Student Experience

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.

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."

Nancy Carmona PhD, Environmental and Occupational Hygiene Hometown West Sacramento, CA Future plans Teaching, research and working on environmental health policy

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

 

 

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.

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.”

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.

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.

In mid-October, UW PhD student Amber Khan took a hike up Mt. Si that was different from the treks she usually goes on with her husky.

Joanne Medina MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health Hometown Brooklyn, NY “Be open to diverse experiences, because you never know how those skills may prepare you for future jobs and opportunities.” - Joanne Medina

Editor’s note: Lily Myers is a second-year DEOHS master's student in Occupational Hygiene and a trainee in the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (part of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences). We recently spoke with Myers about her research at a Seattle-area marine mammal hospital.

During the pandemic, it’s even more important than usual to wash our hands and clean surfaces in our homes regularly. But all this cleaning can come with health and safety risks: children can accidentally consume household cleaners, and breathing in fumes from products like bleach and ammonia can be hazardous.

Joe Lim, 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.

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.

Diana Marquez hopes to become a certified industrial hygienist serving agricultural workers in the Yakima Valley. Photo courtesy of Marquez.

For his unflagging encouragement of students and his inspiring teaching, UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) Professor Gerard (Jerry) Cangelosi has been awarded the 2021 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award.

Jovanny Rodriguez BS, Environmental Health Hometown Bonney Lake, WA Future plans Working at a local health department; a master's degree in environmental health. Since childhood, Jovanny Rodriguez always imagined he would become a doctor.

Tianai (Scyler) Li BS, Environmental Health Hometown Hefei, China Future plans Starting veterinary school at Washington State University this fall. “Community health is important in terms of protecting every individual in the population. It’s like medicine, but for a whole population.”

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.

Four students in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) were recently awarded scholarships from the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF) to support their studies in industrial hygiene.

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

I am excited to graduate this spring with my PhD in Environmental and Occupational Hygiene from the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS).

The world has pledged to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2035. COVID-19 threatens to move the goalposts. In Jerry Cangelosi’s lab at the University of Washington—as in many labs and clinics around the world—efforts are being pulled from TB into COVID-19 research and diagnostic testing in response to the global pandemic.

While browsing in a Davis, California, bookstore, Karen Levy came across a brightly illustrated book with a provocative title that would change the trajectory of her academic career.

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.