Environmental Health Chat

In this podcast, we’ll hear from NIEHS grantee Aruni Bhatnagar, Ph.D., who leads the Green Heart Study, an ambitious and first of its kind project to examine the impacts of green neighborhoods on heart health.

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.

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, 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 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.

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, 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’ll hear about the power of partnering with the cooperative extension system for research translation. We’re joined by Molly Kile, Sc.D., and Allison Myers, Ph.D., who discuss how they work with Oregon State University’s cooperative extension to improve children’s environmental health across the state.

In this episode, Abbey Alkon, Ph.D., R.N., talks about her NIEHS-funded research to reduce pesticide exposures in child care centers and educate child care facility staff about integrated pest management. Her goal is to create healthy environments to support children’s early learning and development.

In this episode, NIEHS-funded scientist Phoebe Stapleton, Ph.D., talks about her research to track the movement and potential health effects of micro- and nanoplastics in the body. Plus, she offers practical tips to reduce your exposure to plastic particles.

In this episode, Jodi Flaws, Ph.D., provides a brief overview of menopause and discusses her NIEHS-funded research, which examines how exposure to chemicals called phthalates may affect women’s reproductive aging. She also discusses gaps in what we know about menopause, and how research can inform clinical care to help women manage and treat their symptoms during the transition to menopause.

In this episode, Annie Nigra, Ph.D., talks about how exposure to arsenic in drinking water may affect health, disparities in exposure, and how her research can help inform policies to protect people from arsenic in drinking water. Plus, she discusses her work with Native American youth to address arsenic and other environmental health issues in their communities.

In this episode, Kevin Riley, Ph.D., talks about the health risks of working in extreme heat and highlights tools employers and workers can use to prevent heat-related illness in the workplace.

In this episode, NIEHS-funded researcher Homero Harari, Sc.D., talks about the potential health and safety concerns of playing on artificial turf. He also discusses how communities can make informed decisions about whether to install synthetic surfaces at schools, parks, and playgrounds.

In this episode, NIEHS-funded researcher Maggie Sugg, Ph.D., talks about how climate disasters affect mental health in youth. She also discusses some strategies to promote mental health resilience in young people and communities affected by disasters.

In this episode, we’ll hear from NIEHS-funded researcher Staci Bilbo, Ph.D., who studies how environmental exposures and stress, especially during early development in the womb, influence children’s brain and behavioral development.

In this episode, we’ll learn how the NIEHS Pediatric and Reproductive Environmental Health Scholars (PREHS) program is teaching health care professionals about the many interactions that occur between children, pregnant women, new mothers, and their environment.

In this episode, Ellen Hahn, Ph.D., discusses her work to increase radon awareness and testing in rural Kentucky and help residents take action to reduce their exposure at home.

In this episode, Jane Hoppin, Sc.D., discusses how she helped launch a study to address North Carolina residents’ concerns following the discovery of PFAS in their drinking water. She also provides tips to reduce one’s exposure to PFAS in drinking water.

In this episode we talk with Marilyn Howarth, M.D., who works with community partners to better understand the factors associated with lead exposure across Philadelphia. As part of a community project, she and the team created a map that combines socioeconomic, demographic, and soil lead data to show exposure risk across Philadelphia neighborhoods. Howarth discusses how the map can help decision makers identify and prioritize neighborhoods for cleanup and offers tips to reduce lead exposure.

In this episode, Mónica D. Ramírez-Andreotta, Ph.D., discusses how participatory research can generate change in the social, economic, and political structures that drive many environmental health disparities.

In our second episode exploring the exposome, Melanie Pearson, Ph.D., discusses how incorporating community perspectives into the exposome concept could help researchers better understand the totality of lifetime exposures and improve human health.

In part one of our two-episode series on the exposome, Douglas Walker, Ph.D., will discuss how the field of exposomics is transforming environmental health research. Walker also talks about challenges in the field and opportunities for exposomic research to improve public health.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Jeff Burgess, M.D., who has been a leader in the field of firefighter health and safety research for more than 30 years. Burgess discusses the health risks of firefighting and shares best practices to reduce occupational exposures and improve firefighter health.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Jochem Klompmaker, Ph.D., a research fellow at Harvard University who led one of the largest studies to date examining the link between the natural environment and neurodegenerative disease risk. Klompmaker discusses how access to nature may protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and the implications of his findings for creating greener communities.

In this episode we’ll hear from Johnathan Levy, Sc.D., an environmental health researcher who has studied gas stove emissions for more than two decades. Levy discusses how pollutants released by gas stoves can harm health and the environment. He also offers tips to reduce indoor air pollutants and health risks associated with gas stoves.

In this episode we’ll hear from Anna Goodman Hoover, Ph.D., a public health researcher at the University of Kentucky, and Nina McCoy, who leads the group Martin County Concerned Citizens. They are working with residents in rural eastern Kentucky who are concerned about high levels of disinfection byproducts detected in their drinking water. Hoover and McCoy discuss potential health effects of long-term exposure to disinfection byproducts and an NIEHS-funded community-engaged project to raise local awareness of these compounds in drinking water and reduce exposure to them.

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 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.

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, you’ll hear from two researchers who are using silicone monitoring devices to detect chemical exposures in dogs and their owners to gain insight into the ways our daily exposures may affect our health.

In this podcast, we’ll hear from Lindsey Ann Martin, Ph.D., from the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research and Training, about the intersection of implementation science and environmental health research.

To decrease tobacco use among tribal populations, researchers must consider the culture and traditions of tribal communities, many of which use tobacco for ceremonial, medicinal, and religious practices. In this podcast, you’ll hear from NIEHS-funded researcher Patricia Henderson, M.D., who is working with tribal communities to encourage the adoption of smoke-free homes, with the goal of improving their health.

In this second installment of our two-part series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the NIEHS Environmental Career Worker Training Program, we’ll hear from Rocio Treminio-Lopez, a program graduate who is now the mayor of Brentwood, Maryland. Treminio-Lopez shares personal stories of her experiences in the program and how it shaped her life and career path.

In this podcast, you’ll hear how the NIEHS Environmental Career Worker Training Program (ECWTP) enhances life skills, creates jobs, and provides sustainable career opportunities for underserved populations across the U.S.

In this podcast, you’ll hear from Mark Hahn at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution about how microplastics impact human health and the ecosystem, and how researchers are working to address this issue.

In this podcast, you will hear from a toxicologist at the National Toxicology Program about how cell phones work using radio frequency radiation (RFR) and what his team is doing to better understand potential health effects from their use. In addition, you will learn tips to reduce your exposure to RFR.

In this podcast you’ll hear how NIEHS-funded researchers are studying urban wildfires to better understand these complex exposures and the unique ways they may affect human health. You’ll also learn how information from these studies could help communities better prepare for urban wildfires in the future.

In this podcast, you’ll hear how health communication researchers are improving information and messages about breast cancer online. Plus, you’ll learn how they are teaming with social media influencers to help people understand and reduce their risk.