Research Interests of Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty

Research Interest:-My area of expertise is risk assessment and control of infectious diseases that can be acquired from an environmental exposure, particularly from the contact to insect and other arthropod vectors. Over the years I have been working on research related to developing an improved method for the risk assessment and control of the diseases of interest. These works have been published in Journal of American Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Emerging Infectious Disease, Journal of Environmental Health, Journal of Medical Entomology, Journal of American Mosquito Control Association, and Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, among others.

Research Interest:- My area of expertise is occupational and environmental exposures to chemicals and cardiopulmonary health. Since 1997, I have been investigating workplace exposures to isocyanates and the risk of occupational asthma and searching for effective methods and strategies to reduce isocyanate exposures. We are currently investigating environmental exposures to isocyanates from medical devices and consumer products and the risk of childhood asthma. My work has been funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. This work has resulted in articles published in the Environmental Health Perspectives, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, among others.

Research Interest:-My area of expertise is methodologies for exposure and risk assessment of populations to environmental hazards. My most recent research has been focused on children’s health related to asthma in school age children and exposure to environmental lead, and assessment of population health risks associated with gas drilling and hydraulic fracking. Past research has included assessing exposures and risks associated with work exposure to asbestos, parkinsonism and welders, and exposures to mining activities in adeveloping country. Funding sources have included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the National Institute of Health, Michael J. Fox Foundation, and USAID. This work has been published in a variety of peer reviewed journals including: Journal of School Health, Journal of Asthma, Journal of Occupational and EnvironmentalHygiene, Journal of Urban health, and others.