Our faculty engages in advancing understanding of the health effects of biological, chemical, and physical agents. We apply cutting-edge approaches to study environmental and occupational health, including environmental health disparities through the lenses of molecular and biochemical toxicology, epigenetics, gene-environment interaction, as well as computational and risk assessment methods.
This includes the new paradigm of the exposome, which can be defined as all exposures of an individual in a lifetime and how those exposures interact with our own unique characteristics such as genetics, physiology, and epigenetics to impact our health. Our research and teaching does not occur in a vacuum.
We actively collaborate with community partners and facilitate practicum experiences to enhance faculty and student learning beyond the confines of the classroom. We collaborate widely with the other faculty at Pitt Public Health, Pitt Medicine, the Swanson School of Engineering, as well as centers and institutes across Pitt and other national and global universities and research centers.
At all levels of study, EOH students have the opportunity to engage in faculty-directed research. We move student learning beyond the classroom, fostering critical thinking, defining personal interests, developing collaborations, and building a community. Through our scientific research centers and professional practice curricula, the department has forged strong and productive relationships with local and national environmental health agencies, nonprofits, and medical institutions.
Research Strengths
Faculty are involved in innovative research in:
- health effects of biological, chemical, and physical agents
- environmental justice and health disparities
- environmental health policy and practice
- computational toxicology and risk assessment
- molecular and biochemical toxicology
- epigenetics and gene-environment interactions in human diseases
- exposome and life-course epidemiology
Collaborating Partners
- Beaver County Marsalis Awareness Coalition
- Breathe
- Cancer and Environment Network of Southwestern PA
- GASP
- Environmental Health Project of Allegheny County
- Women for a Healthy Environment
- Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy
- Taylor Allderdice High School
- CAPA 6-12
- Pittsburgh HBCU Collaborative
- Valley Clean Air Now
- Urbankind Institute
- ROCIS
- Phipps Conservancy
- Clean Water Action
- PA DOH