Championing change in environmental health science policy
Devon Payne-Sturges
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor
Devon Payne-Sturges has never been one to shy away from complex or controversial environmental health issues—she embraces them head-on.
In fact, her pursuit motivated her to change careers, go back to school, and ultimately make her way to Ann Arbor after a distinguished career on the East Coast.
Her work is focused at the intersection of pollution exposures, social stressors and policy. Before transitioning into a career in academia at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, where she was on faculty for 10 years, Payne-Sturges first honed her focus at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“There has always been a common theme around vulnerable populations, children’s health, environmental justice, and environmental health disparities—and those experiences and interests have stayed with me and have informed both my teaching and research,” she said.
Today, Payne-Sturges is a professor of Environmental Health Sciences and a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Early influences
Growing up near the nation’s capital in the Washington, DC, metro area, she was exposed to the intersection of policy and public engagement early on. After completing her undergraduate and initial master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Virginia, her first job at a civil engineering consulting firm became a pivotal experience.
Tasked with designing wastewater treatment facilities and conducting industrial hygiene assessments, Payne-Sturges found herself questioning the health standards they were required to meet.
“I was always curious about the bases of health standards we had to comply with,” she said.
There has always been a common theme around vulnerable populations, children’s health, environmental justice, and environmental health disparities—and those experiences and interests have stayed with me and have informed both my teaching and research.”
This curiosity was sharpened by the disheartening practice of conducting worksite hazard assessments without consulting the workers—the very people whose health was at stake.
“The workers had questions—they wanted to know if their health was in danger,” Payne-Sturges said.
The desire to not just observe but to engage and solve prompted her shift toward public health, a field where community input is both valued and necessary.
Payne-Sturges’ growing interest led her to the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she earned her master’s and Doctor of Public Health degrees in Environmental Health Sciences.
Her time at Johns Hopkins only strengthened her conviction, and for more than 12 years at the EPA, she prioritized science policy issues affecting children’s health disparities.
“I was interested in working directly with impacted populations and policy change to improve environmental conditions,” she said.
Facing systemic challenges
The field of environmental science frequently faces challenges in explaining the “why” and “how” of disparities in exposures and health effects, making it difficult to advance policies addressing cumulative environmental impacts.
Discriminatory practices, such as disproportionate citing of pollution sources in communities of color, compound these issues, leading to inequitable health outcomes. Her commitment to addressing these disparities reflects her work ethic and resolve.
“Current environmental policies regulate single pollutant exposures that are determined without any social context, likely underestimating true health risks,” Payne-Sturges said.
A systems approach is, therefore, her preferred methodology to understanding and solving these complex issues. This approach critically examines the social mechanisms creating environmental health inequities, allowing science to tell a deeper story.
Her publications, such as “Defining and Intervening on Cumulative Environmental Neurodevelopmental Risks: Introducing a Complex Systems Approach” in Environmental Health Perspectives and “Systems approaches for Uncovering Mechanisms of Structural Racism Impacting Children’s Environmental Health and Development” in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, highlight her focus on a systems approach.
"When we understand how disparate impacts are created, we can identify what needs to be fixed,” said Payne-Sturges, who was recognized for her achievements by the American Public Health’s Association’s Environment Section with the 2024 Environmental Health Career Award.
Driven by collaboration
Her decision to move to the University of Michigan was driven by its strong reputation as an interdisciplinary research institution dedicated to addressing societal challenges, which aligns perfectly with her own mindset.
Students should think broadly about where they can apply their knowledge and skills. Don’t just think about academia—we need people with public health training in all types of organizations and sectors, from national to local.”
“Through my current work, I have found that collaborating with social scientists can lead to improved environmental policy decision-making and address science-policy challenges with environmental justice and cumulative risk,” Payne-Sturges said. “A systems approach to address dynamic, complex problems and evaluate alternative policy scenarios requires interdisciplinary collaborations.”
Beyond her professional pursuits, she holds deep convictions about the importance of environmental health sciences.
For instance, statistics show that the United States spends more on healthcare compared to peer countries.
“And yet we have not achieved optimal health in the US,” Payne-Sturges said. “The biomedical model of health is not serving us well. Your health is dependent on your environment—social, physical, natural and built environments. So, we must look upstream if we want to improve the public’s health and this means addressing environmental causes which are linked to social and economic policy decisions.”
Empowering future leaders
As she looks to the future, her hopes for students in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Michigan Public Health are clear. She advocates for graduates to be equipped not only with analytical and problem-solving skills but also to possess the courage to speak up and defend scientific positions.
“My hope is that students who graduate from Environmental Health Sciences are equipped with collaborative problem-solving skills, quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, and that they are comfortable with taking risks speaking, sharing and defending positions supported by scientific evidence,” Payne-Sturges said.
“Students should think broadly about where they can apply their knowledge and skills. Don’t just think about academia—we need people with public health training in all types of organizations and sectors, from national to local.”