Search: Faculty directory, Human Health

Dr. Balmes' laboratory, the Human Exposure Laboratory (HEL), has been studying the respiratory health effects of various air pollutants for the past 15 years. Recently, the HEL has been focusing on the airway inflammatory effects of ozone and fine particles.

Dr. Nicas has two primary research interests. First, he develops mathematical models to estimate exposure intensity to airborne chemical toxicants. Such models consider the pollutant emission rate and the dispersion pattern in air. Dr. Nicas uses two approaches - a traditional method based on deterministic differential equations and a probabilistic method involving Markov chain techniques. Second, he develops probability models for infection by airborne pathogens (e.g., M. tuberculosis, Y. pestis, C. immitis), with an immediate application to the risk-based selection of personal respiratory protection.

Health policy as it is shaped by housing, transportation, agricultural, environmental, economic policy. Specific effects of toxic chemicals on health, especially that of children. Biomonitoring of chemical body burdens and health. Pesticides and human health.

Dr. Hammond's early work focused on the pulmonary effects of exposures to silicon carbide in manufacturing, the carcinogenic potential of diesel exhaust exposures in railroad workers, the effects of exposure to solvents among boat builders, and the effect of exposure to machining fluids in the automobile industry. One of her continuing interests has been that of quantifying exposures to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).

Regulation of Intestinal Epithelial Cell Differentiation and Proliferation by Release of Bioactive Peptides from the Central nervous system.

We are investigating the use of genomic methods in environmental assessment and ecotoxicology. The long term goal of this research is to combine traditional approaches to water quality assessment with a genomic approach and develop genomic biomarkers of exposure to toxic compounds. Our goals are to predict the presence of specific toxic chemicals in the environment, enable prediction of the potential toxicity of a new chemical, enable us to detect the presence of toxicants in mixtures and predict the chronic toxicity of chemicals based on an acute exposure.

Dr. Spear's research interests focus on the assessment and quantification of human exposures to toxic and hazardous agents in the environment, principally the occupational environment.

Economics and mobilization of resources for international family planning, biology of human sexual behavior, AIDS prevention strategies and resource needs, safe motherhood, including safe abortion, and biological origins of human warfare.

Obesity, Journalism, Science, Environment

Robert Lane has been studying the ecology, epidemiology and prevention of tick-borne diseases, particularly the spirochete (bacterium) that causes Lyme disease (LD).