Environmental Health Sciences Faculty Profiles
Along with providing education and training, the Department of Environmental Health Sciences faculty and researchers have achieved national and international reputations for excellence in their respective fields of research and expertise. Short summaries of faculty are detailed below.
Department Chair
Dana Dolinoy, Ph.D.
The Dolinoy lab investigates environmental epigenetics & epigenomics in relation to
the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), and the role of diet and
nutrition in modulating chemical exposure (e.g. bisphenol A, phthalates, mercury,
and lead) through epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation and chromatin structure.
Department Associate Chair
Richard L Neitzel, PhD, MS, CIH
Use of novel approaches and technologies to characterize and control exposures to
safety hazards, noise, ototoxins, and psychosocial stressors, and evaluation of the
relationships between these exposures and injury, auditory, and cardiovascular health
outcomes.
Core Faculty
Stuart Batterman, Ph.D.
Exposure assessment, biological monitoring, human health risk and environmental impact
assessment, innovative measurement techniques for air pollutants, and environmental
policy including indoor and ambient air quality, hazardous waste and drinking water.
Justin Colacino, Ph.D.
Environmental and dietary factors in carcinogenesis and cancer prevention, environmental
dysregulation of stem cell biology in breast cancer, racial disparities in breast
cancer, environmental epigenetics, nutrient-toxicant and toxicant-toxicant interactions
Dana Dolinoy, Ph.D.
The Dolinoy lab investigates environmental epigenetics & epigenomics in relation to
the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), and the role of diet and
nutrition in modulating chemical exposure (e.g. bisphenol A, phthalates, mercury,
and lead) through epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation and chromatin structure.
J. Tim Dvonch, Ph.D.
Exposure assessment and health effects of air pollution, with a focus on chemical
composition of particulates and source identification. Atmospheric transport and fate
of toxicants including mercury and other metals across a wide array of environmental
systems.
Alfred Franzblau, M.D.
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders, chemical exposures (e.g., dioxins and metals
in the environment), and occupational and environmental lung disease (e.g., pneumoconioses,
asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis).
Craig Harris, Ph.D.
Mammalian developmental toxicology and biochemical and molecular mechanisms of birth
defects: Research objectives focus on chemical alteration of redox environment/signaling,
embryonic nutrition, and their impact on epigenetic control of gene expression.
Olivier Jolliet, Ph.D.
Risk of consumer products & cosmetic ingredients, global pollution & trade, pesticide
residues, impact & nutritional benefits of food, Life Cycle Assessment, high throughput
exposure screening, indoor & outdoor intake fractions, multiscale multimedia fate
& exposure modeling, toxicokinetic.
Rita Loch-Caruso, Ph.D.
Female reproductive toxicology, with a focus on environmental pollutant risks for
normal and timely childbirth; development of human tissue culture methods for assessment
of toxicant risks for parturition.
John Meeker, Sc.D., C.I.H.
Exposure assessment and epidemiology studies investigating negative health effects
associated with exposure to pesticides, phthalates, bisphenol A, flame retardants,
PCBs, tobacco smoke, and other agents.
Richard L Neitzel, PhD, MS, CIH
Use of novel approaches and technologies to characterize and control exposures to
safety hazards, noise, ototoxins, and psychosocial stressors, and evaluation of the
relationships between these exposures and injury, auditory, and cardiovascular health
outcomes.
Marie S. O'Neill, Ph.D.
Environmental epidemiology, air pollution, climate change, environmental equity, international
health, cardiovascular mechanisms, and birth outcomes.
Martin Philbert, Ph.D.
Experimental neuropathology, nitrocompound-induced encephalopathies, mitochondrial
mechanisms in non-neuronal cell death, development of nano-optical chemical systems,
and nanostructure-based imaging of tumors of the head and neck.
Thomas Robins, M.D., M.P.H.
Exposure assessment and disease outcomes, epidemiology of inhaled toxins (coal dust,
lead, allergens and ambient air pollutants, metalworking fluid aerosols, DDT); information
transfer.
Laura S. Rozek, Ph.D.
Population based studies focusing on the epigenetic, environmental and genetic risk
factors that contribute to the development of human cancer; specifically head and
neck and colorectal cancers. Gene-environment and epigenetic-environment contributions
to the risk of human chronic diseases.
Chuanwu Xi, Ph.D.
Biofilms, water quality and treatment, global environmental health, molecular microbial
ecology, gut microbiome, antibiotic resistance, infectious diseases, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Helicobacter pylori.
Edward T. Zellers, Ph.D.
Lab-on-a-chip micro-analytical systems for real-time monitoring of complex mixtures
of volatile organic compounds in air and biological media for occupational and environmental
exposure assessment.
Research and Clinical Faculty
Sergei Chernyak, Ph.D.
Large-scale survey of organic contaminants in water, air, biota, and sediments from
the Great Lakes, Arctic, and tropics. Ultra-sensitive methods for detecting persistent
organic pollutants (POPs) in human samples. POPs in Great Lakes fish. Fate of emerging
contaminants in midwestern U.S.
Adam Finkel, Sc.D., CIH
Quantitative risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis of environmental and occupational
health and safety regulations, with particular focus on decision-making in the face
of uncertainty and interindividual variability in susceptibility, exposure, and public
preferences.
Jaclyn Goodrich, Ph.D.
Epigenetic modification by environmental exposures throughout the lifespan; contribution
of epigenetic perturbation to toxicity and disease including cardiovascular and metabolic
outcomes; gene-environment interactions; heavy metal toxicology.
Mary Lynam, Ph.D.
Characterization of atmospheric deposition, deposition of toxic air pollutants in
rural and urban environments, fate and transport of air pollutants, public health
impacts of air pollutants.
Laurie Svoboda, Ph.D.
Environmental epigenetics and epigenomics, developmental origins of health and disease,
toxicant-induced metabolic reprogramming, effects of toxicants on redox homeostasis.
Karin Veltman, Ph.D.
Developing and applying mechanistic mass-balance models to assess the impact of environmental
stressors on human health and ecological receptors.
Jianfeng Wu, Ph.D. 
Deborah Watkins, Ph.D.
Epidemiology of endocrine disrupting chemicals and developmental outcomes, including
growth, metabolism, puberty, and neurobehavioral development; statistical methods
for addressing exposure mixtures and windows of susceptibility.
Faculty with Joint Appointments
Rosina Bierbaum, Ph.D.
Interface of science and policy--principally on issues related to climate change adaptation
and mitigation at the national and international levels.
W. Monroe Keyserling, Ph.D.
Develop computer-aided methods for evaluating and predicting work posture, controlling
posture related fatigue and injuries through improved work station design, enhancing
work measurement techniques to evaluate ergonomic stresses in the work place, and
safety/ergonomic issues in trucking and distribution operations
Toby C Lewis, M.D., M.P.H.
Epidemiology and public health of childhood respiratory disease, particularly the
interplay of biologic, environmental, and social factors in the development and exacerbation
of asthma
Mats Ljungman, Ph.D.
DNA damage and repair, DNA damage-induced cellular responses, radio sensitization
Betzy Lozoff, M.D.
Iron deficiency anemia in infants and child sleep problems
Hal Morgenstern, Ph.D.
Musculoskeletal conditions, cancers, neuropsychiatric disorders, nonintentional injuries,
cardiovascular disease, psychosocial aspects of disease, occupational and environmental
health, research methods, and access to and quality of health care.
Sung Kyun Park, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Environmental and occupational epidemiology, gene-environment and nutrient-environment
interactions, multi-pollutants and pollutant mixtures.
Vasantha Padmanbhan, M.S., Ph.D.
Understanding the fetal origin of pubertal and adult reproductive and metabolic disorders
and the impact of steroids and estrogenic environmental pollutants in programming
such defects
Emily Somers, Ph.D., Sc.M.
Epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune disease; ovarian
preservation in patients exposed to alkylating agents
Lecturers
Ingrid Bergin, DVM, DACLAM, DACVP
Toxicologic pathology and infectious diseases
Bruce Cadwallender, M.S.
Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Program Management
Gregg Grubb, C.I.H.
Control of Exposures to Airborne Contaminants.
Bradley Joseph, Ph.D.
Ergonomics, industrial hygiene.
Joseph Miklos, Ph.D.
Radiological health.
Bert Schiller, C.I.H.
Occupational health aspects of industrial processes.
Adjunct Faculty
Niladri Basu, Ph.D.
The objective of Dr. Basu's program is to research, develop and apply ecosystem-based
approaches to address key problems in the environmental health sciences.
Michael R. Bleavins, Ph.D.
Dr. Bleavins specializes in immunotoxicology, biomarkers, and translational medicine.
He co-founded Michigan Technology & Research Institute utilizing his experience and
expertise in development of biotechnology and small-molecule therapies.
Howard Hu, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D.
Environmental epidemiology, heavy metals, epigenetics, nutrient-toxicant interactions,
and children's health.
Geoffrey Jacquez, Ph.D., M.S.
Life sciences and epidemiology
Dale Johnson, PharmD, Ph.D., DABT
Drug discovery and development, computational toxicology, first-time-in-human dose
estimation, pharmacogenomics, green chemistry and toxicology, carcinogenicity
Galina Makhaeva.
Alvaro R. Osornio-Vargas, M.D., Ph.D.
Children's environmental health
Nicola Pirrone, Ph.D.
Atmospheric modeling, mercury recycling
Louis Radulovic, Ph.D.
Toxicology (specializing in dermatoxicology and nantoxicology), pharmacokinetics/toxicokinetics,
xenobiotic metabolism, and bioanalytical methods development
Felipe Vadillo-Ortega, M.D., Ph.D.
Environmental health and perinatology.
Emeritus Faculty
David H. Garabrant, M.D., M.P.H.
Occupational and environmental epidemiology, cancer epidemiology, neuroepidemiology
and neurotoxic agents, colon cancer, pancreas cancer, environmental exposure to dioxins.
Richard Garrison, Ph.D., C.I.H., C.S.P.
Ventilation to control atmospheric hazards for work in confined spaces, with applications
of computational fluid dynamics to dilution ventilation, and experimental ventilation
studies.
Robert H. Gray, Ph.D.
Heavy metal toxicology and toxicological pathology
Rolf Hartung, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Environmental Toxicology; risk analysis methods for human health and ecological risks.
Khalil H. Mancy, Ph.D.
Assessment and management of environmental health risks, water supply and sanitation,
and waste water reuse applications
James E. Martin, Ph.D.
Radiation protection and and assessment of public health impacts of radiation and
radionuclides; landfill simulation studies of radioactive and hazardous wastes, radiotracers;
radon assessment and mitigation.
Peter Meier, Ph.D.
Impact of contaminants on the aquatic community; biogenic transport of contaminants;
habitat and ecological assessment; biomonitoring and aquatic toxicity bioassays; interactions
of the aquatic community with the air-water interface (microlayer).
Jerome Nriagu, PhD, DSc
Sources, fate and effects of toxic metals in the environment, environmental arsenic
pollution and poisoning, water quality issues in the Great Lakes, history of lead
poisoning, environmental justice and environmental health in developing countries.
Arthur Oleinick, M.D., J.D., M.P.H.
Research: Factors that affect the duration of missed work-time following work injuries
and medical utilization for such injuries. Teaching: occupational health law, including
workers' compensation, workplace rights of the disabled, age, gender and race.
Rudy J. Richardson, Sc.D., D.A.B.T.
Computational toxicology: cheminformatics; gene/protein pathways in toxicity and disease;
ligand-receptor docking; molecular dynamics simulations; biomarkers of exposure, toxicity
and disease; mechanisms of neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative diseases; exposure
assessment.
James Vincent, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Aerosol science, experimental fluid mechanics, air pollution control engineering,
dust sampling and control in workplaces, exposure assessment, inhalation research,
pharmacokinetic and dosimetric modeling for inhaled aerosols.
