Doing our studies better helps us do better: The role of Environmental Epidemiology in improving the public’s health
Abstract: Epidemiological methods used to study environmental health are more useful when they clarify possible public health actions or help protect people most impacted. I will use examples from my work, which tackles the role of air pollutants and metals on human health and development, to highlight the important role of methods such as mixtures analyses, mediation analyses, and epidemiological target trials.
Bio: Dr. Kalkbrenner is an Associate Professor and PhD Programs Director at the Zilber College of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her educational background includes an MPH from the University of California-Berkeley, and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina. Dr. Kalkbrenner focuses on environmental epidemiology, studying how exposures to environmental pollutants during pregnancy and infancy may cause poor birth outcomes (such as preterm birth) or neurodevelopmental disorders (like autism). She focuses on airborne pollutants, including road traffic pollutants and air toxics, which include hundreds of airborne metals and volatile organic compounds. Increasingly she studies these problems in the context of aspects of marginalization and as they intersect with climate change, uncovering pointers toward reducing air pollution impacts on health.
