Professor and Associate Director of Global Health Research
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies
CAPS Biography:
My research focuses on environmental exposures, air pollution, and human health across the life course, which in recent decades has extended to extreme weather and health impacts. This line of my research is well-aligned with the CAPS signature theme of health and well-being, and the cross-cutting themes of place and specific populations. This has included studies of asthma risk for residents of urban neighborhoods located near highways, as well as research identifying significant associations between extreme heat and cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions with higher risks for Black and Hispanic populations.
I am trained in medicine, public health, and environmental epidemiology, and I have over 30 years of research experience directing various environmental health studies as a productive researcher and a leader in both the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) and in the School of Public Health, University at Albany (UAlbany). As a PI, I have directed over 45 studies assessing the health impacts of various environmental exposures, including air pollution, extreme weather events, natural or unnatural disasters, urban air toxins exposure, and school environment health. With these experiences, I have served on multiple national climate change committees on developing climate change indicators, evaluating current heat-stress definitions, and preparing papers.
