Environmental Health
It affects us all.
The air we breathe. The water we drink. The food we eat. Where we live. All the things we come in contact with every day. Nothing is more intrinsic to health than our environment, with environmental exposures among the leading contributors to health problems. And while people are affected regardless of income and geography, environmental health risks especially threaten the most vulnerable among us.
For decades, the Department of Environmental Health has conducted policy-relevant research, often working closely with affected communities, to help address environmental challenges. Academically, our students prepare to meet the challenges of environmental health through a solid grounding in epidemiology, exposure science, toxicology, risk assessment and related fields, as well as training in legal and economic topics relevant to environmental and public health.
Our work addresses the health effects of exposures to complex mixtures of chemicals, including chemicals contained in consumer products as well as contaminants of water, food, and soil such as lead or mercury. We evaluate the health effects of air pollution and a changing climate, including through the schoolwide Center for Climate & Health at BUSPH, which is led by Environmental Health faculty. We are also interested in the adverse effects of non-chemical hazards such as noise, heat, and social stressors, and how different kinds of chemical and non-chemical exposures accumulate or interact to harm health. Vulnerable populations such as children and people living in poverty in the US and internationally are of great importance to us, and we emphasize environmental justice with consideration of the effects of racism on exposures and health effects.
Academic Programs
The Department of Environmental Health faculty and staff participate in interdisciplinary master’s and doctoral degrees. We lead the Environmental Health Functional Certificate and the Climate Change and Health Context Certificate within the Master of Public Health (MPH), participate in the Master of Science in Population Health Research, and offer the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Environmental Health.
