April 26, 2024 

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you were all able to celebrate Earth Day this past Monday—the weather couldn’t have been better for some quality time with our planet. One remarkable aspect of Earth Day is its immediate impact following its inception in 1970. It inspired the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air Act within the same year. Beyond the vast policy improvements, Earth Day also played a major role in raising awareness about environmental protection and empowering global environmental activism. Click here for more Earth Day facts! 

🌟 In the Spotlight: 

Defense Season; We have an exciting lineup of dissertation defenses happening in the beginning of May! Join us in supporting our PhD candidates as they present their research. Find more details below in Upcoming Events. 

• Hantao Wang will defend his dissertation titled “Lung Function, Interstitial Lung Abnormalities, and Mortality in Shanghai Textile Workers” on Wednesday, May 1 from 3:00 – 5:00 PM. 
• Chih-Fu Wei will defend his dissertation titled “Prenatal Arsenic Exposure, Folic Acid Use and Spina Bifida in Bangladesh” on Thursday, May 2 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM. 
• Shelton Lo will defend his dissertation titled “The Impact of Environmental Exposures on Lung Cancer Recurrence and Progression” on Friday, May 3 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM.  

Celebrating the Earth; The Earth Day Festival at the Countway Community Garden this Monday was a beautiful success! The event was filled with a wealth of sustainability tools, engaging garden activities, nutritious snacks, and lots of planet centered prizes. Participants had the chance to connect with key organizations like Harvard Recycling, C-CHANGE, Restaurant Associates, Harvard University Dining Services, and the Longwood Consortium. I would like to extend a special thank you to the event sponsors: Countway Library, Harvard Chan, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Dental Medicine.  

Our Admins Rock; I’m thrilled that we were able to celebrate our dedicated administrative team this Wednesday on Administrative Professionals Day. I want to say again how grateful I am to be surrounded by such a hardworking and committed admin team. Thank you for all that you do! 

Calling All Biking Enthusiasts; The American Lung Association is hosting the Cycle For Air Autumn Escape Bike Trek in Cape Cod from September 27-29. This three-day trek promises a well-laid-out course with marked trails and a bike repair truck along the way. Forming a team from our EH department would help us to support a great cause and to strengthen our departmental bonds. If you’re interested in forming an EH team, please contact Rose Goldman at rgoldman2335@gmail.com. 

📚 Department Updates:    

Journal Club; This week the EH Journal Club hosted the final meeting for the semester, led by PhD student Sophie Erlich with mentorship from postdoc Dr. Xinan Wang. Sophie gave an excellent presentation of methods for risk prediction using both genetic risk and multiple pollutant exposures. The paper she presented on can be found here. Well done Sophie! These student journal club meetings will resume in the Fall, so be on the lookout for updates when classes start back up. If you are interested in joining the leadership team or learning more about the EH JC series, please email esimonin@hsph.harvard.edu and she will connect you with the admin team. Thank you to everyone who participated this year! 

Student Keynote Lecturer; Yesterday, Jahred Liddie, PhD candidate, gave one of the keynote lectures for the Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference, co-hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. This was a virtual conference this year. His talk was on sociodemographic disparities in PFAS drinking water contamination around the US, as well as next steps to better understanding this issue. Well done, Jahred!  

Petros in Parliament; This week, to celebrate Earth Day, the Greek Parliament invited a variety of scientists including Dr. Petros Koutrakis, Professor of Environmental Sciences, to speak about pressing environmental issues. Petros spoke about challenges and solutions within the climate crisis and spotlighted that Greece and the Mediterranean region will be one of the areas most impacted. He discussed how to address issues regarding citizen and welfare protection; energy, food, and water security; and public health improvements. 

Tea Time; Next week, Tea Time will only take place on Tuesday on the 13th floor from 1:30-2:30pm. On Thursday, we are cancelling Tea Time, and instead we encourage you to attend Chih-Fu’s defense from 2-4pm and our Spring Party from 4-6pm.  

📰 In the News 

• Tapped Out: The Washington Post published a recent article quoting Dr. Ronnie Levin, EH Instructor and former EPA Scientist. Drawing from over three decades of experience, Ronnie discusses the flawed approach to lead replacement programs, emphasizing the need for more rigorous and unified strategy from federal agencies like the EPA.
   
• Center Stage: Recently, a study that I coauthored with Drs. Adam Haber, Assistant Professor of Computational Biology and Environmental Health; Jaime Hart, Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health; Mary Johnson, Principal Research Scientist; Vanitha Sampath, Research Scientist; and Mary Rice, Associate Professor of Medicine, was spotlighted in a Healio article. Mary Johnson is specifically featured in the article, and she shares insights on the critical role of reducing pollutants, improving air quality, and increasing access to natural spaces.
   
• Particle Peril: I am quoted in a USA Today article about the health risks of fine particulate matter pollution in the US. The latest EPA rules should lead to significant decreases in deaths and health costs. 

📗 New Resources  

• The 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Awards nomination cycle is officially open. The AAAS is calling for nominations to honor outstanding scientists, engineers, authors, journalists, and public servants who have made significant contributions to science. I encourage you to nominate deserving individuals and colleagues until the portal closes on Sunday, June 30, 2024.  
• The CDC has announced the launch of a new HeatRisk Dashboard—a tool that uses a five-level scale to indicate the risk factor from heat in a specific area where a color and number is used to represent the level of risk. Thresholds associated with health impacts are identified based on relationships between temperature and mortality using CDC-based data assets at the local-level. There is an online tour of the HeatRisk Dashboard that is narrated by former C-CHANGE Director, Dr. Aron (Ari) Bernstein.  
• This week, the Final Conference Town Hall was hosted in anticipation of the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference in Nairobi, Kenya from May 9-10, 2024. Get involved in discussions focused on shaping the Pact for the Future and Sustainable Development Goal 17 by subscribing to the UN Department of Global Communications Civil Society newsletter to access the Conferences’ online workshops, offsite sessions, and streaming links.  

💌 I Hear You: 

We’ve been thrilled by the enthusiastic response to our recent cookie bake-off, with loads of positive feedback from our participants. Your interest hasn’t gone unnoticed, and I’m excited to announce that we’re bringing back the bake-off fun for another round. This time the theme will be cakes and cupcakes—so mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 4, at 2:00 PM! More details to come. 

🎓 Students Corner:   

• The Harvard Chan School Office of Research Strategy and Development (ORSD) is happy to announce the launch of the F31 Toolkit.  This new resource is intended to support predoctoral candidates at the School in applying for NIH fellowships by providing the information and tools they need to develop a successful application. Examples of toolkit materials include high-level information about F31s, an opportunity-specific checklist, annotated templates, advice from reviewers, and detailed guidance on putting together a fellowship plan. The Harvard Chan School and the Population Health Sciences (PHS) program encourage students to use NIH Predoctoral Individual Fellowships as a means of support and to obtain critical grant-writing experience. By the time of award, the individual applicant must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence. An applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. or equivalent research degree program in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences at an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Individuals may receive up to 5 years (typically 2-3) of support and must be at the dissertation phase of their research training. FY23 stipends are set at $27,144 annually, and tuition is covered at 60% of the level requested by the institution up to $16,000 per year. An institutional allowance of $4,550 is provided. 
  • For more information about applying, please visit the NIH Website and ORSD’s F31 Toolkit. 

🔔 Reminders: 

• Harvard Chan-NIEHS Center for Environmental Health is accepting Pilot Program applications until today, April 26, 2024.  
• The Harvard Environmental Economics Program will award three prizes in May 2024 for the best research papers addressing topics in environmental, energy, and natural-resources economics. 
  • The deadline for receipt of submissions is Monday, May 6, 12:00 PM. 
  • Click here for paper submission guidelines. 
• The Harvard Data Science Initiative’s AWS Impact Computing Project is hosting an AWS Immersion Day on Monday, May 13, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM at the Science and Engineering Complex in Allston. You must be a Harvard affiliate to register. 
• Stay updated on news, events, features, and more on our EH LinkedIn page. Complete this survey for the opportunity to be showcased! 
• Check out the Current Opportunities page on the EH website for both internal and external job postings. 
• Write to EH-Chatter@hsph.harvard.edu or complete the submission survey to have upcoming events or news included in the Chatter. Remember, your contributions and enthusiasm keep our community thriving! 

Have a great weekend! Please be sure to connect with our LinkedIn page.  

Best, 

Kari  

🗓️ Upcoming Events:      

Disclaimer: Harvard Chan School seeks to bring in speakers with a wide range of experiences and perspectives. They’re here to share their own insights; they do not speak for the School or the University. 

 

Chair Open Office Hours   

Building 1, Room 1301, monthly on the first Tuesday, 1:30 – 2:00 PM.  

*Please check with Jen Razo to make sure I will be there in person. 

*Office hours will be paused during the summer months: June, July and August 

Tea Time  

Building 1, 13th Floor Kitchen Area, Tuesdays 1:30 – 2:30 PM 

Landmark 4 West, Thursdays 2:30 – 3:30 PM 

April Tea of the Month: Bigelow Lavender Chamomile Plus Probiotics Herbal Tea 

 

*For any calendar event as it pertains to faith-based holidays, please click here. 

 

Today, April 26, 2024, 1:10 – 1:50 PM  

Event: Research Seminar in Environmental Health featuring Candidates for the MS degree 

Description: Rebecca Hurwitz, BA, will discuss her research project titled, “The Impact of Air Pollution and Climate on Maternal Blood Pressure in the Project Viva Cohort.” After describing the known effects of environmental changes on short-term blood pressure, she will discuss research on the relationship between environmental exposures and the BP trajectories in Project Viva and describe the biostatistical underpinnings of this research. LeeAnn Lucas, BSPH, will present her research on “The Role of Sex Hormone Binding Globulin in the Relationship between Adiposity and Cancer in the UK Biobank.” LeeAnn will describe sex differences in cancer incidence; describe the potential mechanisms driving these sex differences; and discuss the role of sex hormone binding globulin in the adiposity and cancer association. 

Speaker(s): Rebecca Hurwitz, BA, candidate for the MS degree. LeeAnn Lucas, BSPH, candidate for the MS degree. 

Location: HSPH, Kresge 502 or Virtual 

Register: Click here to register. 

 

Tuesday, April 30, 2024, 9:30 – 10:30 AM 

Event: MELD Seminar 

Title: Epigenetic mechanisms of allergic diseases during pregnancy 

Speaker(s): Elisabeth M Simonin, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow 

Location: HSPH, Building 1, Room 1302 

 

Tuesday, April 30, 2024, 1:00 – 2:00 PM 

Event: How-To Talk 

Title: How to Write a Patent 

Speaker(s): Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD, John Rock Professor of Climate and Population Studies, Chair, Department of Environmental Health and Peter Sollins, PhD, JD, Senior Associate Director of Intellectual Property 

Location: HSPH, Building 1, Room 1302 

 

Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 12:00 – 1:30 PM 

Event: Longwood Research Data Management Workshop 

Description: When employees leave, they take their skills and institutional knowledge with them. It is important to record essential informative information related to projects and datasets to ensure the success of future users. The upcoming seminar provides a checklist to review and understand the foundational data management processes that should be established before closing out a project or someone leaving the institution. 

Location: HSPH, Countway Library 

Register: Secure your spot here or register for the online workshop (Wednesday, May 8, 12:00 – 1:00 PM). 

 

Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 3:00 – 5:00 PM 

Event: Dissertation defense of PhD Candidate Hantao Wang
Title: Lung Function, Interstitial Lung Abnormalities, and Mortality in Shanghai Textile Workers 

Location: HSPH, FXB #G-05 

 

Thursday, May 2, 2024, 2:00 – 4:00 PM 

Event: Dissertation defense of PhD Candidate Chih-Fu Wei 

Title: Prenatal Arsenic Exposure, Folic Acid Use and Spina Bifida in Bangladesh 

Location: HSPH, Building 1, Room 1302 

 

Friday, May 3, 2024, 12:00 – 2:00 PM 

Event: Dissertation defense of PhD Candidate Shelton Lo 

Title: The Impact of Environmental Exposures on Lung Cancer Recurrence and Progression 

Location: HSPH, FXB #G-13 

 

Monday, May 6, 2024, 1:10 – 1:50 PM 

Event: ERC Seminar 

Title: Cancer among US Firefighters: Case-control Study among Indiana Firefighters 

Description: Kishor Hadkale, PhD, will describe the relationship between firefighters and the risk of cancer and explain the cancer risk based on gender and race/ethnicity. He will then discuss the role of several factors, such as occupational, medical and lifestyle, among firefighters. 

Speaker(s): Kishor Hadkhale, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Chan School of Public Health, and visiting researcher, Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Finland. 

Location: Virtual 

Register: Click here to secure your virtual spot. 

 

Thursday, May 9, 2024, 4:00 – 5:00 PM 

Event: 22nd James L. Whittenberger Lecture 

Title: Unraveling the Multifaceted Intergenerational Health Effects of Environmental Exposures: from Harvard Six Cities Study to Boston Birth Cohort Study 

Speaker(s): Dr. Xiaobin Wang, Zanvyl Krieger Professor in child health, and Director of the Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Professor of pediatrics and a board-certified pediatrician at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 

Location: HSPH, Kresge G2 

 

Saturday, May 11, 2024, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM 

Event: Community Workshop 

Title: Protect Your Mind 

Description: The MEMCARE Superfund Community Engagement Core, in partnership with Dana-Farber/ Harvard Cancer center and the Christiana R. Gray Women’s Missionary Society, is organizing a community workshop on May 11th. The event will focus on metals and their effects on the brain, with an emphasis on cognition. The workshop will be led by MEMCARE Superfund trainees Justin Farmer and Marwa Osman. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about how our environment and our brain health our interlinked. Everyone is welcome! 

Location: Bethel AME Church Youth Center, 84 Wachusetts St. Jamaica Plain, MA 

Register: Click here to secure your workshop spot. 

 

Chair Chatter Archive
2024: January, February, March
2023: December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January
2022: December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January
2021: December, November, October, September, August
Continued: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006