Environmental Health

The Fifth Season project The Fifth Season project is featured on KUOW's Soundside program. See all of the portraits and hear the audio stories here.

About 100 staff, faculty and student workers in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) were designated “essential workers” by the UW and worked in person throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain critical DEOHS work and services.

Read more about our graduates and their future plans Families, friends, faculty and staff gathered Friday to celebrate 82 students graduating from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) in the department’s first in-person graduation ceremony in three years.

DEOHS Assistant Teaching Professor Emily Hovis. Two teams of researchers in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and their partners have been

Shelley Stephan MS, Occupational Hygiene Hometown Irvine, CA Future plans A career as a research industrial hygienist.

Megumi Matsushita PhD, Environmental Toxicology Hometown Otsu, Japan Future plans A career in public service as a public health scientist “My goal is to use all the knowledge and training that I have accumulated over the years to help inform public health decisions.”

Tiny pollution particles can cause major health problems. Our research shows how to minimize your risk.

All forest fire smoke is bad for people, but not all fires in forests are bad.

Panel on sustainability in coffee and tea industries Attend a free panel discussion on current developments in the coffee and tea industries focused on creating just and sustainable supply chains that benefit people and the environment. Brewing Sustainability in the Coffee and Tea Industries May 18, 2022, 12:30 - 1:30 pm

Inna Antonchuk MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health Hometown Rivne, Ukraine Future plans Continuing to work as a nurse as well as applying her public health training, perhaps with a government agency “I am very interested in immigrant occupational health but also in public health policy."

DEOHS Assistant Professor Nicole Errett A new pilot project co-led by University of Washington researchers to improve disaster preparedness and climate resilience in South Seattle will put equity at the cen

Katy Burr MPH, One Health Hometown Seattle, WA Future plans Joining the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service program “I'm hopeful that my work will help to illuminate ways to keep people who work with animals safer at work.” - Katy Burr

Juliette Randazza MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health Master in Public Administration Hometown Andover, MA Future plans Entering public service in local or state government, working on environmental policy and management and their impact on health

Two international research projects co-led by researchers in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) were recently awarded Tier I pilot grants from the UW Population Health Initiative (PHI). The grants support researchers in laying an interdisciplinary foundation for a future project to generate proof of concept.

Apply for the program In the earliest stages of life, our health is particularly vulnerable to environmental contaminants such as particulate matter in air and endocrine disruptors in food, water and household products.

Marilyn Roberts still remembers the advice her father gave her when she headed off to college: “Do something so you can get a career.”

Yoni Rodriguez MS, Occupational Hygiene Hometown Toppenish, WA Future plans Pursuing an MD/PhD in Environmental Health “My next step is to couple public health education with technology that monitors and removes environmental toxins in a safe, efficient and sustainable manner.”

A bucket-list dream to take an Alaskan cruise turned into a lifetime of public health service in Alaska for Denise Koch, an alumna of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS).

Farmers struggling to adapt to rising temperatures in tropical regions can unleash the benefits of natural cooling, alongside a host of other wins, simply by dotting more trees across their pasturelands. For the first time, a study led by the University of Washington puts tangible numbers to the cooling effects of this practice.

Tips for wearing an N95 or KN95 mask: Improve the fit by pinching the metal nose clip around the bridge of the nose. N95s have straps that go around the back of your head.

What started as a University of Washington-led project to measure air pollution near Sea-Tac International Airport has resulted in schools in the area installing portable air filters to improve classroom air quality.

Read the report Tribal communities in Washington state experienced increased food insecurity during the pandemic, according to a new report by researchers at the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (NWTEC), a division of the Northwest Portland

Dorian Kenleigh MPH, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Hometown Pittsburgh, PA Future plans Continuing to advocate for workers, such as in the cannabis industry as a medical consultant.

Daaniya Iyaz MS, Environmental Health Hometown Born in Chennai, India; raised in Sammamish, WA, USA Future plans Working in public health in government or consulting.

In 2021, the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) welcomed new faculty, forged collaborations in climate and health, and continued our innovative, community-oriented environmental health research on areas including air pollution, COVID-19 and the far-reaching health impacts of wildfire smoke across Washington state. Explore our top stories below.

A new study led by faculty in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and the Nutritional Sciences Program explores how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to food in Washington in the areas of both food production and food assistance, and how the state can learn from the pandemic and take advantage of new opportunities.

My PhD adviser approached me with an unexpected opportunity in June 2020. A colleague in Portugal was looking for students to study at his university in Lisbon as part of the US Fulbright Student program. This was something I had never considered. But completing a year of my PhD in Lisbon was not a chance I was going to pass up.

The evidence has been clear for some time: Climate change presents a dire threat to human health. Unfortunately, as a result of inaction on the issue, the prognosis is getting worse.