Environmental Health Sciences

A firefighter putting out a fire with foam

Protecting populations from dangers of PFAS exposure

Jackie Goodrich, a research associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, studies PFAS chemicals in firefighting gear and their health risks like cancer. PFAS alter gene expression and persist in the environment. New EPA rules aim to mitigate exposure and protect public health.

London Kozlowski

Conducting skills

From music education to public health research

As a second-year Environmental Health Sciences MPH student, London Kozlowski’s research includes studying the health impacts of benign tumors, noise exposure linked to strokes, and the Green Anesthesia Initiative focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Interstate 75 shown cutting through downtown Detroit

Tackling noise closer to home

In addition to the work on e-waste, Rick Neitzel and the Exposure Research Lab continue to study how noise affects health. In Detroit and throughout the United States, interstate freeways were historically built through African American communities often with the goal of breaking them up or segregating them from white communities.

A pile of old cell phones

Exposure Research Lab helps informal e-waste recyclers, communities in other countries

The Exposure Research Lab at the University of Michigan School of Public Health has been studying how to make this informal recycling work safer. Rick Neitzel founded the lab when he arrived at Michigan Public Health in 2011. The lab studies how to keep workers safe and healthy throughout their careers, with particular focus on noise exposure and injury risks.

Jennifer Smith checks readings on a meter

'The point is human health'

Doctoral student feels compelled to help others

When Jennifer Smith considers the role researchers should play as environmental disasters devastate communities across the map, she is guided by her concern for the individuals connected to the countless personal stories, and an awareness of the immeasurable pain involved in places such as Flint, Michigan, and East Palestine, Ohio.

Moving puzzle pieces that form blue, green and pink globes and a globe that looks like earth

Exploring environmental equity and impacts on human health

Environmental health experts at the University of Michigan School of Public Health are immersed in understanding the connection between the health of individuals and communities and the environment—whether it’s the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, products we use or places we live and work.