Upcoming Events!
Environmental Exposures and Multigenerational Disease: Why Our Lifestyle Before Conceiving Matters
It is becoming accepted that environmental exposures at critical windows of development can lead to long-lasting effects not only in individuals directly exposed, but also in future unexposed generations via epigenetic mechanisms of regulation of gene expression. However, little is known about the initial alterations that trigger multigenerational responses and the mechanisms through which those alterations are propagated across generations. Join Dr. Raquel Chamorro-Garcia from UC Santa Cruz as she presents findings on how her lab's current model proposes that parental preconception exposure to environmental factors alter molecules carried in the gametes which will subsequently alter chromatin architecture in the developing embryo shortly after fertilization.
Wednesday, August 30, 2023; 1 pm PT (Zoom or register here and we'll send a calendar invite)
EaRTH Center Annual Research Forum
We are excited to be holding our third UCSF Environmental Research and Translation for Health (EaRTH) Center Annual Forum! Join us to get new ideas, find new collaborations, and learn about the latest research methods in environmental health. We will have fascinating presentations from your EaRTH Research colleagues, networking opportunities and special guest speakers. The theme of this year's forum is: From the Laboratory to the Legislature: How Basic Science Can Be Leveraged to Advocate for Health Equity.
Wednesday, November 15, 2023; 1-5 pm PT (Parnassus Campus, in person only)
Past Events
Subscribe to our channel to view past recordings
EaRTH Center Kickoff Meeting
September 20, 2020
EaRTH Center Quarterly Meeting
December 20, 2020
Environmental Justice and Human Health: Creating Systemic Solutions
Every Tuesday, February 23 - March 30, 2021. Recordings on UCTV.
EaRTH Series: Environmental chemical exposures and mechanisms underlying human placental dysfunction and disease
Joshua Robinson, PhD & Hao Chen, PhD
March 30, 2021; 12-1 pm. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Center Quarterly Meeting
News and presentations by our Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC). Other guest speakers include a presentation by EaRTH Pilot Project awardee, Dr. Amy Padula, and IHSFC consultant, UCSF DREAM Lab. Drs. Salma Shariff-Marco and Debby Oh of the DREAM Lab will provide an overview of services and studies.
Wednesday, April 7, 2021; 1-2 pm
EaRTH Series: Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race
Dr. Shanna Swan
Wednesday, April 28, 2021; 12-1pm. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Series: Taking Charge of Pregnancy
Dr. Susan Fisher
Thursday, May 27, 2021; 12-1pm. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Series: Suspect Screening and Chemical Exposures in Pregnant Women
Dr. Dimitri Abrahamsson and fellow researchers from UCSF's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment used new technology to detect 109 chemicals in pregnant women and newborns, including 55 chemicals never before reported in people and 42 “mystery chemicals,” whose sources and uses are unknown. The 109 chemicals researchers found in the blood samples from pregnant women and their newborns are found in many different types of products: 40 are used as plasticizers, 28 in cosmetics, 25 in consumer products, 29 as pharmaceuticals, 23 as pesticides, 3 as flame retardants, and 7 are PFAS compounds, which are used in carpeting, upholstery, and other applications. The researchers say it’s possible there are also other uses for these chemicals.
Wednesday, June 30, 2021; 1-2 pm. Read the paper. Watch the recording.
Columbia University's Environmental Justice Boot Camp: Theory and Methods to Study Environmental Health Disparities
August 2-3, 2021
EaRTH Series: Connecting lipid composition to individual characteristics using matrix linear models for high-throughput data
Dr. Saunak Sen
Tuesday, August 17, 2021; 12-1 pm.
EaRTH Series: Environmental Scholars Present!
The Environmental Scholars Program (ESP) is a 3-year community-based clinical and research program designed to build the next generation of environmental health leaders. Our first group of scholars will be presenting their projects, what they’ve learned about environmental health from a community perspective, and how their experiences have informed their careers as health professionals.
September 23, 2021; 12-1 pm PST. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Series: Beyond Journals: How to Leverage Media & Comms to Elevate Your Work
Please join us and three media and communications experts to learn how to get your study covered in the media; what institutions need from you to help promote your work (with a UCSF lens); and which communications vehicles (blogs, visuals, infographics, social media) are best to share your research and how to use them. Our speakers include Rebecca Fuoco, M.P.H. (Science Communications Officer, Green Science Policy Institute), Laura Kurtzman (Senior Public Information Representative, UCSF), and Susan Lamontagne (President, Public Interest Media Group, Inc.). This presentation is sponsored by the UCSF EaRTH Center, UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, and Green Science Policy Institute.
October 21, 2021; 1-2 pm PST.
EaRTH Center Annual Research Forum
November 2, 2021; 12-4 pm PST
EaRTH Quarterly Meeting
April 6, 2022; 12 pm
EaRTH & UCSF Office of Sustainability Event: Experts Review “Don’t Look Up”
Using the Academy Award-nominated film “Don’t Look Up” as a springboard, our panel of climate experts will be discussing the many ramifications of climate change, including mental health, misinformation and science communication, industry influence and government failure, and more.
April 21, 2022; 5:30-7:30 pm PT. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Series: Fossil Fuels Drive Plastic Proliferation
Co-sponsored with the UCSF Office of Sustainability. Join EaRTH Director, Tracey Woodruff, and Marty Mulvihill, co-founder and partner of SaferMade, who will talk about the strong connection between the fossil fuels industry, climate change, and the many environmental chemical exposures we are enduring as a result of petrochemicals, the by-products of fossil fuels.
May 10, 2022; 12 pm PT. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Series: Historical Redlining Data in the UCSF Health Atlas
Under the direction of Dr. Debby Oh, the UCSF Population Health Data Initiative has incorporated historical redlining data into the UCSF Health Atlas. This includes census tract level redlining data alongside 100+ other area attributes including demographic, socioeconomic, community, neighborhood, and health and health care data. The practice known as redlining has its roots in a neighborhood ranking system sponsored by the federal government in the 1930s. A four-point scale was intended to guide financial investment decisions by assigning neighborhoods rankings from A (“best” = green) to D (“hazardous” = red). Neighborhoods with higher proportions of African American and immigrant families were consistently ranked lower (redlined). Research shows a strong link between historic redlining and present-day health disparities. Learn how you can use the UCSF Health Atlas to better understand redlining data in context.
June 22, 2022; 1 pm PT. Watch the recording.
Environmental Justice Boot Camp: Theory and Methods to Study Environmental Health Disparities
This is a two-day intensive course featuring seminars and applied analytical sessions on key concepts, exposure assessment techniques, epidemiologic methods, community engagement and health policy applications, and statistical analytic approaches for conducting effective and solution-driven environmental justice research. Hosted by the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health's SHARP Program, the Columbia NIEHS Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan (CEHNM), the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health, the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, and the UCSF EaRTH Center.
August 15-16, 2022. 7 am – 2 pm PDT. Details.
EaRTH Series: Environmental Scholars Present!
The Environmental Scholars Program (ESP) is a 3-year community-based clinical and research program designed to build the next generation of environmental health leaders. Join us to learn about our first-year medical students' community-based clinical and research internships with Bayview Hunter's Point Community Advocates and the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit. Our second group of scholars will be presenting their projects, what they’ve learned about environmental health from a community perspective, and how their experiences have informed their careers as health professionals.
October 27, 2022; 12-1 pm PST. Watch the recording.
EaRTH Center Annual Research Forum
Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF, Robertson Auditorium 1 (1675 Owens St.)
We are excited to be holding our first in person Center meeting! Join us to get new ideas, find new collaborations, and learn about the latest research methods in environmental health. We will have fascinating presentations from your EaRTH Research colleagues, a poster session and networking opportunities. We will also have special guest, Dr. Robyn Tanguay, from Oregon State University. Dr. Tanguay is an internationally recognized scholar whose work on zebrafish models has advanced the world’s understanding of how chemicals impact the biological development of humans. Forum-related materials.
Schedule:
130 pm – Poster Session
2 pm – Presentations
4 pm – Networking Session
Our flash talk speakers include:
Kaveh Ashrafi, PhD (UCSF School of Medicine, Physiology)
Ethan Brown, MD (UCSF School of Medicine, Neurology)
Aras Mattis, MD, PhD (UCSF Department of Pathology)
Rosemarie de la Rosa, PhD, MPH (Environmental Health Sciences, UC Berkeley)
Helena Archer, MPH (PhD student at UC Berkeley)
Robyn Tanguay, PhD, Oregon State University
Using Multidimensional Zebrafish Data to Protect and Improve Human Health. We are well into the 21st century and the environmental health sciences discipline remains challenged to systematically identify the legacy, newly created, and chemical mixtures that pose tangible human health risks. We have maintained that multi-dimensional zebrafish assays provide rapid pathways to discover and compare the bioactivity of chemicals for a multitude of decision making contexts. This presentation will provide examples where high throughput screening and systems approaches are being used to advance environmental health.
Wednesday, November 2, 1:30-5 pm
Environmental Health Grand Rounds: 3rd Annual Herb Needleman Lecture
Join us for the UCSF Occupational and Environmental Health Grand Rounds. The speaker is Brenda Eskenazi, MA, PhD, Emeritus Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and Director, Center for Environmental Health Research and Children’s Health. Her lecture is titled “Lessons from the fields: 25 years of working with agricultural families in California.”
Sponsored by the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE), and the UCSF EARTH Center, the lecture is presented annually in honor of Dr. Needleman’s groundbreaking work on the hazards of environmental lead on children’s neurodevelopment, and his perseverance despite fierce opposition from industry.
Thursday, January 26, 2023; 8 am.
UCSF Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Grand Rounds
Join Dr. Joshua Robinson, 2022 Environmental Health, Nutrition & Obesity Pilot Awardee for "Experimental and translational approaches to elucidate toxic effects of environmental chemical exposure on human pregnancy" during UCSF Ob/Gyn & RS Grand Rounds.
Dr. Joshua Robinson is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Reproductive Sciences and Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at UCSF. Since Fall of 2016, he has led a research laboratory aimed at studying the effects of environmental chemical exposures on human development. For his presentation, he will highlight his group’s recent work, investigating the impact(s) of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposures on human placental development/function using in vitro and in vivo approaches.Tuesday, January 31, 2023; 9:10 am.
EaRTH Series: Environmental Health Disparities in Maternal/Child Health
Join Stephanie Eick, PhD, MPH from the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Emory University. Pregnant people are exposed to a variety of environmental chemicals and non-chemical stressors every day, many of which adversely impact health. Many studies have examined individual exposures, but few have examined chemical and non-chemical stressors together. This seminar will review recent research in this topic area and will discuss how environmental health disparities impact perinatal health. Dr. Eick used EaRTH Seedling Award funds with the IHSFC, was recently awarded the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship, and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health at Emory University.
April 4, 2023; 12-1 pm.
EaRTH Series: Strategies to maximize your science - How EaRTH can help you amplify your work
What does the media look for? How can you craft a clear and compelling message? What can we learn from others in promoting our research? And how can the EaRTH Center help to amplify your work? Please join us as Susan Lamontagne, PRHE's Communications Director and consultant for the EaRTH IHSFC, walks us through some communications case studies. What works? What doesn't? And real-time feedback on messaging your work.
Tuesday, May 2, 2023; 11:15 am - 12:45 pm. (In person at UCSF Mission Hall and via Zoom)
Examining physical housing factors and disaggregated race and ethnic groups to better understand the association between wildfire smoke exposure and preterm birth in California
EaRTH Seedling Awardee and Center member, Dr. Rachel Sklar, will discuss disparities in wildfire smoke related preterm birth (PTB) outcomes in California. In particular, she will discuss how physical housing characteristics such as the size of a home and the age of the building contribute to PTB disparities in certain racial and ethnic groups. In this body of research, Dr. Sklar uses disaggregated race and ethnicity variables and will discuss the importance of using disaggregated data to better inform policy interventions to protect vulnerable populations.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023; 1-2 pm.
Environmental Justice & the Human Right to Water: Research to Advance Clean Drinking Water Access in California
California became the first state to statutorily guarantee the human right to water in 2013, and yet roughly a million Californians are still served by water systems that are out of compliance with drinking water standards, and households with private wells face disproportionate exposure risks. Dr. Lara Cushing from UCLA will share the findings from recent research on social inequalities in exposure to drinking water contaminants and contamination threats in California.
Thursday, August 10, 2023; 12 pm PT
Environmental Justice Boot Camp: Theory and Methods to Study Environmental Health Disparities
This is a two-day intensive course featuring seminars and applied analytical sessions on key concepts, exposure assessment techniques, epidemiologic methods, community engagement and health policy applications, and statistical analytic approaches for conducting effective and solution-driven environmental justice research. Hosted by the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health's SHARP Program, the Columbia NIEHS Center for Environmental Health in Northern Manhattan (CEHNM), the Harvard Chan NIEHS Center for Environmental Health, the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, the UCSF EaRTH Center, and the University of Washington.
August 17-18, 2023. 7 am – 2 pm PDT. Details.