Courtney Roper
Assistant Professor
Department of BioMolecular Sciences
The University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi
clroper@olemiss.edu
Fellowship Project: Building Community Air Quality Research Capacity in the Mississippi Delta
Courtney Roper is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Assistant Research Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the University of Mississippi’s School of Pharmacy.
Her research group is focused on understanding air quality, particularly in the rural South. Through a combination of analytical chemistry, developmental toxicology, and epidemiology techniques her lab robustly characterizes air pollutants. The goal of this research is to provide data necessary for exposure assessment and risk mitigation strategies to protect human health.
Courtney earned her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh where she was involved in molecular and environmental toxicology research. She then became a NIEHS-funded postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University in developmental toxicology and environmental chemistry before moving to the University of Mississippi for her current position. She teaches courses on toxicology, environmental health, and science communication.
Courtney Roper’s project focuses on addressing the socioeconomic challenges faced by rural communities in the Mississippi Delta, an area known for its disadvantaged status. These communities, characterized by low socioeconomic status, face heightened exposure to air pollutants, contributing to a triple jeopardy framework of environmental hazards, poor health susceptibility, and exacerbated health disparities. Despite elevated rates of diseases and disorders linked to air pollution in the Delta region, there is a notable lack of air quality data, hindering efforts to understand the association between pollutants and adverse health impacts. Specifically, the project aims to investigate the composition and health relevance of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and pollen, crucial factors in oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species generation. By collecting and analyzing ambient PM2.5 and pollen samples across the Mississippi Delta, the study seeks to establish comprehensive air quality information to better understand the health effects of environmental exposures in the region.
