Risk Assessment

Rita Colwell and her collaborators have successfully used satellite data to predict cholera outbreaks in Yemen, Sudan, Malawi and other places where the bacteria that cause the diarrheal disease lurk in zooplankton in the ocean. When ocean conditions are right, the zooplankton build up and can transfer the bacteria to people through contaminated water or seafood.

Dr. Jeremy Hess, UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) professor and climate researcher, knows how prolonged heat exposure can impact the body.

This summer, I embraced the UW EarthLab’s mission to “push the boundaries” as an EarthLab intern with the Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE).

As policy director for the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), Maggie Leland’s job is rarely the same from day to day. She may be working on a new rule to help protect workers’ health or assisting members of the Washington State Legislature with technical guidance related to a proposed bill.   

U.S. workers are routinely exposed to multiple psychosocial hazards in the workplace that negatively impact their health. 

Bob Wilbur thought he’d found a retirement home that would be a place of peace. Nestled against Admiralty Bay on the western edge of Whidbey Island, the three-story house is surrounded by trees and shoreline. It offers the kind of quiet that only an island can provide. Except when the Growlers fly. 

As a young woman, Diana Ceballos spent Saturdays volunteering with impoverished children living in a neighborhood built on top of a garbage dump in her native Medellin, Colombia.

Asheton Gilbertson MS, Occupational Hygiene Hometown Denver, CO Future plans Working as an industrial hygienist at Sandia National Laboratories. “My work with firefighters helped solidify that I made the right choice in coming to UW, because I would not have gotten to do this anywhere else.”

Two teams of researchers from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciencs (DEOHS) and their partners recently received grants from the UW Population Health Initiative for projects focusing on supporting healthy home environments in Washington’s Yakima Valley and understanding the connections between community-based land management and disease outbreaks in Brazil.

For her many contributions to assessing the risk of chemical hazards, Elaine Faustman has been awarded the 2023 Arnold J.

Affording food is such a challenge in Washington state that residents who experience food insecurity say their grocery bills are their biggest source of financial stress, more so than paying for rent or utilities.

Firefighters risk their lives responding to emergencies, but they also jeopardize their long-term health through exposure to toxic chemicals and other occupational hazards. As a result, firefighters are at increased risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease and other health conditions.

Belen Salguero BS, Environmental Health Hometown Morton, WA Future plans A public health career focusing on worker health in marginalized communities

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

A new UW study is inviting pet owners who test positive for monkeypox to also have their animals screened for the virus. The Monkeypox and Pets Study is accepting enrollees in King County. Owners of dogs, cats, ferrets, rats, mice and hamsters may participate. The study will not include reptiles or birds.

Air pollution is not just a problem for lungs. Increasingly, research suggests air pollution can influence childhood behavioral problems and even IQ. A new study led by UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) researchers has added evidence showing that both prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution can harm kids.

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

Amalawa Aiwekhoe BS, Environmental Health Hometown Everett, WA Future plans Continue his job at Boeing as an occupational health and safety specialist, eventually returning to DEOHS for his Applied MS in Occupational Hygiene.

Nicole Errett Two interdisciplinary teams led by researchers from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) will study disaster preparedness and noise pollution with awa

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

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.

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.

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.

For Washington’s K-12 students, having clean air is just as important as having a great teacher, according to a growing body of research on air pollution from traffic, wildfire smoke and other sources that can infiltrate schools and endanger health.

Terrance KavanaghProfessor, UW Department of Environmental & Occupational HealthProudest achievementMentoring more than three dozen graduate students and seeing them become accomplished scientists.Joined DEOHS faculty1989