Mary Margaret Johnson

Biography

Physician-scientist in environmental health currently directing an independent research laboratory at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health while maintaining active collaborations across multiple institutions. Research expertise encompasses the environmental exposome and human health impacts, wildfire smoke and air pollution immunology, microplastic detection and health effects, epigenetics and immune cell profiling, food allergy, cancer prevention, organoids, occupational health, women's health, discovery of new allergy targets for novel therapies and climate change-related allergic disease.

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Education and Training

• BA, Psychology
  Knox College
• MA, PhD, Psychobiology
  Northwestern University
• , Medicine
  Loyola Stritch School of Medicine
• Doctor ot Medicine, Medicine
  Southern Illinois University
• , Family Medicine Residency
  St John Mercy Hospital
• , NIH Re-entry grant training in Immunology
  Stanford University

Publications

• Plastics, plastic chemicals, and microplastics: multiple harms to health.

  Rocklöv J, Dunlop S, Chiles TC, Fuller L, Geyer R, Johnson MM, Karasik R, Muncke J, Raps H, Rauert C, Rhodes MG, Spring M, Stegeman J, Symeonides C, Thomas KV, Treskova M, Velis CA, Wagner M, Landrigan PJ. Lancet 2026 Apr 16

  PMID: 42001895

• Pilot proteomics study for identifying a pollution exposure signature in firefighters.

  Ding VY, Lu D, Ji Y, Johnson MM, Haddad F, Kim JB, Horne BD, Park JA, Nadeau KC, Desai M, Maecker HT. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2026 Apr 13

  PMID: 41974974

• Distinct DNA methylation in mother-infant dyads exposed to PM2.5 in pregnancy.

  Klibaner-Schiff E, Simonin EM, Kaushik A, Jung YS, Zhou X, Thompson E, Chinthrajah RS, Johnson MM, Nadeau KC. Clin Epigenetics 2025 Nov 21

  PMID: 41272803

• Regulatory KIR+CD8+ T cells are elevated during human pregnancy.

  Li J, Wang X, Lackner AI, Narasimhan P, Li L, Mallajosyula V, Johnson MM, Höbler AL, Kirosingh AS, Braun AE, Nankya F, Musinguzi K, Kakuru A, Kamya M, Rosenthal PJ, Dorsey G, Jagannathan P, Angelo M, Pollheimer J, Gaw SL, Winn VD, Nadeau KC, Davis MM. Sci Transl Med 2025 Aug 06

  PMID: 40768597

• Immune impacts of fire smoke exposure.

  Johnson MM, Kaushik A, Kline OA, Smith EM, Zhou X, Pat Y, Buergi L, Aguilera J, Alkotob S, Simonin EM, Favaro A, Couto M, Bennett O, Chinthrajah RS, Parsons E, Shamji M, Burke M, Bondy M, Akdis M, Akdis CA, Nadeau KC. Nat Med 2025

  PMID: 40571754