EHS Student Academic Achievements – Fall 2018

A big congratulations to EHS students for …

Defending their Dissertation:

  • Donghai Liang in May, on “Development and Evaluation of External and Internal Methods for Assessing Exposures to Traffic Related Air Pollution”, working with dissertation chair Jeremy Sarnat … and now Assistant Research Professor of Environmental Health at RSPH!
  • Kostya Kartavenka in September, on ”Development and Field Validation of Quantitative Methods for Analysis of Urinary Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect”, working with dissertation chair Barry Ryan

Passing their Qualifying Exam:

  • Danielle Clarkson-Townsend in April, on “Investigating the Impacts of in utero Circadian Disruption on Epigenetic Regulation of Metabolism and Diabetes”, working with dissertation co-chairs Carmen Marsit and Machelle Pardue
  • Jianzhao Bi in June, on “Estimation of Improved PM2.5 Exposures from Satellite and Low-Cost Sensors for Use in a Population-Based Study of PM2.5 and Renal Disease in California, USA”, working with dissertation chair Yang Liu
  • Jiawen Liao in September, on “Improved Exposure Assessment Methods and Effects of Household Air Pollution Exposure on Gestational Blood Pressure”, working with dissertation co-chairs Tom Clasen and Lisa Thompson
  • Fred Goddard in September, on “Evaluating Existing and Testing New Methodologies for the Characterization of Child Exposure to Enteric Pathogens in the Context of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Interventions”, working with dissertation chair Tom Clasen

Receiving External Grant Funding:

  • Danielle Clarkson-Townsend, for an NICHD F31 NRSA on “Investigating the Impacts of in utero Circadian Disruption on Epigenetic Regulation of Metabolism and Diabetes”
  • Molly Steele, for a Gates/GAVI’s Vaccine Impact Modeling Consortium grant for “Modeling Rotavirus Vaccine Impact in 98 GAVI Eligible Countries” (abstract)
  • Aimee Vester, for an NIEHS F30 NRSA on ”Investigating the Neurodevelopmental Effects of Pyrethroid Pesticide and Stress Exposure on the Dopamine System in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”

Receiving Awards and Fellowships:

  • Molly Steele, for an Outstanding Poster Award on “Predicting the Epidemiological Impact of Changes to Current Rotavirus Vaccine Coverage in the United States“, International Rotavirus Symposium, August
  • Donghai Liang, for the JESEE Young Investigator Award at the Joint Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Science and the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, August 
  • Julia Sobolik, for an Emory University Molecules to Mankind (M2M) 2-year fellowship for professional development
  • Danielle Clarkson-Townsend, for an ORDER/IDEAS 2018-2019 Fellowship and an Emory University Molecules to Mankind (M2M) fellowship
  • Elizabeth Sajewski, for an ARCS Foundation Herz Global Impact Award, a merit-based scholar award

Publishing Papers:

  • Yang W, Steele M, Lopman B, Leon JS, Hall AJ. (2018). The population-level impacts of excluding norovirus infected food workers: a mathematical modeling study. American Journal of Epidemiology, accepted. (abstract)
  • Hennessee I, Guilavogui T, Camara A, Halsey ES, Marston B, McFarland D, Freeman M, Plucinski MM. (2018). Adherence to Ebola-specific malaria case management guidelines at health facilities in Guinea during the West African Ebola epidemic. Malaria Journal. 17:230. (abstract)
  • Delahoy MJ, Wodnik B, McAliley L, Penakalapati G, Swarthout J, Freeman MC, Levy K. (2018). Pathogens transmitted in animal feces in low-and middle-income countries. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 221(4):661-676. (article)
  • Delahoy MJ, Omore R, Ayers TL, Schilling KA, Blackstock AJ, Ochieng JB, Moke F, Jaron P, Awuor A, Okonji C, Juma J. (2018). Clinical, environmental, and behavioral characteristics associated with Cryptosporidium infection among children with moderate-to-severe diarrhea in rural western Kenya, 2008-2012: The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS). PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 12;12(7):e0006640. (article)
  • Liang D, Moutinho JL, Golan R, Yu T, Ladva CN, Niedzwiecki M, Walker DI, Sarnat SE, Chang HH, Greenwald R, Jones DP, Russell AG, Sarnat JA. (2018). Use of high-resolution metabolomics for the identification of metabolic signals associated with traffic-related air pollution. Environment International. 120:145-154. (abstract)
  • Liang D, Golan R, Moutinho JL, Chang HH, Greenwald R, Sarnat SE, Russell AG, Sarnat JA. (2018). Errors associated with the use of roadside monitoring in the estimation of acute traffic pollutant-related health effects. Environmental Research. 165:210-219. (abstract)
  • Ladva CN, Golan R, Liang D, Greenwald R, Walker DI, Uppal K, Raysoni AU, Tran V, Yu T, Flanders WD, Miller GW, Jones DP, Sarnat JA. (2018). Particulate metal exposures induce plasma metabolome changes in a commuter panel study. PLoS ONE. 13(9): e0203468. (article)
  • Hunter C, Cooley L, Kunz J. (2018). Advancing Public Health Department Legionnaires’ Disease Prevention Efforts through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement. Journal of Environmental Health. 81(1), 30. (abstract)

Making Presentations at Workshops and Conferences:

  • Molly Steele, poster on “Predicting the epidemiological impact of changes to current rotavirus vaccine coverage in the United States” at International Rotavirus Symposium, August
  • Danielle Clarkson-Townsend, on “Night Shift Work and Placental Methylation in the Rhode Island Child Health Study” at ISES-ISEE August
  • Jianzhao Bi, oral presentation on “Incorporating Snow and Cloud Fractions in Random Forest to Estimate High-Resolution PM2.5 Exposures in New York State” at ISES-ISEE August
  • Miranda Delahoy, on “Climate change and childhood diarrhea: implications for Peru“, keynote lecture for the Peruvian National Academy of Medicine’s regional scientific conference. September 2018, Piura, Peru.
  • Bryan Vu, on “Developing Advanced PM2.5 Exposure Models in Lima, Peru” at ISES-ISEE August
  • Donghai Liang, oral presentation on “Errors associated with the use of roadside monitoring in the estimation of acute traffic pollutant-related health effects” at ISES-ISEE August
  • Donghai Liang, poster on “Use of High-Resolution Metabolomics to Identify Potential Metabolic Pathways Associated with Traffic-Related Air Pollutants” at ISES-ISEE August
  • Candis Hunter, on “Investigating Behaviors to Minimize Potential Soil Contamination Exposure among Community Gardeners” at American Community Garden Association Conference, September 2018
  • Wenlu Ye, oral presentation on “Assessment of Household Air Pollution (HAP) from Burning Firewood and Yak Dung on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau” at Indoor Air Conference July 2018
  • Ian Buller, on “Spatial distribution of Yersinia pestis found in a sentinel species across the United States while accounting for sampling uncertainty” at Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, August

And Making Other (Academic) Achievements:

  • Wenlu Ye, accepted to present at the 2018 Workshop on Household Energy Impact Evaluation (WHEIE) in December
  • Candi Hunter, with Baby Christine sleeping through the night! Not exactly an academic achievement, but my husband and I did keep a log of different variables (e.g., bath time routines, fussiness, feedings) to potentially predict how we could get her to not wake up multiple times during the night. Of course, all of our predictions and equations failed miserably, and she ended up sleeping through the night on her own time.

Published:  October 1, 2018
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