Brooks Gump

Falk Family Endowed Professor, Public Health Link

Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies

CAPS Biography:

As PI or co-Investigator with nearly continuous NSF- and NIH-funded research over the past 20 years, I have pursued research on social and environmental contributors to children’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Our program of research is grounded in a life-course understanding of the development of CVD – with origins and subsequent trajectories of CVD established in early childhood. We have documented a number of neuroendocrine and cardiovascular changes as a function of low-level environmental toxicants, including lead (Pb). This research was cited as part of the body of evidence to justify the CDC’s recent decision to lower the “threshold of concern” in children for blood Pb levels from 10 mg/dL to 5 mg/dL. Our program of research closely aligns with the CAPS signature theme, health and well-being, and the cross-cutting theme of specific populations (namely, children, minorities, low SES).