Environmental Health Sciences Department Newsletter: Spring 2025

EHS Department Newsletter Spring 2025

Table of Contents Letter from the Chair ……………………….…………….... 3 Updates …………………………..……………………………… 4 Faculty …………………..........…………………………... 4 Students ……………………...…………………………… 5 Alumni …………………………...………………………... 6 Staff ……………………….………………………………... 7 Spotlights ……………………..……………………………..… 8 Group ………………………………………………………. 8 Alumni ……...………………….………………………..… 9 Letter from SEA ………………………………...…………. 10 Sewell Lecture ……………………………………………... 12 In Remembrance ….……………………………….……… 13 Travel Fund ………………………………………………….. 14 Summer Workshops …………………………….……….. 16 Publications ……………………………..………….……….. 17 Share Your News With Us ……………………..……..… 19

Special Thanks To: Alexis Grayon, 2nd Year MPH Student​ Karen Gutensohn, MPH ‘24 Layla Manoochehri, MPH ‘24 Brandy Coleman, Academic Coordinator Nina Kulacki, Director, Academic Programs​

Letter from Chair Welcome to the Spring 2025 Newsletter!

It is wonderful to see the incredible work and joyful moments highlighted here. We are facing a difficult time, but this publication is a reminder that we are strong, and our work is meaningful and more important than ever.

Seeing our students – the next generation of researchers, public health advocates, and community catalysts – gives me hope in these challenging moments. Our students continue to work toward their hard-earned degrees because they believe in our mission: to understand, prevent, and mitigate the impacts of environmental exposures and climate change on human health. I am inspired by our Columbia EHS community, where colleagues with diverse perspectives and opinions, come together toward a shared goal for the common good. I am honored to be part of this community.

It is vitally important that we continue to emphasize the impact our work has on people’s daily lives. We protect children by ensuring water is safe to drink, prevent infectious diseases, work to make households safer, study the health impacts of personal care products and so much more. This is an opportunity to improve our ability to communicate the value of our research to people outside of academia and show how our work improves lives.

As a department, we are strong and well-supported. We continue to provide excellent educational opportunities, training public health professionals who will go on to defend communities impacted by disproportionate environmental hazards. Our shared commitment to environmental health inspires me to keep going each day. One day we will look back on this time and be proud of how we navigated this difficult moment in history, upheld our principles, supported each other, and continued to do the important work to improve the lives of everyone on this planet.

Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, MPH Leon Hess Professor and Chair Department of Environmental Health Sciences

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Updates: Faculty

Dr. Markus Hilpert In November 2024, Dr. Hilpert and other researchers traveled to South Dakota to install a series of air pollution monitors. This effort is part of a new project, the Strong Heart Air Study, which seeks to examine cardiovascular disease and air pollution in American Indians.

Dr. Lewis Ziska Dr. Ziska delivered a keynote address at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting in San Diego on March 1st, titled “Effects of Climate Change on Plant Biology: Implications for Allergies and Allergy Patients.”

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Updates: Students Matthew Ramey, MPH 2nd Year This past summer, Matthew worked with the Associates in Internal Medicine (AIM) Clinic at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) on a project meant to assess digital health literacy among patients.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant shift toward digital technologies for everyday needs.

Unfortunately, this reliance on technology has left those without access to devices or the necessary digital skills unable to benefit from virtual services. The project resulted in valuable findings that should assist interventions to improve healthcare delivery. Recently, his team was informed that their project has been accepted for a poster presentation at the Society for General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Annual Conference.

They are excited to present their findings and are hoping to hear news about potential publications soon!

Read Matthew’s testimonial of one of his favorite EHS classes below!

“In the Laboratory Methods in Environmental Health Sciences class, students learn a range of experimental approaches in a wet lab setting. In one of our recent classes, students were tasked with finding "patient-zero" in a hypothetical disease outbreak. To do so, students performed enzymelinked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to detect antibodies for the hypothetical infectious disease. This was a great chance for students to learn how researchers trace the spread of disease among a population in a real-world scenario.”

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Updates: Alumni Peggy (Pei Yang) Hsieh, MPH ‘19 Peggy presented an ArcGIS storymap titled, "African/African Ancestry Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes" at GIS Day 2024. The storymap raises awareness of health disparities affecting African/ African Ancestry mothers and infants in Santa Clara County.

The storymap is publicly available here!

Victoria Lynch, PhD ‘22 “Large floods drive changes in causespecific mortality in the United States,” led by Dr. Victoria Lynch, a postdoctoral research fellow, was recently released in Nature Medicine.

The paper found that over the last 20 years, large floods were associated with up to 25% higher death rates from major mortality causes in the U.S. compared to normal conditions.

Until now, there had been a critical knowledge gap about cause-specific flood mortality risks in the U.S. over time, and how risks may vary among groups within the population.

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Updates: Staff

Yunjia Lai, Postdoctoral Research Scientist Dr. Lai, under the advisory of Dr. Gary W. Miller, was the first author of the recent Science Signaling Journal article entitled "Biotin mitigates the development of manganese-induced, Parkinson’s disease-related neurotoxicity in Drosophila and human neurons." Manganese is vital for numerous cellular functions, but prolonged exposure can lead to a neurodegenerative condition with symptoms resembling Parkinson’s disease.

In this study, the Miller Lab, in collaboration with Dr. Souvarish Sarkar’s team at the University of Rochester, developed an adult Drosophila model to study manganese-induced parkinsonism and identified disruptions in biotin (vitamin B7) metabolism as a key mechanism underlying its neurotoxicity. Manganese exposure reduced the amount of “free” or bioavailable biotin, which resulted in neuronal loss and mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction in the brain and impaired motor function. Supplementing the flies’ diet with biotin alongside manganese exposure prevented these effects. The cellular effects were reproduced in cultured human dopaminergic neurons. The findings suggest that supplementary biotin may be a preventive intervention for at-risk individuals.

This work was featured as a Cover Article in Science Signaling.

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Group Spotlight

Destigmatizing Mental Health Through an Artistic Exhibit “Coming Fall 2025” MS student and staff member, Carolina Montes Garcia, along with a dedicated team including Jaime Benavides, PhD, Lewis Ziska, PhD, Kathrin Schilling, PhD, Marisa Sobel, MPH and PhD Candidate, and consultant Dawn DeVito, has been awarded $15,000.00 through the Columbia University Mental Health Initiative’s (MHI) pilot grant program, "Capturing Perspectives on Mental Health." This initiative supports projects that explore diverse perspectives on mental well-being through artistic, academic, and creative approaches.

Set to take place in Fall 2025, this project will bring an art exhibition focused on mental health to the Mailman School of Public Health, inviting students, faculty, staff, and researchers to submit visual art, photography, digital media, and sculpture that reflect their experiences and insights on mental well-being. Curated by Dawn DeVito, Director of Events and Marketing at Culture Lab LIC, the exhibit will feature a panel discussion and provide time for participants to engage in an open discussion about their art practice.

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This project is part of Columbia's broader Mental Health Initiative (MHI), which aims to enhance the university's impact on mental health through education, research, and community engagement. The team looks forward to engaging the department and the broader school community in this exciting project and will share more details as the call for submissions launches in September 2025.

Spotlight: Alumni

Gabe Trotz, MPH ‘24 Gabe accepted a position with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital this past Fall. He is working with their Environmental Health and Safety team to ensure a safe environment for patients, visitors, and staff, as well as ensuring compliance of laboratories, pharmacies, and hospital facilities with local, state, and federal agency requirements. Working together with his manager, Sasha Berns, a DrPH candidate and EHS MPH alumnus, and his colleagues, Gabe tackles a wide range of issues in the hospital environment, from responding to water intrusion events to conducting job hazard analyses throughout the campus. Gabe is currently serving as a Capstone Advisor for a group of EHS students at NYP, working with them on a project that aims to reduce the volume of regulated medical waste produced by the hospital. The students assessed current regulated medical waste segregation practices across nine units in the hospital, created waste signage, and educated staff on proper segregation practices. The students will re-assess the units post-intervention to examine the impacts of their efforts on regulated medical waste generation. Gabe is also assisting the Anesthesiology department in assessing the efficiency of the hospital’s piped N2O system.

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Letter from SEA Meet The New Executive SEA Board Dear EHS family and beyond,

We are thrilled to introduce the Students for Environmental Action Executive Board for 2025-26! We are excited to build on the work of our predecessors and take the club to new heights.

From left to right

Jade Allmon – 1st Year MPH in EHS, Campus Groups Coordinator Narmin Guluzade – 1st Year MPH in EHS, President

Neena Madhure – 1st Year MPH in EHS, Vice-President

With the first General Body Meeting behind us, we have begun engaging with our members and outlining our vision for the year ahead. Our key priorities include: • • • • 10

Member engagement – creating opportunities for networking, learning, and collaboration.

Capacity building for members – offering resources to prepare for the evolving job market.

Sustainability of the club – ensuring continuity and impact beyond this term.

Expanding the club’s influence – fostering partnerships and collaborations across all schools of Columbia University.

Letter from SEA

To achieve these goals, we need your support! Here’s how you can help in three simple steps: •

• •

Follow us on Instagram (@seacolumbia) and Campus Groups to stay updated on events and initiatives.

Help us grow our network – If you know potential partners for collaboration (including yourself!), please contribute to our information sheet to sustain meaningful connections.

Spread the word – Tell your peers, professors, and colleagues about SEA!

We believe that despite the challenging times for environmental health, together we can make this a fruitful year for SEA and do our part in protecting our planet for future generations. Thank you for your support—we can’t wait to continue this journey with you!

With love,

Students for Environmental Action E-Board 2025-26 Jade, Narmin and Neena

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Sewell Lecture Dr. Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Professor and Founding Dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, delivered a presentation titled “Traveling the Last Mile: The Road to the Global Impact of Healthy Diets on Cardiovascular Health” on March 10th.

Watch the Recording Here! (link will open a new window.)

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In Remembrance

Dickson D. Despommier, 1940–2025 Dickson Despommier, Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Microbiology at Columbia University, has made lasting contributions to Environmental Health Sciences through his work on the impacts of human encroachment into natural systems, particularly deforestation for agriculture. He is best known for developing the concept of vertical farming, an urban agriculture model designed to produce food in tall buildings within densely populated cities. This approach addresses environmental degradation while promoting sustainable food production. His vision extends to reimagining future cities as eco-systems capable of recycling water, food, and energy paving the way for long-term urban sustainability.

Read more here

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Travel Fund: Recipients Jocelyn Dicent, PhD Candidate “Using the department's travel fund, I attended the Society of Toxicology annual meeting in Orlando. I presented a poster on my current research progress and had numerous fruitful conversations with collaborators, other professors, and other trainees. Overall, I had a positive experience at the conference and I'm excited to go again next year!”

Dr. Wil Lieberman-Cribbin, Post Doc “Thanks to the EHS travel fund, I was able to attend the International Society for Exposure Science 2024 annual meeting to learn about "Exposures that Impact Health in Vulnerable Populations". During this experience I was able to connect with other environmental health scientists in government and academia to learn ongoing research on environmental exposures and extreme weather events affecting populations in the U.S. and internationally. I was able to present my work as an oral presentation on "The association of uranium in drinking water and urine in the Strong Heart Study", where we predicted urinary uranium concentrations from concentrations measured in drinking water, and highlighted the importance of further reducing uranium exposure in affected communities.”

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Travel Fund: Recipients

Alexis Grayon, MPH 2nd Year “I was given the opportunity to attend the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. with the support of the EHS Travel Fund. I presented my research on disparities in maternal and birth outcomes in Environmental Justice Areas in NYC to conference attendees from across the country (including some Mailman alumni!). The audience was largely comprised of maternal and child health professionals most of whom recognized the importance of environmental health but were less knowledgeable on the injustices and resolution efforts. I’m honored to have earned my spot on the poster board with other professionals and leaders, especially as the conference leadership emphasized youth and student involvement in public health spaces. The conference theme was “Partnering for Impact”, and the vastly interdisciplinary setting and company made every conversation feel moving and impactful.”

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SHARP Summer Workshops Registration is now open for summer trainings in 30 topics ranging from omics, data science, environmental health, and professional development.

Columbia affiliates, including Mailman alumni, receive a 10% discount.

Explore Trainings

Trainings with EHS Faculty • Bayesian Modeling for Environmental Health Workshop (Robbie Parks) • Climate Change and Health Boot Camp (Cecilia Sorensen, Frederica Perera) • Environmental Mixtures Workshop (Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou) • Epigenetics Boot Camp (Allison Kupsco) • Exposome Boot Camp (Gary Miller, Randolph Reyes Singh) • GIS Workshop (Jeremy Porter, Joel Capellan) • Life Cycle Assessment Boot Camp (Cecilia Sorensen) • PI Crash Course (Diane Re, Ana Navas-Acien, Matthew Perzanowski) • Radiation Safety Officer Training (Norman Kleiman) • The Scientist and the Storyteller Workshop (Julie Herbstman) 16

Publications Please check out some of the amazing work being published by our community! These publications are listed in chronological order, by initial publication. Faculty, students, and staff names are bolded: Wu, H. C., Lai, Y., Liao, Y., Deyssenroth, M., Miller, G. W., Santella, R. M., & Terry, M. B. (2024). Plasma metabolomics profiles and breast cancer risk. Breast cancer research : BCR, 26(1), 141. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-024-01896-5

Medgyesi, D. N., Bangia, K., Spielfogel, E. S., Fisher, J. A., Madrigal, J. M., Jones, R. R., Ward, M. H., Lacey, J. V., Jr, & Sanchez, T. R. (2024).

Long-Term Exposure to Arsenic in Community Water Supplies and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease among Women in the California Teachers Study. Environmental health perspectives, 132(10), 107006. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14410 McGraw, K. E., Domingo-Relloso, A., Riggs, D. W., Medgyesi, D. N., Neupane, R., Stingone, J. A., & Sanchez, T. R. (2025). Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds and Blood Pressure in NHANES 2011 to 2018. Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979), 82(1), 136–148. https:// doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.124.23695

Glabonjat, R. A., Schilling, K., Slavkovich, V. N., Izuchukwu, C. N., Balac, O., Dubey, S., Nandakumar, R., Galvez-Fernandez, M., Anderson, W. A., Spaur, M. S., Sobel, M. H., Nigra, A. E., Sanchez, T. R., Jones, M. R., & Navas-Acien, A. (2024). Arsenic speciation analysis in human urine for long term epidemiological studies: The MultiEthnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Environmental research, 262(Pt 1), 119833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.119833 Koehne, N. H., Locke, A. R., Alley, A. A., Ramey, M. D., Namiri, N. K., Dhanjani, S., Yendluri, A., Waterman, B. R., Sherman, S. L., & Parisien, R. L. (2024). Increasing incidence of concussion and head injury due to electric biking: a 10-year sex- and age-specific analysis of national injury data. The Physician and sports medicine, 1–6. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2024.2440309

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Publications Kehm, R. D., Vilfranc, C. L., McDonald, J. A., & Wu, H. C. (2025).

County-Level Food Insecurity and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 22(1), 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22010120 Shea, B., Meltzer, G. Y., Steiger, B. B., Parks, R., Do, V., McBrien, H., Flores, N., Gordon, M., Blake, E., & Casey, J. (2025). Co-occurring climate events and environmental justice in California, 2018-2019.

Environmental research, health : ERH, 3(2), 021001. https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ada96f

Locke, A. R., Koehne, N. H., Ramey, M. D., Oxner, J. L., Yendluri, A., Megafu, M. N., Corvi, J. J., Namiri, N. K., Kelly, J. D., 4th, & Parisien, R. L. (2025). The Statistical Fragility of Treatments for Adhesive Capsulitis: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery, S1058-2746(25)00121-1.

Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2024.12.047 Locke, A. R., Koehne, N. H., Ramey, M. D., Corvi, J. J., Alley, A. A., Yendluri, A., Song, J., Namiri, N. K., Enabulelu, O., Waterman, B. R., Li, X., & Parisien, R. L. (2025). The rise in electric biking (E-Bike) injuries: a 10-year age and sex-specific analysis of national injury data. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 10.1080/00913847.2025.2470104. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2025.2470104

Koehne, N. H., Locke, A. R., Schroen, C. A., Ramey, M., & Hausman, M. R. (2024). Randomized trials evaluating volar locking plates against casting of distal radius fractures are statistically fragile: A systematic review. Journal of orthopaedics, 64, 91–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jor.2024.11.014

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We enjoy sharing news about our EHS Family with the community and we want to hear from you!

Please send us information about your accomplishments, awards, presentations, publications, pictures, and any noteworthy EHS updates you’d like to share.

Email Nina Kulacki at njk2128@columbia.edu with your submissions.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Be well and keep in touch!

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