Research
About Our Research
The Equity, Environment, and Epidemiology lab uses epidemiologic research methods to learn more about how environmental contaminants impact health with the ideal that all people should have access to an environment where they live, work and play which enhances rather than impairing their health.
Learn more about two major research areas:
Selected Ongoing Studies
Metals and Birth Defects in Fallujah, Iraq
Our lab is collaborating with a group effort to explore the extent of metal and elemental contamination in Fallujah, Iraq and the potential impact this has on the prevalence of birth defects in this community. Initial findings on metals in soil across Fallujah were recently published. The team has pilot funding to collect more data over the next year.
Environmental Health in Hartford City
We are conducting a community-engaged research project in collaboration with Blackford County Concerned Citizens. For this project we conducted an online survey about health and public health issues, and for a subset of these people we also asked about environmental risk factors and collected soil, dust, urine, and toenail samples to test for metals.
July 2024: The most recent Blackford County Concerned Citizens newsletter includes some preliminary results from metal testing in soil near the former Southside Glass site.
Genes, environment, and neurodegeneration
We have a series of interdisciplinary pilot studies to explore how environmental factors (including metals and pesticides) may interact with genetics to increase the risk or severity of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, or others.