Birgit Claus Henn
Profiles

Birgit G. Claus Henn, ScD

Associate Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-2459
bclaus@bu.edu
Talbot
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Biography

Birgit Claus Henn is an environmental epidemiologist who seeks to define the impacts of environmental exposures on maternal and child health. Her research focuses on chemical mixtures and their effects on child growth, neurodevelopment, and the health of pregnant and reproductive-aged women. She has examined exposure to metals, pesticides, and endocrine disrupting chemicals and associations with neurodevelopment in multiple pediatric cohorts worldwide, spanning critical periods of development from the prenatal period through adolescence. A central component of her work is estimating health effects of environmental mixtures using state-of-the-art statistical approaches.

Other research interests include the development and use of novel exposure science methods to incorporate exposure timing in epidemiologic studies, and the role of nutritional, social, and other factors in modifying and/or mediating chemical toxicity.

Dr. Claus Henn was the PI of an NIEHS K99/R00 Career Development Award to utilize novel statistical approaches for analyzing metal mixtures and neurodevelopment and is the MPI or co-investigator on multiple NIH R01s on environmental mixtures. She is also the PI of an NIEHS T32 Predoctoral Training Program and serves as the director of the PhD program in Environmental Health at BUSPH.

Education

  • Harvard School of Public Health, SD Field of Study: Epidemiology
  • University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, MPH Field of Study: Environmental Health
  • University of California, Berkeley, BA Field of Study: Environmental Science

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHEH730
  • SPHEH980

Publications

  • Published on 3/9/2026

    Yuan Y, Hall SM, Amador Velázquez JJ, López Pilarte D, Vences Brown S, Amador Sánchez M, Amador Sánchez J, Claus Henn B, Scammell MK, Friedman DJ, Brooks DR, Leibler JH. Multichemical Exposure Assessment Using Silicone Wristbands in Central American Adolescents. Expo Health. 2026; 18(2):20. PMID: 41815533.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/27/2026

    Schildroth S, Claus Henn B, Lovett SM, Wesselink AK, Nillni YI, Heiger-Bernays W, Harmon QE, Vines AI, Baird DD, Wise LA. A prospective study of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), stress, and birth size in a cohort of U.S. Black women. Environ Health. 2026 Feb 27. PMID: 41761315.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/9/2026

    Hall SM, Henn BC, Vences Brown S, Amador Velázquez JJ, López Pilarte D, Amador Sánchez MR, Amador Sánchez JJ, Yuan Y, Fimbres J, Rodgers KM, Jackson BP, Argos M, Carvalho L, Scammell MK, Friedman DJ, Brooks DR, Leibler JH. Toenail metal concentrations and kidney health among young people at risk of chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology. Environ Epidemiol. 2026 Apr; 10(2):e461. PMID: 41674805.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 12/1/2025

    Nichols E, Bindas A, Atshan S, Chang H, Chiang YY, Claus Henn B, Hayes-Larson E, Keller KP, Kezios KL, Shih RA, Szpiro AA, Weiss J, Adar SD, Knapp DM, Lee J, Weuve J. Modeling approaches for estimating the effects of risk factors using longitudinal lifecourse exposure data in dementia research. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Dec; 21(12):e70971. PMID: 41319155.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/17/2025

    Gopang M, Babalola T, Fruh V, Sears CG, Harrington J, Tellez-Plaza M, Webster TF, Tjonneland A, Mann KK, Wellenius GA, Claus Henn B, Raaschou-Nielsen O, Meliker JR. Urine arsenic and risk of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure - A prospective case-cohort study in Danish never smokers. Sci Total Environ. 2025 Dec 10; 1007:180783. PMID: 41252959.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 11/1/2025

    Nichols E, Keller KP, Chang H, Chiang YY, Gross AL, Hayes-Larson E, Claus Henn B, Kezios KL, Meijer E, Shih RA, Szpiro AA, Weiss J, Weuve J, Adar SD, Lee J. Key research priorities in methodological approaches for measuring the exposome and studying its role in the development of dementia. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Nov; 21(11):e70928. PMID: 41273229.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/17/2025

    Veiga-Lopez A, Stevens HE, Rand M, Tjalkens R, Claus Henn B, Marsit CJ, Bernstein AI, Bonner MR, Hoffmann HM, Meliker JR. Reflections on the NIEHS Virtual Consortium funding mechanism (ViCTER) and what it has taught us about the future of transdisciplinary science. Toxicology. 2025 Dec; 518:154283. PMID: 40972998.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/25/2025

    Geller RJ, Wesselink AK, Claus Henn B, Upson K, Vinceti M, Harmon QE, Baird DD, Wegienka G, Wise LA. A Prospective Ultrasound Study of Whole Blood Metals and Incidence of Uterine Leiomyomata. Environ Health Perspect. 2025 Apr; 133(3-4):47012. PMID: 40063901.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/1/2025

    Schildroth S, Claus Henn B, Geller RJ, Wesselink AK, Upson K, Vines AI, Vinceti M, Harmon QE, Baird DD, Wegienka G, Wise LA. A prospective study of a whole blood metal mixture and depressive symptoms among Black women from Detroit, Michigan. Neurotoxicology. 2025 May; 108:94-104. PMID: 40032041.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/1/2025

    Renzetti S, Volta M, van Thriel C, Lucchini RG, Smith DR, Patrono A, Cagna G, Invernizzi A, Rechtman E, Ongaro E, De Angelis E, Calza S, Rota M, Wright RO, Claus Henn B, Horton MK, Placidi D. Association between environmental air pollution and olfactory functioning among Italian adolescents and young adults in the province of Brescia, Italy. Atmospheric Pollution Research. 2025; 16(2):102391.

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