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Human Studies Divison
Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch
Human Studies Division Navigation
Lucas Neas, Acting Chief
Download CV (PDF, 3 pp, 24 kb, About PDF)
The Epidemiology & Biomarkers Branch has as primary goals to identify health effects of pollutants on human, determine the magnitude of risk associated with exposure to environmental pollutants and determine dose-response relationships and identify high-risk populations. Their primary function is to study humans in natural settings through the de novo collection of data or the analysis of existing human data. The EBB performs research using traditional epidemiologic approaches combined with emerging areas of environmental epidemiology, including dosimetry and biochemical and molecular effects of human exposure. This research in conjunction with human tissue banking of isolated human organs, tissues and cells, facilitates the development and validation of biomarkers.
The epidemiology program evaluates the relationship between real-world exposures to environmental contaminants and adverse health effects. Environmental contamination may result from:
- Natural occurrence (e.g.,arsenic in drinking water)
- Residential and industrial discharges into the air and water
- Treatments intended to ensure food and water quality (e.g., byproducts from water disinfection)
- Agricultural practices (e.g., pesticide contamination)
HSD conducts national and international field studies, many of which focus on particularly sensitive subpopulations, including:
- The elderly
- People with pre-existing health conditions
- Infants and children
These studies involve analyses of existing health databases as well as new investigations using cohort, cross-sectional, and panel designs. Health effects of interest include:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Respiratory disease
- Reproductive & developmental abnormalities
- Neurological disease
- Cancer
- Infectious disease
Principal Investigators
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