Environmental Justice

Last year, the University of Washington Population Health Initiative awarded COVID-19 population health equity research grants to three projects involving partnerships between UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and community leaders.

Joycelyn Chui, an MPH student in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health (DEOHS), is one of two recipients of this year’s Russell L. Castner Endowed Student Research Fund, which supports student research in environmental health.

Magali Blanco PhD, Environmental and Occupational Hygiene Hometown Santa Cruz, CA Future plans Continuing her research on environmental exposures and health outcomes in an academic or government setting.

Renée Codsi MPH, One Health Hometown Beirut, Lebanon Future plans Starting a PhD in Environmental & Occupational Health at DEOHS in the fall.

Tips for choosing a portable air cleaner DO:

In her free time, Dennise Drury loves playing volleyball, basketball and soccer. She’s just as multifaceted when it comes to public health pursuits.

Without the cooling powers of trees, workers in deforested areas are less productive, according to new research from the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and other collaborators.

Three teams including researchers from the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) will tackle projects on the health impacts of wildfire smoke and climate change, thanks to new pilot research grants from the UW

Esther Min, DEOHS research consultant and Front and Centered environmental health lead.

For many farmworkers across Washington state, the risks of working on the front lines during the pandemic have been compounded by an “infodemic.”

As students in King County public schools log into their online classes this winter, researchers from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) are stepping into their temporarily empty classrooms to study air quality.

In a year like no other, DEOHS faculty, students and staff quickly pivoted to tackle new threats posed by the pandemic. We contributed to Washington state's COVID-19 response, showed the effectiveness of self-sampling for the virus and assessed impacts on essential workers—not to mention our furry friends.

DEOHS Clinical Professor Stephanie Farquhar.

In the U.S., we each waste about a pound of food each day. Our own choices contribute to the pileup, combined with a system that promotes wasteful decisions, according to a new report from UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) Associate Professor Jennifer Otten and collaborators.

Oceans affect every human life — no matter how far away from a coastline a community may be. Oceans supply fresh water and oxygen, regulate the climate, influence the weather and affect human health. People rely on these large bodies of water for food, income, transportation and recreation. In turn, human activities can impact oceans and the systems they support.

Editor's note: Natalie Peterson is a UW senior completing her BS in Environmental Health. Her JRCOSTEP internship was recently featured by the Indian Health Service on its website.  

When Jake asked me to go on a sunset hike, I knew what was coming. We were in our favorite place: the Methow Valley of Eastern Washington. When we crested the top of the mountain, a few sunrays peeked through the clouds, lighting up the fertile valley below. Still, when he got down on one knee, I was surprised, and overcome with happiness. Life seemed full of promise.

Join author BJ Cummings for a virtual book launch on July 11 at 2 pm, hosted by the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center. Register here  

  Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York’s Central Park, once called trees the lungs of the city. Trees and shrubs filter a variety of air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter. But could they also benefit communities near airports by absorbing harmful ultrafine particles from aircraft exhaust?

Given the extraordinary challenges of this year’s pandemic, the students of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) needed a superhero. Watch a student video honoring Nicole Errett

This spring, the first group of undergraduates to complete the UW Nutritional Sciences Program’s Food Systems, Nutrition and Health major are taking the knowledge they’ve acquired and applying it to help their communities.

Magali Blanco and Gabino Abarca from the University of Washington School of Public Health were selected to take part in the inaugural Latino Center for Health Student Scholars Fellowship program.

Sumaya Aden BS, Environmental Health Hometown Federal Way, WA Future plans Going to medical school after graduation in 2021 “I like seeing how things happen and why and the data behind it.” - Sumaya Aden

Each spring, seasonal farmworkers arrive in the Pacific Northwest for the planting season. This year, they’ve been met with a public health emergency.

Read the news release Workers who pick our fruits and vegetables already face harsh conditions in fields during summer harvest months. Those conditions will worsen significantly over the coming decades.

Ola i ka Wai. Water is life. Tyler Gerken MS, Environmental Health Hometown: Kea’au, Hawai’i Island, HI Future plans: A career in the US Public Health Service, perhaps as an environmental health officer for the National Park Service or the Indian Health Service

According to the analysis, “strategic investments in a coordinated global-pandemics initiative would likely have a return ratio of between $17 and $20 on every $1 spent.” Curbing pandemics might also address shared global challenges, such as gender and social inequalities, and support climate adaptation and mitigation.

Babies born today will face unprecedented health risks and life-long health consequences from rising temperatures, according to new research published Wednesday from The Lancet.

Maria Blancas, a UW PhD student and staff member in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS), will receive the 2019 Bullitt Environmental Prize for her work with immigrant farmworkers in Washington.

Washington is on the road to 100 percent clean energy with the passage of a new law championed by Gov. Jay Inslee that sets targets for achieving zero-carbon electricity by 2045.