Research – Center for Occupational & Environmental Health

COEH faculty conduct research assessing exposures to and health risks from environmental and occupational factors including but not limited to contaminants in air, water, and food; green space and the built environment; temperature; work organization; and community and workplace stressors. Research questions reflect an overarching concern with the effects of the natural and manmade environments on the health and social well-being of humans. COEH faculty conduct research in three broad areas:

Environmental Toxicology

COEH faculty have research foci in the areas of reproductive and developmental toxicology, neurotoxicology, inhalation toxicology, cardiovascular toxicology, and immunotoxicology.

Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology

Environmental epidemiologists are interested in determining etiology or disease causation. Their methodological approaches can provide the knowledge for preventing illness through the design of intervention programs.

Exposure Sciences

Ongoing research characterizes emissions from household solid fuel use for cooking and space heating, as well as assessing the efficacy of methods to reduce those exposures.

There is extensive interdisciplinary collaboration among COEH faculty in these areas. A major example is the interdisciplinary study of the health effects of ambient air pollution and inhaled toxicants, much of which is facilitated by the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory (APHEL).