 I
teach and conduct my research at the intersection of human health
and the environment, exploring how humans change and modify their
natural and built environments, and how in turn these environments
impact human physical and social health and well-being. I integrate
some aspects of undergraduate research relating to this work into
all of my classes at Allegheny College.
My current research
focuses around children's health and indoor environments, building
upon my research findings of elevated lead levels in children
and high percentage of homes and yards in rural northwest Pennsylvania
failing federal EPA safety thresholds. Based on these results
and extensive community input, I founded and am the Director
of Healthy Homes — Healthy
Children,
a not-for-profit initiative designed to address rural children's
health, including cardiovascular health, asthma / respiratory diseases,
and toxics exposures. Prior to this, I also conducted epidemiological
and ecological research on infectious diseases and land use change.
In addition, I serve as a co-chair for the Environment
and Human Health committee of the Council of Environmental Deans
and Directors (CEDD), and have actively collaborated with the Institute
of Medicine (IOM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) to provide faculty development opportunities in the environmental
health field
to ensure that we can more broadly educate future business,
professional and political leaders to highlight how every action
has an impact on human health and the challenges of addressing
entrenched health disparities once established. |
