Environmental Health

David Beck is Director of Research for Life Sciences with the eScience Institute, the UW’s nexus for Data Science and Research Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering. He received his BS in Computer Science from Drexel University in 2000 and Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Biomolecular Structure & Design from Medicinal Chemistry in 2006.

Our general area of research focuses on the gene-environment interactions that explain susceptibility of humans to toxicity from heavy metal exposures. Heavy metals such as mercury and lead are important public health hazards, because they accumulate in the brain and other organs, causing cognitive deficits, personality changes, and impaired motor function.

Sverre Vedal is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health. He  is a pulmonary physician and an epidemiologist with research interests in the adverse health effects of community air pollution and in occupational lung disease.

Dr. van Belle holds a joint appointment in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and the Department Biostatistics. He served as chair of the former from 1991 to 1998 at which time he returned to regular faculty status.

The general area of my teaching and research involves the applied aspects of environmental health practice, i.e., how the principles and concepts of environmental health are actually practiced in the field, especially by local, state, tribal and federal agencies.

Since earning his advanced degree in Chemical Engineering (MIT) and receiving post-doctoral training in Respiratory Physiology (Harvard School of Public Health), Dr. Morgan has spent thirty-seven years teaching and studying the human response to inhalation of air contaminants, including the products of combustion and volatile solvents.

Dr. Kissel has a history of research related to human exposure to environmental contaminants. One aspect of this work involves characterization of human dermal contact with soils and sediments.

David Kalman is a professor in the Environmental Health program. He is a chemist by training, earning his doctorate from the University of Washington in 1978. He joined the faculty in that year and has held numerous positions including director of the Environmental Health Laboratory and director of one graduate degree program and (currently) director of undergraduate degree education.

Howard Frumkin is Senior Vice President with the Trust for Public Land and Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he served as Dean from 2010-2016. After serving as Dean, he led the “Our Planet, Our Health” initiative at the Wellcome Trust in London from 2018-2019.

Dr. Michael Yost is Professor and Chair of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). He is also the Director of the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center at DEOHS. A member of the DEOHS faculty since 1993, Dr. Yost was named department chair in August 2014. 

Dr. Spector is a physician-scientist with a focus on the prevention and management of adverse health outcomes related to heat exposure in working populations. 

Dr. Sipos is Associate Teaching Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. She works at the intersection of food systems, community-engaged scholarship, sustainability and equity. Her teaching and research center community and regional scales. Dr.

Dr. Lianne Sheppard is the Rohm & Haas Endowed Professor in Public Health Sciences at the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and Professor in the UW Department of Biostatistics. In 2021, Dr.

Dr. Edmund Seto is Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. He received his PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the quantification of exposures and risk as they relate to environmental and occupational health.

Coralynn Sack joined the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the Department of Medicine in 2018. She is a physician-scientist with clinical and research expertise in environmental and occupational lung disease. She received her MD from the University of Buffalo and MPH in epidemiology from the UW.

Dr. Rosenfeld is a Professor in DEOHS and has joint appointments in the Dept. Pathology and the Core Faculty of the Graduate Program in Nutritional Sciences. He is the director of the Environmental Pathology/Toxicology training grant, funded by NIEHS. Dr.

Dr. Roberts' research interests include identification of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] and vancomycin resistant enterococci [VRE] in environmental samples, antibiotic resistance using a One Health approach. Dr. Roberts is interested in how antibiotic resistance genes and resistant bacteria move between the environment, humans and animals.

Dr. Meschke is an environmental and occupational health microbiologist, specializing in the fate, transport, detection and control of pathogens in environmental media (air, water, food and surfaces). He is Associate Chair and Graduate Program Coordinator for the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences.

Tim Larson is a professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, where he teaches courses on air pollution control and air quality modeling.

Dr. Kavanagh joined the faculty at the University of Washington in the Departments of Medicine and Environmental Health in 1989, and is currently Emeritus Professor in the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Dr.

Dr. Kaufman is a physician-epidemiologist, board-certified in internal medicine and occupational medicine.

Dr. Catherine Karr is an environmental epidemiologist and pediatric environmental medicine specialist. She has a primary appointment in the UW Department of Pediatrics, a joint appointment in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and an adjunct appointment in the Department of Epidemiology.

Dr. Hess is Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Global Health and Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington. He serves as the director of the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE). Dr. Hess has an MD and an MPH in global environmental health and is residency-trained and board-certified in emergency medicine.

Hilary Godwin is dean of the UW School of Public Health and professor in the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. She has 15 years of experience as an academic leader with expertise in interdisciplinary collaborative research on nanotoxicology and the chemistry of lead poisoning and its impact on public health.

Dr. Gallagher joined the faculty of the University of Washington in 2004 and previously held the Sheldon D. Murphy Endowed Chair of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Dr.

Dr. Elaine Faustman is a toxicologist and Professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and Director of the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication (IRARC).

Dr. Nicole Errett’s research focuses on the development, implementation and health impacts of policies and programs that aim to build resilience in the context of public health emergencies, disasters and climate change.

Dr. Julia Yue Cui is Associate Professor in toxicology in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS). She is the director of the Environmental Health and Microbiome Research Center, part of DEOHS.

The general area of research in Dr. Costa's laboratory is neurotoxicology. Neurotoxic substances may play a role in neurodevelopmental disorders, and in neurological, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr.

Dr. Michelle Averill is an Associate Teaching Professor in environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington. She is also the Associate Director for the Graduate Coordinated Program in Dietetics and a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dr.