
Birgit G. Claus Henn, ScD
Associate Professor, Environmental Health - Boston University School of Public Health
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 2/10/2023
Schildroth S, Friedman A, White RF, Kordas K, Placidi D, Bauer JA, Webster TF, Coull BA, Cagna G, Wright RO, Smith D, Lucchini RG, Horton M, Claus Henn B. Associations of an industry-relevant metal mixture with verbal learning and memory in Italian adolescents: The modifying role of iron status. Environ Res. 2023 May 01; 224:115457. PMID: 36773645.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/20/2022
Crawford KA, Doherty BT, Gilbert-Diamond D, Romano ME, Claus Henn B. Waxing activity as a potential source of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other environmental contaminants among the US ski and snowboard community. Environ Res. 2022 Dec; 215(Pt 3):114335. PMID: 36150439.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/14/2022
Geller RJ, Wesselink AK, Upson K, Claus Henn B, Schildroth S, Wright R, Coleman CM, Willis MD, Bethea TN, Williams PL, Harmon QE, Baird DD, Wegienka G, Wise LA. Correlates of whole blood metal concentrations among reproductive-aged Black women. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 Sep 14. PMID: 36104525.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 8/23/2022
Schildroth S, Kordas K, Bauer JA, Wright RO, Claus Henn B. Environmental Metal Exposure, Neurodevelopment, and the Role of Iron Status: a Review. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2022 Dec; 9(4):758-787. PMID: 35997893.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 4/21/2022
Schildroth S, Friedman A, Bauer JA, Claus Henn B. Associations of a metal mixture with iron status in U.S. adolescents: Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2022 Mar; 2022(181-182):67-89. PMID: 35445799.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 3/28/2022
Schildroth S, Wise LA, Wesselink AK, Bethea TN, Fruh V, Taylor KW, Calafat AM, Baird DD, Claus Henn B. Correlates of non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemical mixtures among reproductive-aged Black women in Detroit, Michigan. Chemosphere. 2022 Jul; 299:134447. PMID: 35358566.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 1/7/2022
Devick KL, Bobb JF, Mazumdar M, Claus Henn B, Bellinger DC, Christiani DC, Wright RO, Williams PL, Coull BA, Valeri L. Bayesian kernel machine regression-causal mediation analysis. Stat Med. 2022 02 28; 41(5):860-876. PMID: 34993981.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/19/2021
Smith AR, Lin PD, Rifas-Shiman SL, Rahman ML, Gold DR, Baccarelli AA, Claus Henn B, Amarasiriwardena C, Wright RO, Coull B, Hivert MF, Oken E, Cardenas A. Prospective Associations of Early Pregnancy Metal Mixtures with Mitochondria DNA Copy Number and Telomere Length in Maternal and Cord Blood. Environ Health Perspect. 2021 11; 129(11):117007. PMID: 34797165.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/8/2021
Friedman A, Bauer JA, Austin C, Downs TJ, Tripodis Y, Heiger-Bernays W, White RF, Arora M, Claus Henn B. Multiple metals in children's deciduous teeth: results from a community-initiated pilot study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 May; 32(3):408-417. PMID: 34750512.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/30/2021
Schildroth S, Wise LA, Wesselink AK, De La Cruz P, Bethea TN, Weuve J, Fruh V, Botelho JC, Sjodin A, Calafat AM, Baird DD, Claus Henn B. Correlates of Persistent Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Mixtures among Reproductive-Aged Black Women. Environ Sci Technol. 2021 10 19; 55(20):14000-14014. PMID: 34591461.
Read At: PubMed
View 58 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
- Published on March 10, 2023
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Published on July 6, 2021
Boston Researcher Advances Cutting-Edge Technology in Holliston Drinking Water Studies
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Published on March 5, 2021
Professor Studies Impact of Chemical Exposures on Child Brain Development
- Published on May 15, 2020
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Published on May 6, 2020
DDT Was Banned Decades Ago. Why Is It Still Detectable in These Women?
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Published on September 13, 2019
Dozens Who Grew Up in Same Hanover Neighborhood Diagnosed with Brain Tumors
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Published on February 2, 2018
High Levels of Contaminants Found in Holliston Drinking Water