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The Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) Department has a sound reputation as a leader in training students to...

  • Identify agents that affect health
  • Study the long-term effects of environmental and occupational health risks
  • Determine the molecular mechanisms of toxic agents that contribute to the development of certain illnesses and diseases.

Environmental health specialists help find ways to promote healthier environments and minimize risks that increase the incidence of respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal diseases, asthma, lower respiratory infections, road traffic injuries, poisonings, and drownings.
Occupational health specialists study all aspects of health and safety in the workplace. From exposure to toxins on the job, to workplace violence and lifting injuries, occupational hazards create an enormous health burden, unnecessary pain and suffering, and economic loss in the workplace.

Find a research program for your interests

Many EOH faculty members collaborate with basic sciences and clinical investigators throughout other departments at Pitt Public Health, and the University of Pittsburgh schools of medicine and engineering. Students and faculty perform studies on the principles and practice of environmental health ranging from basic research at the cellular and molecular level to applied translational studies of human disease, population exposure, and public health studies.

In addition, faculty and students work with local governmental organizations, such as the Allegheny County Health Department, the Pittsburgh Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority to study and improve the environmental health of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Pursue a career in environmental and occupational health

Doctoral degree graduates are prepared to work in laboratory-based academic settings as faculty or postdoctoral fellows and become prominent members of government agencies and independent industries. Recent graduates have obtained fellowships at top-tier academic institutions, positions with
the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and in firms conducting chemical and environmental risk assessment.

Master's degree graduates play prominent roles as environmental/occupational health practitioners in various settings, including industry, hospitals, government agencies, and private practice.

Degrees

The EOH Department offers two degrees in the environmental health sciences, providing a broad theoretical and practical education for positions in academia, industry, or government. The multiple tracks provide flexibility in acquiring advance training in toxicology, environmental biophysics, molecular and cellular pathobiology, risk assessment, and exposure science.

Our professional degree programs allow students to earn concentrations in environmental health or risk assessment and apply these concepts to public health practice.

 

Children living near Pennsylvania fracking sites are at increased risk of leukemia

WHYY - EOH's Dr. Bernard Gold...
Children living near Pennsylvania fracking sites are at increased risk of leukemia

WHYY - EOH's Dr. Bernard Goldstein weighs in on this study by researchers at Yale School of Public Health. He states, "It looks at a potential problem in ways that include new exposure metrics, which are really needed." Goldstein also says that though the factors that contribute to childhood leukem... (08/18/2022)

Gao Wins 2022 JESEE Young Investigator Meeting Award

EOH’s Peng Gao is an accompli...
Gao Wins 2022 JESEE Young Investigator Meeting Award

EOH’s Peng Gao is an accomplished and respected professional in the field of exposure science. The International Society of Exposure Science (ISES) has recognized Dr. Gao’s work with the 2022 JESEE Young Investigator Meeting Award. This award supports student and new researcher participation at ISE... (07/29/2022)

Clemens and Sun honored by the Allegheny & Erie Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology

Congratulations to Zachary Cl...
Clemens and Sun honored by the Allegheny & Erie Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology

Congratulations to Zachary Clemens and Yuchen Kristine Sun, two second-year doctoral students in Pitt Public Health’s Department of Environmental and Occupational (EOH), who won awards at the annual meeting of the Allegheny & Erie Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology, May 31 – June 1, in M... (06/06/2022)

Valerian Kagan, pioneer of "redox biology," graces academic journal cover

Dr. Valerian Kagan, professor...
Valerian Kagan, pioneer of "redox biology," graces academic journal cover

Dr. Valerian Kagan, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, was honored as the “Cover Scientist” of Anti-Oxidants and Redox Signaling , for his pioneering work in the field of redox biology. In addition to gracing the cover of t... (05/25/2022)

More evidence links asthma severity to age of onset

MEDSCAPE - EOH's Sally Wenzel...
More evidence links asthma severity to age of onset

MEDSCAPE - EOH's Sally Wenzel talks to Medscape about asthma study, which is unique in how it delineates groups by age of onset. The study is the largest of its kind and is also multinational, making it very unique.  “In addition to this concept that there’s a difference in asthma by the age that... (05/17/2022)