Chemical exposures and human health in Ecuador

JPB Fellow Jose Suarez (Cohort I) continues to advance impactful research on chemical exposures and human health in Ecuador. This year, his team has published several articles examining pesticide exposure and health outcomes in marginalized communities. See below. He has also sustained strong research support for this international work, particularly the long-standing NIH-funded ESPINA Study.

1. Amdemicael, B., Yang, K., Chronister, B.N.C., Mackey, C., Tu, X., Gahagan, S., Martinez, D., Checkoway, H., Jacobs, D.R., Suarez-Torres, J., Hong, S., Suarez-Lopez, J.R., 2025. Inflammation biomarkers and neurobehavioral performance in rural adolescents. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health 43, 100912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2024.100912
2. Kornher, K., Gould, C.F., Manzano, J.M., Baines, K., Kayser, G., Tu, X., Suarez-Torres, J., Martinez, D., Peterson, L.A., Huset, C.A., Barr, D.B., Suarez-Lopez, J.R., 2025. Associations of PFAS and pesticides with lung function changes from adolescence to young adulthood in the ESPINA study. Int. J. Hyg. Environ. Health 265, 114526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2025.114526 * Co-first authors.
3. Hussari, M.N., Chronister, B.N.C., Yang, K., Tu, X., Martinez, D., Parajuli, R.P., Suarez-Torres, J., Barr, D.B., Hong, S., Suarez-Lopez, J.R., 2025. Associations Between Urinary Pesticide Metabolites and Serum Inflammatory Biomarkers in Adolescents Living in an Agricultural Region. Expo Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-025-00698-0.
4. Guerra, M., Kayser, G., Checkoway, H., Suarez-Torres, J., Lopez, D., Martinez, D., Huset, C.A., Peterson, L.A., Suarez-Lopez, J.R., 2025. Serum PFAS and lipid concentrations in Ecuadorian adolescents. Arch Environ Occup Health 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/19338244.2025.2492281 .
5. Chronister, B.N.C., Kayser, G.L., de la Cruz, F., Suarez-Torres, J., Lopez-Paredes, D., Gahagan, S., Checkoway, H., Jankowska, M.M., Suarez-Lopez, J.R., 2025. Relationships of residential distance to greenhouse floriculture and organophosphate, pyrethroid, and neonicotinoid urinary metabolite concentration in Ecuadorian Adolescents. Int J Health Geogr 24, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-025-00395-w
6. Parajuli RP, Chronister BNC, Barr DB, Suarez-Lopez JR., 2025 Urinary pesticide biomarkers from adolescence to young adulthood in an agricultural setting in Ecuador: Study of Secondary Exposure to Pesticides among Children, Adolescents, and Adults (ESPINA) 2016 and 2022 examination data. Data in Brief. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2025.111882.
7. Elliott A, Parajuli RP, Mazzella M, Yang K, Chronister BNC, Huset CA, Peterson LA, Martinez D, Barr DB, Ratnani P, Gennings C, de la Cruz F, Suarez-Torres J, Suarez-Lopez JR., 2025 Concurrent associations of glyphosate, dithiocarbamate fungicides, and PFAS with body fat composition and BMI in adolescents from agricultural communities. Environmental Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.122378.
8. Mehta, P., Parajuli, R.P., Chronister, B.N.C., Yang, K., Barr, D.B., Tu, X.M., Lopez-Paredes, D., Suarez-Lopez, J.R., 2025. Pesticide and liver biomarkers among Ecuadorian adolescents and adults living in agricultural settings. Toxics 2025 Aug 18;13(8):685. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13080685 .
9. Moore, R.C., Chronister, B.N.C., Quynh, A., Yang, K., Tu, X.M., Martinez, D., Suarez-Torres, J., Bradman, A., & Suarez-Lopez, J.R. (2025). Mobile vs. traditional neuropsychological testing in Ecuadorian adolescents and young adults: A single- and burst-administration study in the ESPINA cohort. Neuropsychology, In Press.

Fellow Jose Suarez is the Division Lead of the Climate and Environmental Sciences Teaching Division and Director of the Climate and Environmental Health Research Program at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego. His research focuses on environmental determinants of child and adult health in vulnerable populations. As Principal Investigator of the ESPINA Study — launched in 2008 in Pedro Moncayo, Ecuador — he examines the lifelong health impacts of pesticide exposure, assessing neurobehavior, mental health, endocrine function, respiratory health, inflammation, enzymatic activity, metabolic profiles, liver and thyroid imaging, and smartphone-based mental health indicators. The study follows participants from childhood into young adulthood and integrates blood and urine biomarkers, as well as geospatial data on exposure to pesticides and persistent pollutants.

Dr. Suarez also leads community-based participatory efforts in partnership with Fundación Cimas del Ecuador, contributing to rural health surveys and mental health screenings across more than a decade of data collection.