Environmental Health Chat

When hazardous materials are spilled or released, specially trained workers must respond to minimize the health and safety risks posed to people, communities, and the environment. In this episode we’ll hear from two NIEHS grantees who are using cell phone-based technologies to enhance health and safety training for hazardous materials workers.

In this episode, Sappho Gilbert, a doctoral candidate at Yale University School of Public Health, discusses her NIEHS-funded project to better understand how climate change and other environmental factors are altering food security and nutrition among Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic.

In this episode, Kari Nadeau, M.D., Ph.D., talks about how climate change and air pollution affect children’s health. She also discusses what health care professionals, policy makers, and parents can do to better protect kids from climate change- and air-pollution-related health impacts.

In this episode, Laurel Schaider, Ph.D., talks about how PFAS exposures affect health and how communities can learn more about this large class of chemicals, including ways to reduce exposure.

In this episode, we hear from Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza, Ph.D., from Duke University, and Veronica Carter, with the North Carolina Coastal Federation. They discuss “Stop, Check, Enjoy!” a campaign to help fishers in southeastern North Carolina understand the risks of consuming certain fish from the Cape Fear River. They also share tips on how to choose, prepare, and cook fish to reduce exposure to harmful contaminants.

In this episode, George Bullerjahn, Ph.D., discusses a community science program in which charter boat captains and the U.S. Coast Guard work with researchers to collect water samples from Lake Erie. These samples provide NIEHS-funded researchers the robust data they need to monitor, predict, and mitigate harmful algal blooms.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Rachel Morello-Frosch, Ph.D., who discusses how historical policies have shaped disparities in health and environmental exposures today.

In this episode we’ll hear from Joan P. Packenham, Ph.D., who directs the Women’s Health Awareness program at NIEHS. She discusses women’s health disparities and why it’s important to include women – especially those from understudied, underrepresented, and underreported groups – in biomedical research. Packenham also talks about the program’s community engagement efforts, including the Women’s Health Awareness Conference, an annual event that brings women together to take control of their health and address environmental health challenges in their communities.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Eri Saikawa, Ph.D., from Emory University and Rosario Hernandez, executive director of Historic Westside Gardens. They work with residents living in Atlanta’s Westside community to test their soil for lead and other contaminants and raise awareness of children’s health risks associated with exposure. Results from their urban gardening study led to the removal of lead-contaminated soil in Atlanta neighborhoods.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Jessa Ellenburg, director of educational outreach at 2B Technologies. Ellenburg talks about why it’s important to get students and communities involved in citizen science and shares lessons learned from her more than 10 years in science education and outreach.

In this episode, we talk to NIEHS-funded researcher Shohreh Farzan, Ph.D., and Esther Bejarano, with the community organization Comite Civico del Valle, who have teamed up to address local concerns about the possible health effects of the shrinking Salton Sea. They discuss a community-engaged research project that aims to understand how the rapid drying of the Salton Sea will impact local levels of particulate matter and affect children’s lung health. They also highlight how their community-based approach educates and empowers residents to address local environmental health issues.

In this episode we talk with Joseph G. Allen, D.Sc., an associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who is merging the disciplines of building science and health science. Allen discusses his research on indoor air quality and health and how the COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the healthy building conversation. He also offers strategies people can use to promote healthy buildings, healthy lives, and a healthy planet.

This episode explores how the environment, gut microbiome, and brain interact to influence the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease. We’ll also hear how better understanding these complex interactions can help scientists develop interventions to slow, or even stop, progression of the disease.

In this episode, Robert Bullard, Ph.D., often referred to as the father of environmental justice, shares his knowledge and insights from more than 40 years as a leading voice in the field. He also talks about the future of the environmental justice movement.

In this podcast, Megan Herting, Ph.D., discusses why neighborhoods matter when it comes to brain and cognitive development. She also shares her thoughts on how we can promote neighborhood equity to improve children’s health and development.

In this podcast, we’ll hear from Cynthia Rider, Ph.D., a toxicologist at the Division of the National Toxicology Program at NIEHS. Rider talks about what we know – and don’t know – when it comes to botanical safety, what she’s learned in the lab about how certain botanicals may affect health, and how consumers can make informed decisions about these products.

This podcast explores the many benefits of engaging youth in environmental health research through the lens of the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMCAOS) Youth Council. You’ll hear from James Nolan, leader of the CHAMACOS Youth Council, and Jessica Cabrera, a youth researcher. They share their experiences with youth-led research, what they have learned, and how the program prepares the next generation of environmental health leaders.

In this podcast, Stephanie Holm, M.D., Ph.D., discusses children’s health risks from wildfire smoke exposure. She also offers advice to parents on how to keep kids safe during a wildfire event.

In this podcast, we’ll hear from Dawn Brewer, Ph.D., who discusses how a eating a healthy diet may protect against the harmful effects of pollution.

In this podcast, we’ll hear from Jasmine McDonald, Ph.D., who studies the link between hair product use and breast cancer risk among women of color. McDonald talks about differences in hair product use by race, what exposure to the chemicals in these products means for health, and an intervention study she is leading to reduce the use of hair products containing harmful chemicals among pregnant women of color.