Weisskopf Lab
We study the contribution of occupational and environmental exposures to neurological and developmental disorders.
665 Huntington Ave
Bldg. 1, Suite 1402
Boston, MA 02115
Research Projects
The Weisskopf Lab investigates the contribution of occupational and environmental exposures to neurological and developmental disorders.
Current Projects
Launched in the 1950s, the Baby Tooth Survey aimed to assess whether children were being exposed to radiation from nuclear fallout. By analyzing baby teeth, primarily from St. Louis, researchers revealed how radioactive isotopes, like Strontium-90, were absorbed. These findings influenced public health policy and were cited by President John F. Kennedy in the signing of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. Today, at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Weisskopf Lab, we continue this important work, studying how early-life environmental exposures affect aging, disease risk, and overall health decades later. Learn more.
Launched in 2014, the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University is a comprehensive research program which examines the multifactorial causes that impact the health and wellbeing of former NFL players. Our interdisciplinary study has launched several research initiatives which examine the spectrum of health conditions and concerns identified by former NFL players as those that impact their short- and long-term health. Our research model is community-based, and participatory. Direct input by players and their families have guided the focus of our research since the genesis of our study, and continues through the second funding period, which commenced in July 2022. Learn more.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement. For more than 20 years, the Weisskopf Lab has been working to understand why military veterans face twice the risk of developing ALS, a fatal disease with no known cause or cure, as the rest of the population.
Support Harvard Chan School
Every gift contributes to our mission of building a world where everyone can thrive. To learn more about how you can support the Weisskopf Lab, please contact Kim Labonte, or use the giving button below and select “Other” and write “Weisskopf Lab” in the text box.