Harvard Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health
The Harvard Chan National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Center for Environmental Health is a coordinated set of resources and facilities supporting environmental health research and training activities throughout the greater Boston area. The center promotes integration between basic and applied environmental science, and fosters collaborations that cross departmental and institutional boundaries.
665 Huntington Ave.
Building 1-1402
Boston, MA 02115
News
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Healthy sleep may lower risk of Long COVID
Senior research scientist and Center Member Andrea Roberts and Center Director Marc Weisskopf were among the authors of a study published in Jama Network entitled “Multidimensional sleep health prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection and…
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CEC Director Gary Adamkiewicz receives 2023 Harvard Chan teaching citation award
CEC Director Gary Adamkiewicz was selected as the recipient for the 2023 Teaching Citation Award, given by the Harvard T.H. Chan School to an instructor who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, as characterized by commitment, preparation, quality of presentation, time for questions, and other factors related to instruction. Awards are based on student course evaluations, particularly questions that assess teaching quality and teaching effectiveness.
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New study: Use of some personal care products during pregnancy, including hair oil, were related to birth outcomes
A new study from the Environmental Reproductive Justice Lab, led by Dr. Tamarra James-Todd, found that lower birth weight-for-gestational age (BW-for-GA) was reported among hair product users, with the strongest association observed for daily hair oil use. Use of liquid soaps, shampoos, conditioners were associated with longer infant length. Published in Environmental Research, Volume 225, May 2023.
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Meet Our Members: Katherine von Stackelberg, ScD
This month, we chat with Dr. Katherine von Stackelberg, ScD, senior research scientist and director of research translation in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School….
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Marc Weisskopf speaks at MIT Picower Institute’s Spring Symposium
Marc Weisskopf, director of the Harvard Chan-NIEHS Center for Environmental Health and co-director of the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program, spoke on May 11 at the MIT Picower Institute’s Spring…
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Deputy Director Tamarra James-Todd featured in NIEHS Environmental Factor
An article titled “Reducing phtalates in beauty products may lower health risks, disparities” featured an interview with Dr. Tamarra James-Todd in which she discussed how the use of certain personal care products may affect pregnancy outcomes and breast cancer risk. The NIEHS grantee explained the health and environmental justice implications of products containing endocrine disruptors during a March 26 webinar hosted by the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition.
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‘Descendant’ Unearths Painful Legacy; New Opportunities
BOSTON – On Thursday, our Center hosted a film screening of ‘Descendant’, a Netflix documentary film that follows the descendants of the survivors of the last known slave ship to…
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New tool links air pollution with increased risk of dementia
A study published in the BMJ in April 2023 led by Center Director Marc Weisskopf, in partnership with Biogen, found that exposure to fine particulate air pollutants (PM2.5) may increase the risk of developing dementia. This study is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to use the new Risk of Bias In Non-Randomized Studies of Exposure (ROBINS-E) tool, which addresses bias in environmental studies in greater detail than other assessment approaches. It also is the first to include newer studies that used “active case ascertainment,” a method that involved screening of entire study populations followed by in-person evaluation for dementia among individuals who did not have dementia at baseline.
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New study: Traffic-related air pollution and fetal growth in Eastern Massachusetts
A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology applied distributed lag models to fetal growth ultrasound data and identified critical exposure windows to traffic-related air pollution. Listed authors included Michael Leung, Stefania Papatheodorou and others. Published in American Journal of Epidemiology, 24 March 2023.
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New study on air pollution and mortality featured in NY Times
The new research, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that tightening the limit on fine particulate matter by 4 micrograms per cubic meter of air would result in a 4 percent reduction in the mortality rate for higher-income white adults. The same change would result in a reduction of 6 percent to 7 percent for higher-income Black adults, lower-income white adults and lower-income Black adults. The new research could inform a crucial Environmental Protection Agency decision to tighten limits on fine particulate matter.
