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities at the University of Southern California, was quoted in an article on the effects of prolonged exposure to environmental chemicals on maternal, fetal, and pediatric health.

Melissa Gonzalez and Joseph Hoover Present at PEPH Webinar

September 06, 2022

Melissa Gonzalez, Ph.D., and Joseph Hoover, Ph.D., project leaders at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research, presented at the Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) Plastic and Human Health webinar. Their work with the center focuses on engaging tribal communities to assess exposure to environmental pollutants.

Habre Talks Air Pollution and Children’s Health

September 06, 2022

Rima Habre, Sc.D., of the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center was interviewed for the PBS documentary “Something in the Air,” which is about air pollution and its effects on children’s health.

Diet May Play a Role in Development of Pregnancy Complications Among Hispanic Women

May 06, 2022

Diet may play a role in the development of dangerous high blood pressure disorders in late pregnancy among Hispanic women, according to research at the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities.

Climate Change Can Worsen Health in Underserved Communities

May 06, 2022

Climate change and related weather disasters are ongoing threats to health equity in underprivileged communities, said Robert Bullard, Ph.D., during the fourth installment of the NIH Climate Change and Health Seminar Series. Bullard co-directs the Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine.

Gary Adamkiewicz, Ph.D. – Using Housing As an Opportunity to Improve Health

May 06, 2022

Gary Adamkiewicz, Ph.D., who directed one of the projects for the Center for Research on Environmental and Social Stressors in Housing Across the Life Course (CRESSH) works with community groups in Massachusetts to reduce housing-related exposures disparities.

Joseph Hoover, Ph.D. – Working With Tribal Communities to Understand Environmental Health Risks

March 15, 2022

Joseph Hoover, Ph.D., of the University of New Mexico Center for Native American Environmental Health Equity Research, uses modeling tools to help address tribal communities’ concerns about exposure to contaminants from abandoned mines and other potentially toxic sites.

Rural Health Disparities Influenced by Structural Factors, Experts Say

January 31, 2022

Access to safe drinking water is not universal across the U.S., said Paloma Beamer, Ph.D., during a talk on exposure to environmental contaminants in minority and rural populations.

Air Pollution Exposure During Pregnancy Is Linked With Greater Risk of Depression Among Latinas

January 31, 2022

Low-income Hispanic women who are exposed to high levels of air pollution during mid-pregnancy may be at greater risk of depression one year postpartum, according to researchers from the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities.

Robert Bullard Featured in New Podcast on Environmental Justice

December 21, 2021

In an NIEHS podcast, Robert Bullard, Ph.D., shares his knowledge and insights from more than 40 years as a leading voice in the environmental justice movement.

Elaine Symanski, Ph.D. – Collaborating with Communities to Address Environmental Health Disparities

December 21, 2021

Elaine Symanski, Ph.D., co-director of the Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape Research Center, works with Houston communities to understand how biological, physical, social, and built environments affect maternal and infant health.

MADRES Story Map Depicts the Overlap of COVID-19 and Environmental Stressors

August 06, 2021

The NIEHS-funded Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities has developed an interactive story map that depicts how certain Los Angeles communities are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centers of Excellence Raise Awareness of Environmental Health Disparities with Public Webinar Series

August 06, 2021

The NIH-EPA Environmental Health Disparities Research Centers of Excellence hosted a series of webinars highlighting the research, training, and community-engagement accomplishments of the centers, funded in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The webinar series was created to raise awareness of and encourage the discussion of opportunities to examine and address environmental contributions to health disparities. The webinar series, begun in February 2021, covers a range of topics from the Use of Big Data to Characterize Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Disparities to Exposure Pathways & Environmental Health Disparities. The full list of topics can be viewed online along with the slide presentations. The webinars enabled the early career investigators and community partners to highlight their work within the center program. The webinars were well attended with participants from academia, federal and state government, and community organizations. New webinars are slated for September 2021 through November 2021. The webinars are open to anyone who is interested in learning more about environmental health disparities and strategies to mitigate them. There are three presentations currently slated for September 2021 through November 2021. The webinars are open to anyone who is interested in learning more about environmental health disparities and strategies to mitigate them.